...green is the new black.

If you haven't heard, I'm going green.


And a little crazy on the way.


I have friends* who felt it necessary to shake up my comfortable way of living and perpetual state of ignorance by recommending several "crunchy" blogs they read. They had no idea the beast this would awaken.

As I write this, there's a show playing on TV called "Wa$ted", where the host and her do-nothing side-kick confront people about their carbon footprint and then offer them tips on how to reduce their eco-impact. I'll leave out the part that the host is incredibly annoying and horribly inept at pretending to be Carrie Bradshaw for their cleverly titled debut episode, "Sex and the City". The tips they're offering are pretty run of the mill, but it's cool to see others engaged in the same pursuits I'm following.

In the past month, I have added two composters to our home: one for food and yard waste, the other for dog poo. I also found an awesome little stainless steel canister for my counter top top that holds my compostable kitchen waste until I can take it to the outside.

I switched from using a roll of Viva every two-three days to using cotton bar towels and 7th Generation paper towels for those times when only a paper towel will do. Two weeks later, I'm only halfway through the roll.

I double-checked the list of what we can recycle in our county and found out there was stuff we've been throwing away that can go to the recycling center.

I have stopped depending on plastic shopping bags and either use reusable bags, or take my purchases without a bag.

I ran out of shampoo and conditioner this week, so I replaced them with Burt's Bees' much more eco-friendly Pomegranate and Soy products (I tried unsuccessfully to find the shampoo bar). While they still come in plastic bottles, these are 50% PCR (Post Consumer Recycled plastic). The company has a goal to be at 100% PCR packaging and 100% natural products by 2020.

I also began honoring my inner Diva. (If the fact that diva is capitalized means something to you, then you know what I'm sayin'...)

Adding these changes to the stuff I was already doing is only the beginning, I'm sure. Day by day, change by change, it will all make a difference. I'm afraid I'm just getting started... and that is not an apology of sorts but a genuine expression of fear about where life is taking me right now!

*Italicized for no other reason than that the jury is still out... trust me, they are wonderful, amazing and kick-ass women, but I may well end up naked in a corner, rocking myself back and forth, wracked with guilt over the state of the planet.