OK, I must admit it’s bit a “helluva” week at school/work with long days and late nights with meetings, presentations, and courses; plus submitting our students to the second week of standardized testing; etc., etc., which has left me very little time left for blogging!
During that time, I did update my school/educational blog, so if you’re interested in what students I’ve coached in ExploraVision have accomplished; Roxy the “reading dog;” or what’s new in mathematical theory go there by clicking here.
Which is why my aim to post “One Green Thing” each day has fallen by the wayside. So, I’ve got some catching up to do. Here goes . . .
ONE GREEN THING # 6: RECYCLE SOMETHING!
I’m now a pretty faithful “curb-side” recycler (as my town has weekly trash & recycling pick-up) with items likes cans, bottles, and newspapers, but I know there’s so much more I can do (like NOT buying these items in the first place!) Although I regularly enjoy good, old-fashioned tap water from my stainless steel/reusable bottle, my DH has a favorite, cranberry drink that he just loves! He’s also a bit old-fashioned in that he likes perusing the newspaper in the am or pm or whenever he has a chance, which brings me to green thing # 7.
ONE GREEN THING # 7: GET THE NEWS ONLINE!
I’m okay with doing a quick review of anything news-worthy online, so I’ve cut down on newspapers somewhat. I recently learned that our home-town newspaper is joining the effort to “Save the Planet by GOING GREEN” by encouraging academic subscriptions to have students use the E-paper daily instead of the printed version.
Here are the facts:
- Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees
- To produce any Sunday newspaper, each week 500,000 trees must be cut down
- If all newspapers were recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year
- Get more facts by clicking here.
ONE GREEN THING # 8: PAY BILLS ONLINE!
I’ve been doing this for a while now, paying as many bills as I can online, and setting up others in the format. I find it’s much easier and quicker to get the job done (with a click of the mouse); to stay current (as some accounts can be set up to pay automatically); and there’s no need to search for envelopes, stamps, etc!
Lots of paper saved and probably better for your credit score, too!
ONE GREEN THING #9: PLANT SOMETHING GREEN!
St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally when people in our parts think about getting peas in the ground. If you can’t plant outside yet, why not bring something green inside? My all-time favorite way to welcome in spring is with pansies! They add a splash of color–outside or in–and can even withstand a frost, if there’s still that possibility, as there is here in New England!
Plus, plants give off oxygen!
ONE GREEN THING #10: GROW SOMETHING ORGANICALLY!
I attended an Organic Gardening Workshop yesterday with my daughter at our local Garden Center and I’m going to try to employ more organic gardening principals this year in my favorite flower gardens!
Although these organic practices were mostly “old hat” to Abbie, here are some good ideas I came away with:
- Everything starts with the soil and gardening success come from building the soil biology, so I may try some soil testing this year.
- Choose native plants for best results.
- Make sure you choose the right plant for the right place or it just takes more work on the gardener’s part.
- 90% percent of insects are actually beneficial (like bees, flies, ants, etc. for pollination and ladybugs, which attack aphids), so be sure to positively identify “pests” before trying to irradicate them.
- Organic mulch not only mimics natural soil cover (like holding moisture), it also adds organic material to the soil.
- Try physical and biological control of pests before using chemicals, i.e., row covers for physical barriers and the afore-mentioned ladybugs, etc.
Here are some great resources for more organic gardening info:
- Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) @ www.ctnofa.org
- Organic Gardening Magazine @ www.organicgardening.com
- People, Places & Plants Magazine (with a New England Focus) @ www.ppplants.com
I’ll keep you posted on how these organic gardening endeavors work out!
What Flower
Are You?
Musings of an everyday woman . . . 
Great tips! I too try to pay most of our bills online. I started doing it because we had run out of checks and have continued. I did learn that a lot of the bills I pay through my credit union actually get printed and mailed from there, but if you pay via electronic transfer then there is no paper waste. If it is a company that my credit union would mail to I try to use the company website and pay directly.
I used to get the Sunday newspaper for the coupons but now that I can get pretty good coupons online I don’t subscribe. Also, we take old newspapers at the vet clinic to line the cages with so that can be a good place to give them too. The papers get thrown out afterward but it saves us using other paper liners.
Jena~Thanks so much for all the great, additional, GREEN ideas!
Ruth, thank you for sharing several tips on organic gardening. Last summer we started an organic vegetable garden and I try to include only locally grown plants in my flower garden as well (aside from the loriape that lines my front walk–planted by the previous owners). I have not yet tried soil testing, but since we created a raised bed garden, I insisted that we purchase organic soil (my husband asked what the difference was since in his eyes, dirt is dirt, but I really think it has to do with what is composted into the dirt. For example, if vegetables that were treated with pesticides were to decompose in the soil/compost, then wouldn’t it be possible that the soil also contains these pesticides? This is a good question for Abbie or an expert organic gardener to answer, yes?).
Anyway, I’m sorry that you’ve been so busy but I know that I seem to thrive off of activity and often feel lost when things slow down. It’s a good thing I chose to become a mom, huh?
Oh yes, and last thing, we just planted pansies this week too. I’m going to include a post on selecting and planting flowers with kids later this week. Sorry for the long comment!
Jessica,
Don’t apologize! I LOVE long comments and I seem to be the master of those as well!
You are SO right that it all begins with the soil and that dirt is not just dirt! I used to think that way but now I know that soil is a complex ecosystem of living organisms that plants need to thrive. I know I’ve tried in the past (in vain) to get plants to do well, figuring anything they needed was in the soil, but never really checking into it. Tell your hubby that I think you’re smart to have insisted on organic soil!
I’m sure Abbie will add her expert knowledge as well here! I’ve come to appreciate that gardening success comes from building the soil biology and I still have so much to learn about that!
Can’t wait for your post on selecting and planting flowers with kids! As always, thanks so much for your thoughtful comments!
[…] with the Everyday Woman’s post “One Green Thing” and her suggestion that green folks everywhere plant something to welcome spring, Annabelle and I […]
You are doing so much better with this than me! I got sick right after and have been busy so haven’t done the best job. oops!
I’m not so sure about that, Lisa. I’m mostly playing “catch-up” on weekends! I’ve got to get back at it; one of my sons just reminded me that I’m not really posting one green thing per day.
Kind of like starting a diet . . . . all the best of intentions!
Somehow, life is getting in the way, but I AM trying to “walk the talk!” More talk to come . . .
[…] The View from Here added an interesting post on "One Green Thing" # 6-10Here’s a small excerpt…side” recycler (as my town has weekly trash & recycling pick-up) with … Get more facts by clicking here. […]