Earth Day Report Card

Last year in May I blogged about our commitment to becoming a more environmentally conscience family. I think it's a good time to see how we have done in almost a year.

This is last year's checklist of what accomplishments:

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. Jose 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

This year we can add:

1. We are using green cleaners throughout the house. I use Bon Ami instead of Comet and other abrasive scrubbers. I use a combination of vinegar and rubbing alcohol for the glass and mirrors. I use the Green Works line and Method as well. We now can add Kirkland's Green Dishwasher Detergent too.
2. Our garden is organic and we rarely fertilize our lawn.
3. We recently found an AWESOME source for horse poop-to use in our compost and in our garden.
4. This year we have purchased so many more organic foods. Since Bri has shown food dye allergies, our choices are so much more limited, thus forcing us to look for better options. This tends to apply to the whole family.
5. I almost always bring my reusable bags to my shopping trips. On the off day that I forget I try to minimize my bag usage and ask the bagger to "over-pack" the bags and get as few as possible.
6. As often as possible I do my shopping at Costco and get more at once, so I drive less and my purchases are in larger quantities-making less packaging.
7. We used less AC less summer and less heat during the winter. Our bill showed we did decrease our gas usage (but not the electricity...it's a fine line I tell ya!)
8. I am active in a program with TerraCycle to recycle Capri Sun and other juice pouches. I also have shared this program with dozens of my friends and some have taken up the cause as well.
9. My 4 year old daughter can now point out items she sees discarded on our walks that should be recycled. She also has become a light and water sentry-making sure excessive usage is not happening.
10. Our household is becoming known for re-purposing "garbage" into new and innovative items. I have been making homemade toys utilizing odds and ends that would have been in our landfills. Jose has made THE MOST AMAZING barbecue trailer that will be a mean-ass tool for competitions and mass cookings. It comes from an old compressor tank. Almost all of it comes from various scrap metals and even the heat shield from our old oven we had replaced.

I feel pretty successful in our attempt. I hope that next year we can say that more of our purchases will be organic and "green" from the grocery store (the cost is so prohibitive!). I also hope that we can continue to educate our friends and family in the quest. Any of our next major appliance purchases (the dishwasher and clothes washer are both limping along) will be energy savers. I try to not succumb to the technology temptations and keeping up with the Joneses. As much as I would love to upgrade the computer, the camera, the cell phone, the radios etc I will not until these items NEED to be changed out. The e-waste problem is sickening to me, and I really try to not be a big part of it.

So that's my report in...any ideas are welcome! What are you doing that I am not? What can I do to move forward in my quest?