Breaking Old Habits

It's hard to break old habits. Going green can be overwhelming. Growing up in Oregon, it was ingrained in me to recycle or reuse everything. It's easy to be green in Oregon. There are recycling bins on every corner downtown (well, not every corner, but it sure seems like it). Living in Atlanta, where it seems the city doesn't really want you to recycle is a bit frustrating. It is a commitment you have to make and then you need to set up life to make it happen.

To start: I hate that I can't recycle cardboard with my trash/recycling company. They won't take it. And they say they won't take yellow pages books either. I put those in anyway. (And why are those still published and distributed? What a waste...does anyone even use them anymore? Why wouldn't you just use the internet? Please stop sending them to me.)

I have been traveling a lot recently. Why is it that the Atlanta airport does not have recycling bins next to the trash bins? It could be so easy. Big blue bins, one for plastic and one for newspapers. So easy and given that it's the busiest airport, it could make a huge impact. I doubt anyone is sorting out the trash. Just let us the people sort it.

I am trying to conserve water...just because. I started when we had a severe drought. Now I just do it to save water. My water bill keeps going up. I do a comparison every month, this month compared to same month last year and also to the previous month. We are still using more water. I don't get it.

The one thing I am consistent with is bringing my own shopping bags for groceries. This makes me feel so good that I am not using plastic bags. I wish everyone would see how easy it is to use your own bags and to know what a difference you would be making by using them. I think Seattle has the right idea -- they might (if people vote yes to this) charge 10 cents for every plastic bag you use when shopping. Sometimes the people putting your groceries in bags put ONE item in a bag. How ridiculous is that? This 10 cent charge would never happen in Atlanta. So, here I am, the bag lady, always showing up with my zillion bags for my groceries. It's the one thing that I know I CAN do that makes an immediate impact.