My husband and I have a great relationship but like all spouses we pick on each others weaknesses when we get frustrated. This weekend he picked on my green weaknesses so I decided to turn it into a blog post. (Love you huney!)

Whether you are green-minded or not you will appreciate knowing that I’m not perfect and I don’t claim to be. While I am The Eco Chic that doesn’t mean that I am always living the perfect green life. I am human and there is no way that I will ever be 100% green. Our current lifestyle just does not allow for me to do everything to the greenest level possible. Like most parents out there I have real life responsibilities such as a career, a family, kids, house work, church, extra curricular activities, and so much more to juggle each day…being green is just one aspect of my life.

Five Things I Don’t Want You to Know About Me:

1. I’m a lazy recycler and I don’t recycle everything. We pay to have our recyclables picked up once a week where we live. I am guilty of letting the recycling gather in the garage until it’s overflowing. I usually wait until my husband decides to take it out to the road. Unfortunately they will only pick up plastic and aluminum. I really let the cardboard accumulate in the garage…for over a month! And hubby will usually get sick of looking at it and take it across the road to the drop off center. Glass…gets tossed because there is no place local to recycle it (easily).

2. I don’t compost. I’ve tried…I made a redneck compost bin from chicken wire 2 summers ago with all the intentions of composting our kitchen scraps. This failed because I never turned the compost bin…so essentially it has become a leaf bin and is overgrown with weeds.

3. I don’t have a green thumb when it comes to gardening. I’ve tried that too…and failed. I expect the garden to be self sufficient and it’s not.

4. I’m not a vegan and I don’t eat organic (all the time). I tried the vegan lifestyle in college for a few years and did ok with it. Then I married a meat and potatoe man. Just adding green beans to a meal is a chore! I do try to buy organic when the prices are competitive and I usually buy apples organic. Hubby doesn’t understand the whole organic craze, nor does he believe the claims. Don’t tell him…but I sneak in several meat-free meals all of the time and he never complains!

5. I use plastic. Even with my understanding of BPA and plastics I still use plastic food storage containers and I allow my children to play with plastic toys.

Why am I telling you all of these things? Because I don’t want you to think I’m a hypocrite. I’m just a human being trying her hardest to be green. While my life may be greener than most it’s certainly not as green as it could be. My goal is not to shame or guilt anyone into changing their lifestyle…my goal is to educate you of your options and provide you with small steps you can take to change your life.

What is your green weakness that you don’t want me to know about you?

I was talking (ok…emailing) a friend of mine today and it reminded me about some questions I’ve been struggling with lately.  Can switching to green actually have a negative impact on the environment? 

Take for instance babies.  I now have a 4 mo old baby (Lil’ B) who is getting many of my son’s baby gear.  He’s 6 yr old and I wasn’t quite as green as I am now.  Some of the items I’ve saved aren’t exactly eco-friendly.  So here is a list of the items that if I were to buy them today I would make a different choice than I did 6 yrs ago. 

1. Crib mattress.  I would buy an organic cotton mattress if I bought a new one today.
2. Baby bottles.  I would buy BPA-free bottles and storage jars for my breast pump.
3. High Chair.  I would buy a nice wooden high chair today instead of the plastic bulky one I have.

And what about the baby gifts you receive.  What if you receive items that aren’t eco-friendly?  Like baby soap, lotion, disposable diapers & wipes, and  plastic toys.

So here is my question (ok many questions).  Do you buy new or reuse what you already have?  Do you keep what you are given or exchange/giveaway gifts that aren’t eco-friendly?  At what point is buying new more damaging than keeping what you already have?  As long as the product I saved hasn’t been recalled due to some safety issue, what is the harm in keeping it?  And if I did feel strongly about the new issue (like paraben free soaps and lotions) what do you do with the item you are replacing?  It’s obviously still usable but not up to your standards.  So do you donate it or dispose of it?  If you donate it aren’t you then putting someone else into danger that your feel strongly about?  If you purchase a new product aren’t you then doubling the impact of producing that item?  And if you used that product on your first child and they are still ‘fine’ than what’s the harm of using it again?  But if you don’t replace it are you knowingly putting your next child in danger?

As if moms don’t have enough mommy guilt to deal with!  Me personally, I’m still using the majority of the items I used with my son.  It’s only as I purchase new items that I am replacing them with the newer, more eco-friendly products.  What about you?

This evening Big B and I had a ‘date’ to go see Earth!  I can’t remember the last time I was so emotional over a documentary.  Disney really did a great job with this one.  Before the movie even started I was excited for NEXT Earth Day when they bring out Ocean.  The animals they chose to follow in Earth were perfect; the polar bear family, the elephant family, and my favorite the humpback whale family. 

James Earl Jones did a fantastic job with the naration and the musical score was perfect.  There were so many times when Big B got emotional (happy, sad, fearful) just because of the music and what was about to happen next. 

I must warn parents though that if you have very young children (preschoolers especially) the movie does touch on some ‘Circle of Life’ issues…you know predator vs prey!  While Disney does a very good job not to show anything gruesome there were a few times when the youngsters in the theater broke out into tears.  Big B is six now and still got a little teary eyed over a few of the events.  With that being said I think it was delicately executed. 

It was wonderful to sit with my best little buddy and laugh, cry, and sigh over some of the most spectacular sites I’ve seen in years.  It was so cute, Big B was asking me great questions the whole time.  “Mommy, is the sun global warming?”  “Mommy, where does our water come from?”  and “Mommy, can I recycle this (trash from theater snacks)?” 

Today after school he was riding his bike around the block and came back with a bag full of litter.  I guess one house in the neighborhood had lost some of their trash and just left it blowing in the wind.  And while at the theater he wouldn’t let me leave my trash under the seat, he made me take everything to the exit.  Although he wasn’t too happy that they didn’t recycle the cardboard and plastic waste.  I wonder why movie theaters haven’t jumped on board with the green movement yet. 

Anyways, I would highly recommend Earth to you.  I’d love to hear what you thought about it, leave me a comment.  Don’t forget to read “This is the Day” post and learn how to win your own copy of the book.

I know it’s already been posted today on another blog but I had to share it with you all.  This video shows 8 great uses for those pesky 2 liter soda bottles.  Instead of recycling try to upcycle and reuse your bottle instead.  Thanks Budget Ecoist for posting!

Many of my regular readers know that I’m trying to ditch the disposable bottled drink habit.  This is actually pretty easy for me because all I’ve been drinking lately is tap water.  BUT…my friends and family are having a hard time ditching the bottle!  I mentioned not long ago that I recently purchased some plastic reusable bottles at the store which is a great place to start.  I was so excited when my parents actually showed up at my house with their own bottles!  They were one of my challenges in ditching the bottle because they love ready to go items; so Thanks Mom & Dad for taking the first step. 

So if you’ve already made the first step and pledge to ditch the bottle there is another level of green for you.  Many of you have heard about BPA or Bisphenol A and their presense in our plastic bottles, baby bottles and food storage containers.  Many of you also know that I’m not 100% on board the BPA bandwagon yet BUT I am all for reducing our dependance on oil and oil is needed to make plastic.  For those of you who really want to make a difference there are alternatives to those plastic bottles…steel reusable bottles!  

I was visiting All Your Green the other day when I found the Klean Kanteen.  The Klean Kanteen is made of 100% food grade stainless steel.  Now some of you may think steel and think heavy but these cute little bottles are actually very light weight.  They can be filled with a variety of different beverages; water, juice, tea, etc.  At All Your Green they have the Klean Kanteens in different sizes and different colors.  They even have different types of caps to meet your needs; I know I personally like the loop cap so I can hook it on my bag and carry it with me on my trips. 

So what are the benefits of choosing steel over plastic for your reusable bottles?  1) Steel is much more durable than plastic so the Klean Kanteen will last you longer.  2) No plastic, no BPA, no risk of plastic leaching into your drinks.  3) Only 23% of plastic bottles are actually recycled in the US.  Over 38 billion bottles end up in the landfill each year.  Klean Kanteens are 100% reusable and recyclable!

All Your Green also has other green products to choose from including; wallets from billboards, bamboo bath towels, and reusable shopping bags.  As if finding green products wasn’t cool enough All Your Green even offers a $5 shipping special for all products!   

I know people must really get sick of me and my green ways…but this is who I have become!  We have some house guests in (family) town for a few days and they aren’t as green as me.  I know that most people are not like me so I try to be patient.  My dear sweet hubby is the stubborn green man; he challenges me everyday!  He came home a few days ago with a case of bottled water to take to the beach.  He knew it was going to drive me crazy but it did make sense; we don’t exactly have water bottles for 9 people.  I even made them bring the bottles home from the beach today so we could recycle them.  AND…I took my reusable water bottle for myself. 

Then today we were buying some last minute supplies for our pool/graduation (pre-k) party tomorrow.  We had already bought some plastic plates/cups that are reusable last week but as our guest pointed out we probably didn’t have enough.  We are seriously expecting close to 40 people at the house.  So instead of buying foam or paper plates we bought some more plastic.  (**Note…remember I’m not anti-plastic yet… I think it’s a great alternative to disposable!)  We now have almost 50 settings of plastic plates and cups for the pool!  It seems like a lot but I keep thinking of how much paper we would go through in one day.  If you think that most people would go through 2-3 plates tomorrow multiple by 40 people…I would seriously cry!  Our trash cans are already fuller than the are normally from our small family of three…but I guess 6 extra people will do that. 

Anyways…I’m really excited to have our first semi-green party tomorrow!  I know we are still going to be making a big impact but it’s smaller than last years.  And…we normally turn the air off during the day since the doors will be open practically all day…especially with tons of tots running around.  No to just figure out how to stop people from throwing their cans/bottles in the trash; I really don’t want to dumpster dive. 

Work trips really wear me out!  Today has been pretty boring but I have some updates for you.

1) Curbside recycling!  I’m going on three weeks of solid pick ups!  It looks like the driver now knows that I’m on his route!  YIPPIE!

2) The garden’s a growing!  Well I’ve had some good and bad in the garden.  I’ll have to share pics later but I have my first cherry tomatoe turning red and about 50 more green ones.  I also have a few cucumbers starting to take shape too.  We served out first helping of romaine from the garden last week for taco salad and it was pretty good.  Smaller than store bought and a little stronger in taste; but really good.  On the bad side…the zucchini is just not going to make it.  Not sure what I did wrong but it’s turning yellow and wilting. 

3) Compost!  The compost is a learning experience.  I forget to add the kitchen waste and food scraps most of the time but I do put all my yard waste in the bins.  The soil at the bottom is really nice and when I remember to turn the pile I’m quite impressed with it.  The main problem to overcome is the last of rain lately.  So when I water my garden I also water the compost a little too.

That’s all I have for now.  This weekend is going to be pretty busy with family, pre-K graduation, friends and lots of good times by the pool.  I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day! 

We’ve all heard about the 3R’s right?  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!  Which is the one most overlooked? Reuse!  How much of your garbage can have a potential reuse?  Do you throw away things that someone else can use?  I have heard about Freecyle but I’ve never joined or looked at a group site before this past week. 

When we first moved into our house we took down part of the chain link fence that I’m assuming was used for a dog run.  It had no purpose to us so we took it down.  We couldn’t stand to leave it by the road for the garbage man to decide if they would take it or not…so it sat in the back yard for 2 years.  You can image the weeds that were growing through the chains when we decided to clear out the backyard and landscape.  My hubby was complaining about having to take it somewhere to trash it.  SOOOOOO….I joined Freecycle!  He didn’t think I would ever join or participate as I’m quite the procrastinator.  But I did.  I posted the fence this past weekend and within a day I had a taker for the fence.  A nice man from a few neighborhoods over came and hauled it away last night.  He even came back tonight to get a few pieces that he left behind. 

My lesson here is that we had absolutely no use for this fence but someone else is going to use it in their garden in luei of chicken wire.  I had never thought about using it in the garden.  I think I’m going to go clean out the garage little by little and find homes for all my stuff.  Have I ever mentioned that I’m a serious PACK RAT?  I have stuff from elementary school in boxes in the garage.  Don’t laugh, it’s true!

What are your experiences with Freecycle?  Love it, hate it?  What was the most unique item you got rid of…or received by using Freecycle?

Good afternoon eco-friends!  Once again the quantity of regular work has me overwhelmed and unable to give you a Trashy Thursday post.  I had a great idea for today but I never got around to making it to show you.  It was a special Valentine’s Day craft I was going to make with my son with an empty toilet paper roll.  Maybe if we get bored tonight (wishful thinking) we’ll make one up to share. 

So today is Valentine’s Day and I should have wrote this earlier in the week but did you think green for the pink day?  My hubby impressed me today with a potted plant (beautiful tulips) and a recycled card.  I save cards forever so it won’t go into the landfill anyways.  (Some would call me a bit of a pack-rat). 

OK…sorry for the short post but I had to say HI to all my friends.  Have a great Valentine’s Day and remember to ‘think green’ today.

Well Christmas has come and gone!  I am actually quite excited that today was the first trash pick up since then and we only had our average one trash can full.  We only had one bag of wrapping paper trash and the rest of the stuff (packaging) is going to the recycle center in the morning.  I had tried to keep all the wrapping paper and reuse it for my sons craft projects but it was too difficult to take off the tape.  Nevermind the fact that a four year old rips the paper into a million pieces when he opens it. 

I did go shopping the day after and I’m faced with a new dilema…what to do with old ornaments.  I found some great new ornaments that I want to switch to next year but now I have all these old faded, chipped ornaments that need a home.  I’m thinking of giving them to his school so they can use them next year in the classroom.  Other than that I guess my only option is Goodwill.  I refuse to throw them in the trash. 

So how much waste did you have this Christmas?  What could you have done differently to reduce the amount of trash? 

Coming up next…New Years Green Resolutions.  I’m going to make a few resolutions that will help decrease our footprint on this planet.