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Marriage Actually - An honest look at marriage

Greenhouse

by Kerri on April 13th, 2008

Okay, we don’t have a totally Green House here at the Aldrich Homestead, but Tree Hugging Family’s countdown to Earth Day has me thinking a bit about our home.

While no one would accuse Bald Man and me of being granola, we have made quite a few changes around our home to try and have a less horrible impact on the Earth! I thought I’d share a few things that we’ve changed around our house in the last year or so:

  • Started a vegetable garden (using no pesticides)
  • Started a compost pile for the vegetable garden
  • Switched to mostly energy-efficient lightbulbs
  • Purchased reusable grocery bags and use them everywhere!
  • Planted a tree in the front yard.
  • Hang-dry the clothes. (Okay, that was because the dryer broke, but still. :P )
  • Purchasing some more earth-friendly cleaners
  • Making more bread on my own (less plastic bags around)
  • Purchasing more foods from the local street market (organic foods, no pesticides)
  • More diligent about recycling everything possible (and the kids love to help!)
  • Mow less (that was Bald Man’s contribution, much to the neighbor’s dismay :P)
  • Driving less (Not intentionally driving less, but we seem to be doing it)
  • Buying less in general
  • Not showering as often (also Bald Man’s. He’s in a silly mood tonight.)

    • So, we’re clearly not the eco-friendly poster-children yet, but we’re enjoying the changes that we’re making together, and excited to teach the kids as we learn. And while the changes that we’ve made aren’t any that have hugely changed our life, they were things that we’ve had to agree to (some really effect the budget) and choose to do together.


    Are there big changes that you’ve had to make together over the course of your relationship? Have they been easy or hard?

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    POSTED IN: General, Good Stuff About Marriage

    10 opinions for Greenhouse

    • Peggy
      Apr 13, 2008 at 11:32 pm

      Thanks for the link. Green as a couple is a very interesting topic. Thankfully, my husband is very supportive of my green efforts.

    • Jennifer
      Apr 14, 2008 at 12:06 am

      Actually you guys are not doing bad at all - lots of tiny green steps add up to a nice fatty impact on our planet. I’d say you’re doing much better than most families I know, even if you came about doing some of these green things by chance. Maybe keep doing them. I.E why fix the dryer :)

      Thanks for the link.

    • Maria
      Apr 14, 2008 at 10:28 am

      I like to say that we are granola– just not crunchy granola. At least not yet… LOL!

    • Kerri
      Apr 14, 2008 at 9:20 pm

      Peggy: Absolutely. :) I think it would be hard to be in a household where one didn’t support the other’s eco-friendly efforts. We’ve kinda started this together and tend to spur each other on, which is cool.

      Jennifer: We’ll most likely end up buying a dryer, if only because I’m not ahead of the game enough to have the right ballet leotards and soccer jerseys ready when needed!!! But I do think we’ll use the dryer a lot less than ever before. :)

      Maria: Maybe we’re granola with a few nuts thrown in. :P

    • Ashey
      Apr 15, 2008 at 8:14 am

      I saw an Oprah show a long time ago where they discussed how big of an impact it would have if we all did little things different. I don’t know if we’re going to go out and purchase solar panels or anything - but we have been trying really hard to turn out lights - switch bulbs - not waste water, etc.

      We also want a garden this year, but to be honest, it has more to do with the rising cost of groceries than it does being green..

      Um, maybe you could say we’re one of those quaker granola bars with the choc. chips ;)

    • Kerri
      Apr 16, 2008 at 9:23 pm

      Ashley: LOL@ granola bars with chocolate chips! :D Yeah, I remember something about just everyone changing out one lightbulb equaling millions of cars off the road in a year or something. Little changes add up!!

    • For Your Friday Surfing Enjoyment… | Marriage Diva
      Apr 18, 2008 at 8:19 am

      […] Greenhouse - Over at Marriage Actually, Bald Man talked about going green and in honor of Earth Day on April 22, I wanted to remind everyone to do their part! […]

    • JHS
      Apr 20, 2008 at 3:31 pm

      Thanks for participating in this week’s Carnival of Family Life hosted at Vanilla Joy. The Carnival will be live tomorrow, Monday, April 21, 2008, so stop by and check out all of the other wonderful submissions!

    • Carnival of Family Life April 21st 2008 Edition
      Apr 21, 2008 at 9:36 am

      […] Aldrich presents Greenhouse posted at […]

    • Bald Man
      Apr 21, 2008 at 8:31 pm

      “If it’s yellow, let it mellow”

      I still can’t get Kerri to go along with that one… though the kids seem to find it natural. :p

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