Greening Our Lives

I'm struck this morning with the 'green' bug. I'm so happy about using my cloth bags at the grocery store this morning, about picking the basil for Alex's pesto out of the back yard, about noticing how quickly compost is created in the summer heat...
It's a challenge to figure these things out sometimes. We have to balance comfort, finances, time, and other practicalities with our green efforts.
On the up side, I have been very responsible about using my cloth bags lately. I've rarely forgotten them! My plastic bag supply is dwindling (thank goodness!), as I still utilize them for sundry things--for garbage and putting produce in after I get home from the store... Michael seems to have picked up the cloth bag practice a bit more, as well. I had a whole space in the pantry stuffed with the bags, and I now use that space for our placemats:).
Our garden is again not doing so well... but the basil is really flourishing. I'm going to have to figure out some recipes! Honestly, I'm not so sure that we've done the environment any favors with our garden, given our extremely low production and expensive water wastage!
Now that Fiona and I have figured out that we shouldn't consume dairy, we're another step closer to vegan and that much greener. Being more veg in your diet is one of the most environmental habits you can create! It's not bad for your health, either!
While I was proud of how much we stayed home this summer (thereby wasting less gas), I noticed that our electric bills were phenomenally high, a side effect of spending so much time here. I've been very spoiled abut wanting a quite cool and comfortable indoor temp, and I have been terrible about blasting our energy-inefficient air conditioner! Michael and I would absolutely love to get an energy-efficient air conditioner and then some solar panels... Truly, though, despite our energy-efficient clothes washer and dryer, we must be one of the families with the worst energy consumption!
It's a constant labor of love. I would love to somehow figure out how to implement the bus stystem or ride our bikes. I dream of getting a new A/C and the solar panels. I hope to keep reporting progress on our green journey!
Perhaps the most important thing, though, is to reduce consumption. There's a lot we can do from that perspective. We used to be so great about buying used products, but that's not happening as much these days. We do use the library, though, and I try very much to not waste any more gas than is necessary. I've been better about carrying water bottles with us and not purchasing disposable ones... I do think it's important to give ourselves credit, as otherwise we may simply forget to do the good things that we do!
That said, I admire folks who have very little 'stuff'. Kasi, Fiona's neighbor friend, has a closet with perhaps a third as many clothes as my little girl! I admire that, as it takes a bit of organization and orderliness to make it work, and I'm a bit embarrassed about the sheer volume of all our stuff!