7: Month 5: Waste No More

So, I survived the month of no TV and no Internet.  To be honest, I did miss having information right at my fingertips anytime I wanted it.  Of course, the Eagles finally had a pretty good December and I missed watching them win.  However, Noah offered a great play by play for me. I still managed to get angry when they lost to the Vikings despite not watching it.   I read 12 books though so I am sure my vocabulary increased.  Most importantly, I survived!

Now, unto month 5...reducing waste.  I had a lot of trouble thinking of ways that I could reduce.  Jen Hatmaker did seven habits for a greener life...gardening, composting, conserving energy and water, recycling, driving only one car, shopping thrift and second-hand, and buying local.

Well, I already garden, compost (well I feed the scraps to my chickens), and recycle. Driving one car won't work for our family as Brian and I work in two different directions (However, I do drive a paint peeling Honda Civic to cut down on gas consumption and cost...and not just for one month either...that should earn me some extra points right?).

So, this month these will be the areas I will change...
~Cloth napkins (This is a big deal if you could see the piles of laundry I already do in a week.  By the way, I hate folding laundry!)

~Only washing clothes that are truly dirty.  (I have a terrible habit of throwing everything I wear in the dirty clothes.  Most of the time there isn't even a spot on it.  So, this month, I will only be washing my clothing when it is dirty.  Yes, I realize that this goes against my previous statement about hating laundry...but who says that my actions always make sense...)

~Reusable bags on my small trips to the grocery store. (Let's be realistic here, I have 5 kids.  On my "big trips" to the grocery store, I can heap up a cart.  So, on my large trips to the store, reusable bags aren't going to cut it unless I want to spend $100 buying reusable bags.)

~Using the tons of food I have already packed away in my freezer (This month, I am only going to buy food to replace the food that is all gone.  I. HATE. THE. GROCERY. STORE.  Therefore, if I am at the store, I just pick up whatever I think I might need because I don't want to go back again.  I am going to make a diligent effort this month to use up the items in my freezer and only buy perishable items.)

I am not sure that I am as sold out as I need to be this month.  I certainly am not feeling "green enough" with this list.  However, I feel like I am making some deliberate changes to my routine....and I am hoping they can be permanent ones.