It’s Earth Day – and everywhere you turn you are reading or hearing more news about the environment and what needs to be done…sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by it all & wonder can you really do anything. While I won’t ponder the great “green issues” in this post, I thought I would share a few of the green happenings in the Artisan home.

Water…Water…Everywhere – I always seem to have a bottle of water with me – I’ve had an assortment of plastic water bottles but for the most part they never seemed to “take” as far as always being used – many times the disposable plastic water bottles were in rotation. Last summer I made the switch to aluminum bottles and find that they are now constantly in use. When I bought a Sigg bottle for me, I also picked up bottles for the Artisan family. When I was in the ‘Ville in July, my knitting project was a “sigg sock” for each of us. I grabbed the dishcloth cotton, size 5 needles & knit (k2, p2) a 36 stitch tube.

Bag Lady – I’ve always joked about being a ‘bag lady’ – I have always had quite the assortment of totes & continue to add to them. Within the last year, I have put the bags to use and transitioned away from plastic bags when out shopping. My reusable shopping bag ‘collection’ began with the big blue Ikea bags several years ago and then the Trader Joe’s assortment – but has expanded with great bags from Meijer’s (that have a clever bottle pocket in them) and more. Some of my tote bags are also in the mix – I always have a collection in the trunk for when I’m out and about. A couple of unexpected perks of using these bags – when I get home, stuff gets put away more quickly because I want to empty the bags out & have them ready to go again; also, taking 2 bags into the grocery store is a great way to shop for just the right amount of groceries.

A Green House – Other green things are part of the household routine as well: since the city added recycling bins to our trash pick-up most of my trash each week goes in the blue bin – in fact, my large trashcan in the kitchen is now for recycleables and the “other” trash is the much smaller can; as light bulbs burned out in the last year they have been switched over to CFLs & I’ve seen the power bill drop; dead batteries are gathered in a bag & dropped off at the library when I make my frequent visits to rotate through books; baking soda & vinegar are the basis for most cleaning in the kitchen & bathroom these days; and more…

What about you? What Everyday Green items/actions are around your home?