Living Greener and Kinder

Now that I am not working, I spend a lot more time outdoors appreciating Nature in all her glory. I always thought I was doing my part in helping the environment by recycling (even when it was not mandatory), but lately I have been thinking of what other measures I could take to go greener and help save the planet. Probably the biggest contribution to the environment that I have made thus far, is giving away my car. Now that I am a domestic house goddess, I have plenty of time to walk to the store for any needed items. The supermarket is only about a half mile away, and I set out on foot with my recycled shopping bag and carry home my purchases. The farmers market, post office, and the pharmacy are about a mile away and although it takes about an hour to get there and back on foot, it benefits both my mental and physical well being (so it's not really that unselfish). I try to conserve energy by using those twirly light bulbs and being very stingy in the use of the air conditioners in the summer and the thermostat in the winter. Once the air conditioners come out of the windows, Ill make sure the storm windows are down. I have to be careful with this one, because the birds make nests in them since they are not used that frequently, and I don't want to disturb eggs or babies. Currently the junk mail (without the glossy ink) is the starter for our backyard bonfires. Now we have always used those black plastic garbage bags for house garbage, and we keep them in the cellar until garbage day morning, as the raccoons have proved to us that they can open any garbage can and make a pretty good mess. But lately I decided that since these bags are polluting the oceans, and since they are made out of petroleum, it's high time to stop using them. I always thought that if I was a garbage man, I would rather pick up a sealed and tidy bag as opposed to hoisting a dirty can of smelly garbage into the truck. I don't know how they stand the fumes in the summer (as the wet garbage rots and then steams).  I still want to be kind to these brave workers, so I have decided to start a compost can for all my wet house garbage and the biodegradable litter and bedding from my rabbit. I use one of the blue recycling cans, and for a lid I place a piece of glass (the kind you buy to protect the table cloth over those little round three legged tables). Once the can is filled, I will drag it to the brook out back, and send the contents down the bank where there has been some erosion going on. The remainder of the house garbage is paper and that can certainly go into a small clean dry garbage can. So far my compost has been kept intact, and as soon as the plastic bags are used up, I will purchase my small paper holding garbage can. It may take a while, as we buy in bulk, but if anyone wants to come get some black bags for your winter clothes storage or a trip to the Goodwill box, please come and help yourself!