So how did we all do last month? Did we make the Earth a little greener?

This month was, I must admit, an easy month for us. I am a bit obsessed with the whole environment anyhow, so we upped the ante a little bit and I am pleased with our results.

We continued to recycle everything we possibly can. Our center is actually pretty diverse in what it will accept, everything from batteries, any type of plastic to styrofoam, so almost any form of packaging goes in the recycle bin around here. Here is a typical trip each week to the center –

I love that Emma has really gotten into the whole “recycleables center” too. She loves to help me sort the plastics by numbers, which is a good exercise for her. She also is starting to put it all together – that helping recycle, helps the Earth, helps the animals, etc. We saw the movie Arctic Tale a while ago, but she still mentions it every time we go to the center. “We are helping the polar bears and the walruses, right Mommy?” If nothing else, that alone is a very positive effect from this whole thing.

And our trash bin is nearly empty every week! With no more diapers and all of the recycling, we have usually only one bag of trash. One week we forgot to put the bin out and it was only half-full the next week when I wheeled it out to the curb. That alone made me feel pretty successful.

I also worked on ridding the house of anything that may have toxins and/or phosphates. This I was only moderately successful at. I found a lot of the Method stuff at Target to be good and I like the Orange stuff, too. I really dislike the Seventh Generation All-Purpose Cleaner. If it doesn’t have anything “bad” for us and the environment in it – why does it leave a sticky, icky feeling to everything? This challenge will be one that I’m working on for awhile, I think. And no, still haven’t found a laundry detergent I like better than Tide. Will keep you updated on that one. Let me know what you are using and if you have found it to work.

And finally, I am trying to buy organic food as much as I can. My challenge to myself is to shop the farmer’s market more often to buy in-season fruits and vegetables. It is difficult when you have girls that really love blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries, which all have definite seasons. And I’m not crazy about frozen fruit generally. But not only is the lack of pesticides good for the environment, I think the biggest benefit is that they aren’t going into our bodies. So we all win…well, I guess our bank account doesn’t. It is definitely more expensive. Which brings up the whole milk – growth hormone debate. I guess that really is a discussion for another day. Remind me sometime, and we can talk about that.

So onto the challenge for next month, er….this month! We are already 2 days down, I know, but this month’s is a really good one again. Help someone who is not prepared for Thanksgiving. Whether it is dumping some canned goods into the food bank barrel, donating a turkey dinner to a needy family, sending Thanksgiving love and goodies to the troops, or inviting someone to your dinner that might not have a place to go. Anything goes as long as it is helping someone have a happier holiday.

I have a feeling most of you already do something similar to this anyhow. But let’s just take a moment and remember all of the things we have to be thankful for, and then pass a little on.