GO GREEN!

I love "R-E" words: reduce, reuse, recycle, and to that we can add renew, renovate, remodel, refurbish, reorganize, rehabilitate. Well, you get the picture. To me they denote action that is the outcome of thought. They imply starting with what we have, who we are, or where we are, and making us better. They apply to conservation – making over, making do, improving. The old adage is "waste not, want not." Mike and I do the best we can to follow environmental guidelines and live conservatively.

First on the list – we limit the intake of plastic shopping bags. At first it was really hard. Even if I had my "green bags" in the car, I would forget them when I went into the store, but this year I seem to have "turned a corner" on that. I keep cloth bags in the car and actually carry them into the store. When it comes time to discard plastic bags – there will be some accumulation – I take them to recycle bins or share them where they can be re-used. Also, when I pick up some small item at the store, I simply say, "I don't need a bag."

"These 'green bags' are great," said the young man packing my groceries, "but they're sorta flimsy."

"You have to make the corners first," chimed in the cashier. "Then they work fine."

"I have a goal to make my own shopping bags," I added. We speculated on whether mine would be sturdier, and I think they would be. The cashier said he knew of one woman who had made her own.

Second – separation of recyclables. Clarkston does not have curbside pick-up of recyclables, so we separate cardboard, catalogs / magazines / newspapers, and plastic containers and carry them to the recycle station ourselves on a bi-weekly basis – or whenever the spirit moves us. This year I added tin cans to the effort, and I was amazed to discover how many we use! They say you don't have to clean them, but I always do to eliminate odors. We also save aluminum cans separately and turn them in for whatever little money we can get.

Third – composting. I have been composting for a number of years. I have a big black barrel on the farm where I toss table scraps, scrapings, and leavings of a vegetable nature. It's hard for me to come up with the recommended balance of compostable matter, but I keep trying to get it right.

Fourth – water conservation. Here in town we landscaped with rock and planted a xeriscape of drought-tolerant plants, aka perennials (glorified weeds?). It seems to work well in this environment – at least, the overall effect is okay. We eliminated maintenance of a lawn which requires water and mowing, but effort is required to maintain the plantings and we have to weed. Some years the beds seem to come back well; other years – like this year -- more is required of us to manage the plantings. On the farm, we use water collected in the old cistern to water plantings near the house. We don't water the lawn.

Fifth – textiles. They say textiles are clogging our landfills. While this is probably caused mainly by industry, they say that Goodwill and other dealers in used textiles have been known to throw them into the landfill. Ideas are presented to the consumer for re-use of textiles, but that's another post. KW