Going Green.

One thing that has become very important to Andrew and I is becoming more eco friendly. I think it’s important to help keep the environment as clean and safe as possible for our future generations. And it’s really not that difficult to do. So here are some things we do to reduce our carbon footprint one step at a time:



We have been using Trader Joe's reusable grocery bags every time we go to the store. I’ll admit, this is not always the easiest thing to remember. Many times we’ve had to run back to the car to retrieve our lovely bags and other times, we completely forget them in the house after a big shopping trip. I definitely recommend keeping them in your car though, that way they are always there. Another perk of using these bags is most grocery stores will give you some kind of discount. At our local grocery store they give 5 cents off per bag. Trader Joe’s will give you a raffle ticket to enter to win $50 each month.



For Christmas Andrew and I each received an amazing Sigg aluminum water bottle. This was a very hard step for me to take. I am the queen of bottled water. I am such a water snob I pretty much refused to drink any other water, even filtered water from the Brita pitcher my mom gave us. Anyhow, I finally gave up my bad habit and am almost using the Sigg bottle full time.



We have been buying more and more eco friendly cleaning products. Things like dish soap and all purpose cleaners. We haven’t gone totally green, as a matter of fact we still have a ways to go in this department. My goal is to someday have only all natural cleaners in my house.



We try to buy local, organic fruits and veggies as often as possible. It’s not so easy here in Michigan, but in California over the summer we went to the local farmers market on the weekends and bought from there. The food is so much fresher at the farmers market! Trader Joe’s also has some good organic food, but I find they don’t have the largest selection of fruits and veggies.



When cleaning out our closets, bedrooms, etc. we take all the things we don’t want to Goodwill. Instead of throwing everything into a landfill, we hope it will get used by someone else.



Recycle, recycle, recycle! Andrew drinks a LOT of soda. For real. We have a bag in the coat closet full of all the empty cans and bottles we use. When the bag is full, we take it to the store and recycle. Besides, who doesn’t want their 10 cent deposit back on each can?!

So I may not have a hybrid car or solar panels on my roof, but we’re doing what we can. Every little bit helps. What do you do to reduce your carbon footprint?