Living Green

I'm gett'in my greeeeeeen on! *said in a sing-songy voice, of course*

I love that my kids school curriculum teaches them what it means to be responsible stewards of the earth they live in. Let me tell you, kids soak info up and spit it right back out at you! The kids are always saying "Ma, are you going to recycle that?", "Mom! Can’t you find a way to reuse that?"...  Apparently I'm a good teacher, but do I practice what I preach? With a little inspiration from Ashli's interview last Monday, and her amazing Mini Manor blog, I am getting a little greener!

Reduce

Whaaaat?? Save money and the earth? Why yes please! *wink* 

With 3 kids, "reducing" feels like rocket science. Lights are left on everywhere, in the summer I'll discover someone turned on the hose and left it on... and that's just the beginning! So I make up for it wherever I can. Yep, that means using energy efficient lights, because the girls will leave them on no matter how much I nag. 

Of course those aren't the only things I'm looking to reduce. I'm giving my household budget a makeover by using vinegar, and baking soda where I can! That means saving money on green cleaners I don't get free from couponing. 

Re-use

Oooooooh yeah now! THIS is my area of expertise baby! I am loathe to spend money on necessary items as it is... so when it comes to decorating and organizing, I always have my eye open for some roadside rescue waiting to happen! About 90% of everything in my house is a re-used item. Rarely do I buy anything new, and when I do it is 60%-100% off (usually after couponing)...  

Thrift Stores: From clothes (especially kids clothes), to household items, to decor, to hardware store items...why not help reduce the landfills and buy it second hand? You can find so many nice gently used items out there, plus a little tlc or diy goes a loooooong way! 

Doing Double Duty: This is a principle that applies to many areas of our life, do double duty wherever possible! 

For example, we use a lot of paper...for school at home, for printing coupons, for business, for church business, and lots and lots of drawings from our 3 loving kids!! Needless to say, it really helps both our pocket book and the environment to use paper front and back before recycling. I keep a basket under our printer so we remember to use both back and front before recycling!

Recycle

I have an awful confession to make, in my previous neighborhood you had to pay extra to recycle, so I didn't bother. Thankfully, my new neighborhood encourages it and makes it super easy to do with a huge recycle (trash) can! No separation necessary! 
My kids love to recycle. We made it a game to search for the recycle symbol on every item before tossing it. Soon enough, it became a daily duty they never let me shirk! Then we expanded the game to include imaginative ways to reduce and reuse!

Link Up Your Green Tips! Sooooo, what about you? Need a little motivation to go green? Or are you already a pro? Well, I'm going to start off the linky fun with a few green resources rounded-up just for you! These sites and resources will keep you earth friendly, and green happy (and this time I'm talking about your wallet!) !! 

Alright people, get linky with your green tips!!