Earth Day

Today is Earth Day so in honor of celebrating our beautiful blue planet I thought I would get this blog started off with a posting about keeping things eco-friendly. Here at La Petite Maison Verte we try to be an eco-conscious family: we don't run electricity unnecessarily, we try to keep showers brief (sometimes difficult for me since I LOVE to linger in the steam and dread the moment when I will open the shower door and feel the cold blast of air), buy responsibly-produced and local goods, combine errands to conserve gas, and we are obsessive about recycling! I will recycle anything and everything. Brian thinks I'm a little crazy but I will even recycle plastic sandwich baggies. I'll usually re-fill them with the same thing they had previously stored (i.e. pretzels in a pretzel baggie, dog treats in a dog treat baggie, etc.). Although I usually only recycle bags that have contained dry snacks or inedible trinkets, I'll occasionally reuse a bag that contained a sandwich if it looks clean to me. I just wipe out the inside with a clean damp cloth and prop it open to air dry it. Am I crazy? Is this weird?! Am I the only baggie recycler out there?? In my mind, not only is it better for the planet but it also saves us money, so I think that until I find a better alternative for disposable sandwich bags I'll keep reusing them! How do you keep your home environmentally-friendly?

**For all those out there who are worried about the risk of food-borne illnesses from reusing sandwich bags: if you know me you will know that I'm a germaphobe and don't put myself or my hubby at unnecessary risk. I only re-use a bag once or twice before tossing it, or sometimes I'll even get one final use out of it when I take Hudson out for a walk...if you know what I mean ;)

**Have any of you seen the movie Blue Planet (1990)? It is a wonderful documentary with stunning images and aerial footage of Earth. I remember seeing it in the IMAX theater at the National Air and Space Museum when I was a kid and I remember being absolutely awe-struck! Although I'm sure its quite dated now, I recommend it if you haven't seen it!