in which i whine...and the earth weeps

[It was really hard for me to kill the alliteration there, but I really didn't want to use 'world.']

To appropriate some wonderfully famous words: It’s not easy being green.

I’m trying to cut down on the amount of paper I use, I am trying to do more and more on my computer (which uses power…ah, dilemmas, fun stuff). However, I have a hard time reading things on the computer screen, so I have printed about about a billion pages worth of reading this semester. I like pages to turn and margins to scribble in. I like the materiality of paper. I love paper, in fact. And books. And I have many, many books and much paper. I’m only somewhat decent at this game.

This aside, we are continually making strides here at La Casa B to be a bit more friendly to our little rock. And, you know what, Costco is our friend.

Recently, I have been whining (ah, with this whining) to Cardo that I want glass storage bowls instead of plastic. Costco delivered. The lids are still plastic, but the bowls are nice, thick glass. Costco also sells in bulk, of course, which is nice. We've been using Method soap since I decided to take us off antibacterial soap here and Dooce so nicely provided me with an alternative when she featured a container of Method on her 'Daily Style' feature. Costco so nicely offers huge refill containers of Method so we still have the original small containers which we periodically refill (when I get around to it). We also have Kirkland Signature (Costco's brand) environmentally-friendly laundry detergent and their environmentally-friendly dishwashing liquid. And, tonight, we bought Pic some more reusable cups (yeah!). Fifteen dollars for four and they are BPA-free.





I still have the little plastic containers to put Pic's lunch in (the glass containers are a bit on the big side for our lunch bags and I have to include a freezer-pack in her bag for school) and most of our travelmug things are plastic, but other than that, the plastic has largely been banished from our kitchen. I send Pic to school with actual metal and wood flatware. We both still have our Mimi the Sardine lunchbags and I've switched us over to cloth napkins (except Cardo, who kind of refuses to use the cloth napkins).

Oh, and I use things like Trader Joe's Citrus Shampoo and their Tea Tree Oil Face Wash, but until recently I've just been using Johnson and Johnson's regular yellow baby wash/shampoo for Pic. We bought this at Costco and it takes us about a freaking year to use up a whole bottle. I've wanted to get Pic something a bit friendlier, so I finally just went and bought her some Method baby wash.



[The babywash is Rice Milk + Mallow (as in marshmallow...as it says on the container). Pic smells yummy, but every time I see 'mallow,' I think 'tallow,' and I wonder why I would want my child to smell like rendered animal fat.]

These are small steps, I know, but I'm making an effort here. The nice thing is that Cardo goes along with me in most of this. At the beginning of our relationship, I was afraid that he would think I was some kind of total freak for doing all of this, but he's pretty supportive.

So, yes, we're making strides, but I still drive way more often than I should. Often I have four or more lights burning here because I have to dispel the gloom at twilight. We've got countless electronic gadgets that need to be plugged in (okay, so not really 'countless,' I'm sure I could count them if I tried, but I don't want to). We buy way too much crap that we don't need. I use Google. I sometimes still get plastic bags and paper to-go cups. And, have I mentioned my little book obsession? I'd take some pictures of our bookshelves but it's a freaking wreck in my apartment right now and I can't subject you to that. And, for the rest of my life, I'll be buying more books, printing out more articles, making more copies, ecc. Also, I'll have to be writing some articles, traveling for work, publishing at least one book, ecc. I'm surprised there are trees left. Perhaps I should look into a tree-planting program to start replacing some of these. (Are there such programs?)

So, I'm interested in hearing what other suggestions you all have, please, for keeping us alive and cancer-free for at least a little while. (I haven't mentioned lately, but I'm pretty sure that at some point in my life, I'll be told I have cancer and I am beyond terrified of this moment.)

For instance, Poke and Mr Poke are looking into cloth diapers. This is something I wish I would have been more forceful about. Cardo said that if we used cloth diapers, he'd never change a diaper, but, geez, we threw away a lot of plasticky-badness full of baby surprises.

What else have you all to offer me in the way of suggestions?