Blog Action Day at Got it Goin On

Today is Blog Action Day, so in the spirit I'm using this post to write about what I try to do for the environment.

Well, for one, I try to buy my paper towels and toilet paper at Whole Foods since they sell recycled paper. And I've begun trying to buy household products that are environmentally friendly I also donate books and magazines to the public library for sale. I seperate my cans and bottles and either take them to the grocery store to recycle or put them in the special blue bags downstairs.

I've begun shredding documents and also putting them in recycling bags so that hopefully the paper can be pulped and then reused again in the future. However, I'm really bad when it comes to water. I love taking showers and baths, and I know they are a notorious waste of water, but for me, it's a way to relax at the end of the day or to wake up in the morning. On the other hand, I have become better at turning off the water while I brush my teeth and wash my face at night.

My father, without even knowing it, was kind of an environmentalist. Of course, my mother and I just called it being cheap, when he would walk around the house turning off all the lights, and keeping the heat to an excruciating 5o degrees at our house upstate. Whenever my mother and I would complain that it was cold in the house, he would just tell us to put on a sweater.

My parents both grew up in the depression, so I was taught never to throw things out if they could still be used. I haven't gone as far as changing the filter in the lightbulbs the way Marge did on The Simpsons last night, but I resole my shoes and boots instead of throwing them out, and I try to donate all my clothes to either Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

I'm also thinking of buying a refurbished laptop instead of spending the money on a new one, and I would love to donate my old computer, but I don't know if there's anyone out there who wants a computer that's almost 11 years old.

If anyone knows of an organization that takes old computers let me know.

EKM