Wednesday, April 23, 2008

cami kaos gets friendly...

not friendly with you though...

friendly with the Earth.

This big round ball we're all living on, rolling it's way through space and time could use some help... Right?

Doesn't matter to me if you believe in global warming or not, the fact of the matter is we need to take better care of ourselves and the place we live.

The home in which we live. The street on which we live. The neighborhood in which we live. The city in which we live. The county in which we live. The state in which we live. The country in which we live. The continent on which we live. The hemisphere in which we live. The world in which we live. The universe in which we live.

Wow, it sounds like I'm getting ready to run out and change the world doesn't it?

I'm not. That was a whole lot of big talk... I'm a little things person.

But if I do my little things to help, and you do your little things to help and so does he, and she and that gender ambiguous person over there... if they do their little things to help... all those little things can add up to a few big things... and that babies can make a difference.

Can't it?

Hell I don't know. I'm not an environmental scientist...

But I do know when I take better care of myself I feel better... so I'd like to think the same goes for the earth.

With that in mind here are a few little things I do for the environment...

-I walk everywhere I can. I don't drive, at all, so I guess that isn't really hard for me, but I like that I'm walker. I like that I can use my own two feet to get where I am going and that I've taught my daughter that she can be a walker too. That we don't need to take the car to go get groceries 12 blocks away.

-Speaking of groceries, I use canvas bags instead of plastic. For a while I used a backpack but I found that the food got squished and skewed... then my mom painted two canvas bags for me. I use those or a black canvas tech bag for my grocery carrying needs.

-I recycle. I recycle bottles, cans, plastics of every kind I can, cardboard and plain paper.

-We have a very fuel efficient car. I don't drive it mind you, but Mr. Kaos does.

-Every Spring I plant a vegetable and herb garden. It's getting a little bigger each year. This year I am hoping to incorporate an additional 7x10 foot area. The food that's grown here is either eaten or given to friends and neighbors. I don't know exactly how that helps the environment... but I feel good about it so I included it.


Eh... that doesn't sound like a whole lot... so I'll share with you some of the more environmentally friendly things I hope to implement soon.

-When we do a large grocery shopping trip with the car (to Trader Joe's or Costco) I often forget the canvas bags. We get paper bags and use them for garbage bags because they'll break down, or reuse them when we go to the store, but that's a habit I'd like to get out of. I'm going to buy 8 more reusable grocery bags to be kept in the car and used for these trips.

-I've been wanting to set up an efficient composting area for a while now. Last year I even had my sister in law's father come over and give me some helpful tips on the subject. It's in my plans for the new garden layout.

-Use only cloth napkins at the house.

That still really doesn't sound like so much does it? Not at all babies... But like I said, it's all of us doing little things.

21 comments:

sybil law said...

Composts ROCK.
Also, you do a lot. And probably those fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's), too. Cause we do, and we do all that other shit, too. It feels good to do that stuff. I actually love recycling. I think it's the OCD on me that likes things separate and organized.
:)
Me go night night now.

Martin Declan Kelly said...

food you grow yourself helps the environment in lots of ways.

1. no roads need to be laid, trucks built, or fuel burned to get it to you

2. no petrochemical fertilizers are necessarily used to grow it

3. no natural habitat cleared for space to plant it

and since you can't grow cows very easily, and are therefore eating plants, that's a much more efficient use of plant calories than most of them are put to

so, see? you rock

xo

m

mielikki said...

I am a big fan of the reusable grocery bags. I keep some in my car at all times for when I shop.
Green with envy over the veggie garden...

stephanie said...

Great stuff, you. I'm onto the bags thing (except when we need them for the garbage, too - we are kinda twinnish); recycling is one of my manias; I really want to have a composter and little garden (Stu laughs until he cries, but I'm serious!); and if we were a bit more urban-oriented, I would drive less. Singapore & London have amazing transit systems that I used for everything - I wish we could get something better going here.

Lia Hollander said...

Don't forget to sign up to recycle yourself (but not in someone's compost pile).

Evil Witch said...

I think it is alot!, it's also totally awesome. I hope to soon get enough of those canvas bags to do away with grocery store bags altogether. Also, just so you are aware...for an inexpensive price you can get a really nice composter at any farm and garden supply store (I think you can do that in P-town) that you can put all your composting in and you turn it once a day, I so want one. My Mother-in-Law does it the old fashioned way with the box and the turning by hand, that's some hard work right there but she makes the best dirt ever!

sybil law said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
CamiKaos said...

missburrows: I already have.

stephanie: I heart you!

mie: the grocery bags work so while with my neighborhood lifestyle... but we need to get them in the car for Mr. Kaos too.

martin: How do you manage to make me feel even better about myself. I love you. I freaking miss you!

sybil: we do use the energy saving bulbs. Also when we remodeled our bathroom our water bill was cut down considerably. Saving us money and conserving water. When we finish the backyard stuff I want a special stand for garbage and recycling so I can keep it more organized... I lust after that.

denise: Maybe I will look at one... though I am planning on building several raised beds for this year and I thought I would use one of those and then rotate which one I use yearly.

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Nicely put!

Jo Beaufoix said...

This is fabulous sweetie. I'm planning on getting a compost bin soon and doing more in the garden. There's an area we want to clear and then grow some veggies in. Exciting. :D

Anonymous said...

You do more than the average person and that is fantastic. I just bought about 10 of the canvas bags...I LOVE them...they stand up with the groceries in them, not fall over and spill everything like the unfriendly plastic bags! We use (and have for a while) the super long lasting light bulbs. We also have lights on timers as well as our thernostat...goes off and on ONLY when needed. I tried composting a while back but the smell KILLED me. I think I must have been doing something wrong.

Anyhow, keep up the excellent modeling you are doing for all of us!

Anonymous said...

Oh, yes, one more thing....
Thank you so much for visiting and commenting on my blog. It seems that Lilacspecs and I both have our goals and certainly will enjoy your support!

Anonymous said...

I thought you were inviting us all over to share your Colbert ice cream...

-Stu

CamiKaos said...

stu: Hmmm.... share my Colbert's Americone Dream? Maybe....

hotmamamia: I'll be by to see how you're doing! I'm glad you came by.

jo: is that what you were planting with the girls?

kimberly: thank you.

Anonymous said...

I'll bring pork rinds....

-Stu

CamiKaos said...

stu: You drive a hard bargain... I love me some pork rinds.

MarĂ­a said...

Walk? ME? Wha'??

I'd take a golf cart to stroller fit if they let me.

flutter said...

You'll let me knit you a sturdy, reusable grocery bag, made from non reusable grocery bags, won't you?

won't you?

Summer said...

I used to love to walk everywhere when we lived downtown, but then my husband decided it would be a good thing if we moved to suburbia. Our first couple of weeks here, I got lost in a subdivision where all the houses looked the same, and even Torin (who was 3 at the time) started to get worried about the eerie monotony of it. Talk about creepy.

I also get evil looks from my over-pesticide using, lawn-and-landscape obsessed, early retiree neighbors about random sunflower placement and veggie gardens complete with big, bushy, rather unsightly corn stalks. Good thing I'm not a lesser woman... I'd be tempted to run right out and buy a garden hose hidey thing to pacify them!

Thus it is my new theory that suburbia is so not good for the Earth. :)

CamiKaos said...

Summer: I agree, Suburbia isn't good for the earth... I base this on having lived there when K was born and dealing with much of the same stuff you just mentioned... plus there were these really evil mommy cliques that wouldn't let K play with there kids because they didn't want to get to know me. Fricken suburbia... not for me.

Flutter: I think I answered this thoroughly enough in email, but for those of you who aren't Flutter I said HELL YES!

TIM: I love walking places... It makes me sick right?

holly said...

what? i know i put a comment here! i can't remember what it was, but i remember it was something relevant. *that's* something. i never do something relevant. even now! i'm not doing *anything* relevant! crap!
okay. i'm going to turn the light off earlier than normal, just for earth day. which was yesterday. crap