Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
2 Nephi 31:20

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

{more waiting} & Happy Earth Day!

You might have noticed Tuesday came and went without an update on the house...In the world of real estate transactions, it seems nothing is ever on-time and nothing is ever smooth.  I'm still waiting for a report of the roof inspection, but am told it checked out OK.  We are now waiting to hear if more concessions will be offered.

On a more happy note, "Happy Earth Day" yesterday.  I haven't really been known to acknowledge this holiday too much, but after reading some articles in the newspaper and watching some "Earth Day" shows on PBS I was thinking about what my family is doing to help our Earth and what we can do better.  Since I'm a fan of positive reinforcement I thought I would make a list of 'earth-friendly' things we are doing:
  • wrapped the water heater with insulation
  • changed to florescent bulbs
  • digital scrapbooking (I don't know if this 'counts'--I'm not wasting paper and scraps, but my kids are another story!)
  • on warm days we walk to pick Lulu up from preschool
  • we plant a vegetable garden
  • RECYCLE! We recycle plastics, cardboard, cans, newspaper, shopping bags and junk mail
  • we reuse paper to write notes, etc
  • I set my thermostat to 68 in the winter and 78 in the summer
  • I clean with vinegar--this great because the kids can safely help me clean, it is REALLY cheap, it doesn't put harmful chemicals into the water supply, and IT REALLY WORKS!
  • we don't wash off our driveway with water
  • water our grass at night
  • donate used clothes, toys, etc to a second-hand store or a neighbor
  • reuse plastic containers for bath toys, organizing, etc
  • use biodegradable laundry soap, Wintree (from Costco)
Well, I know there are a lot more things our family could do to preserve our planet, but I think this is a good start.  This is what I plan on working on next:
  • recycling more paper
  • buying more 'local' products
  • doing multiple errands at once to save on gas
  • walking Lulu to preschool and back more often
  • teaching my children the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)...we like singing Jack Johnson's song while learning

So what are you doing to help the environment?  Please give me some ideas.

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