Graying Shades of going Green

It is a goal in our home to be progressively more "green". We do find though that it is a slower process than we would like. Since our home is funded with only one income for the time being, there are a lot of steps we are not able to make. There are also things that seem a bit over the top for us-at least for now. I like to make mental lists to prove to myself that we do care about our environment, and that we are working towards doing our part to protect our world for our babies and their babies and all the future generations.

Let me share what we have done so far:

1. We compost
2. We have a very large garden
3. We water our garden with a very conservative but effective drip system
4. We use Eco friendly laundry soap (ECO from Costco)
5. Fishdaddy commutes to work in a beater car that gets GREAT gas mileage
6. We recycle almost everything possible (I "sell" my cans and bottles to the local recycle place, and everything from toilet paper rolls to cereal boxes go out in the bin for garbage day)
7. We have unplugged all electrical plugs that are not being used
8. I hang a good portion of my laundry to dry-especially in the summer
9. We have replaced most of our light bulbs with the cfl bulbs
10. We have reduced our lawn watering to once a week

There are more little things like energy conservation and educating the neighbors.

What's next?

1. Replace the seals on the windows
2. Upgrade the kitchen appliances to energy efficient
3. Replace the outside freezer to a newer and more efficient model
4. Replace the Gas Guzzling Truck with something newer and more gas efficient
5. Switch the rest of our cleaning products to green products
6. Begin to buy more organic and locally grown products
7. 100% reusable shopping bags
8. Teach the girls more as the get older about the value of using organic and green products
9. Be less reliant on the car for shopping within walking distance
10. Use no paper towels or napkins

The BIG goals

1. Solar panels
2. Hybrid commuter for Fishdaddy

So this is where we are at...little by little I hope we can get closer to our goals. Of course, it is sadly expensive to be a consumer with an environmental conscience. We will start with the smaller goals and see if they cant lead us to the ones that cost more to establish. Any suggestions?