Mid Month Goal Check
Wow. I cannot believe that it is the middle of April already (and time to pay Uncle Sam for those of us who owe in the U.S.) Ugh.
Anyway, I was sitting on the deck last night looking at all of the beautiful stars and that bright moon thinking it would be a good time to re-visit my Earth Day goals for the month to see how I’m doing.
- I just learned that entrance to all of our 392 beautiful National Parks is free April 17–25. We have one of the most spectacular parks here at the Buffalo National River. I hope we can visit it this month!
- Going to all natural products. I did buy some Tom’s toothpaste and I’m happy to report that I’m not having problems with tooth sensitivity at all (well, besides the one I had to have capped yesterday!) We’re using up the rest of the products such as shampoo, soaps, and deodorant before buying other natural products.
- The easiest, so far, has been getting back into the habit of turning off the electrical strips to the electronics when not in use and the hot water tank. I have forgotten a couple of mornings to turn the hot water tank back on so Dale can shower before his 16-hour days…good thing it has been warm here!
- I am reading up on canning and our spring veggies are starting to sprout. We will have lettuce, radishes, green onion and spinach very soon. This weekend, I will be thinning out the later rows we planted, as well as putting in the tomato plants, cucumbers, Vidalia onions, and peppers.
- I haven’t done anything on the organic and free range meat as of yet. I’ve gotten a couple of leads, but need to find the time to visit the stores.
- This weekend, we’re adjusting our routine so we’re not running errands on Saturdays. Errand day takes at least half a day and we haven’t had time to get out the cast iron cookware, but I’m doing it this weekend.
Ok, readers, how are you all doing on your Earth Day goals?
My husband Tim & I purchased our "dream" house two years ago, a small ranch style house on 1.4 acres with established fruit trees. We have started veggie gardening and composting and love it all!! We are going natural in all gardening processes. The last two seasons I have canned or frozen all excess fruit and veggies. This year we are adding another 1600 sq ft to our garden to try out lots of new veggies!! Our adult kids (and grandkids) love the free stuff we pass on to them!! A friend is a Girl Scout leader and brought her group of 8 year olds to pick apples two falls ago. What a treat for them and it helped us with the excess apple crop that year.
That's excellent, Linda! I think it a great idea to bring kids to your garden/orchard. So many kids these days have no idea where our food comes from!
My goal of composting has paid off. My husband turned our large compost pile over the weekend and found we have a huge amount of compost for the garden this year. So, instead of having to purchase bags of it from our local nursery we have our own to enrich our garden soil.
Yay, SheBear!
Hey Kerri,
So far this year I have accomplished a couple of things:
1)We have been carpooling(me&husband)now since Jan 4 and have adjusted great. We plan our errands and do them on the way home. I haven't kept with how much we've saved in gas, but definitely there's one less person on the road now!
2)Switched to recyclable grocery bags. We love them and can't believe it took us this long to give them a try.
3)food composting– now on my 2nd month and am much more committed this time around.
4)paying everything by ebill and in process of going to paperless billing.
This isn't an Earth Day goab but my every day goal is to save more money, and the more I save the closer I'll get to building my "little" house.
Good grief! please excuse the spelling and missing words, sometimes I think faster than I can type…lol
Wow, those are great accomplishments, Sandy! And yes, saving money and moving to your little house is a good environmental goal. Smaller house usually = smaller footprint!
I'll confess: I'm a banana user. With two toddlers at home, I just haven't figured out how to replace them (in convenience, nutrition, or kid-appeal). We have a grocery store who has an unadvertised special of 19 cents a pound for bananas on Wednesdays, and I just can't pass that up.
Good job on making your changes, Kerri! Will you be making your own personal products, or buying them? There's a baking soda/apple cider vinegar "shampoo" treatment that's supposed to be great. Like you, I'm still using up my stockpile of shampoo. I'm a big fan of Dr. Bonner's soaps (at any health food store), but I didn't think it did a great job on my hair. (The bottle tells you to use Dr. B's for everything but raising the dead. It's not quite that versatile, I'm afraid.)
I'm just not a good DIY'er, Kim. I haven't figured out how to fit soap and shampoo making into my already packed schedule. Like my husband said when he told me I'll have to remember to empty the dehumidifier when we get one, "I think you're on daily chore overload." So, I'll just have to fit the personal care products into the also-already-crammed budget.
My goal has been to reduce car-use for errands. I have gotten pretty good at bunching appointments, shopping, etc. so I only have to drive 20–40 minutes each way every week or every two weeks. There can still be improvement though, I agree.
That's a really admirable goal, Alexandra. Besides saving on gasoline $$, it helps the environment greatly to combine those errands. That's why errand day takes so long for us and we're exhausted when we return. Our new schedule will require one more trip every other week, but something has to give here and time at home for Dale to get things done is just something we cannot buy.
Hi, Kristi, I haven't looked into it, but think it would be very hard to find locally grown bananas. That photo was actually taken at my neighbors house, although I do buy them at the grocery every so often.
Thanks for being such a loyal reader!
We didn't really set any new goals for this year, but continue to try to eat locally and in season and to grow or raise most of our food. We do not live in the country, but rather in a small town on a double lot. We grow enough to feed ourselves and sell a small amount at a local market.
I noticed in your last post the bananas in the fruit basket in the background. That is something that we gave up long ago. We just can't seem to find any local bananas.
Our small town farm market started last year and will continue this year. My goal is to educate others on the possibilities of eating more local and in season. It doesn't need to be expensive or cumbersome. It hasn't been for us.
Thanks for sharing the gospel. That is why I read your blog.