it's not easy

One of my New Years resolutions for 2008 is to be more green. Hello? What's that? I can practically hear the eyeballs rolling. Lately I've been experiencing a bit of climate change anxiety. And reading this doesn't help. Neither does this.

In the past, I feel like we've made pretty good efforts to be environmentally friendly. Our home recycles what we know can be recycled. In fact, I can't believe how much we recycle. I'd say we put at least six bags of recyclables out every two weeks and there are only three of us. Can I say "recycle" a little bit more???

The other day I was walking Norman and saw garbage out on the curb at one house. The garbage was put out in these almost-clear plastic bags and they didn't make any effort to separate the recyclables. Cans...cereal boxes...more cans... I began to feel all panicky inside. I came embarrassingly close to sifting through their garbage and sorting it out but then Norman barked, "Get a grip Woman -- there's nothing here for me to sniff and I've already claimed this block my property 64 times!"

When we started our hardcore recycling efforts a while back, I admit I thought it was kind of a pain to break down all the cereal boxes, packaging, clean out all the peanut butter jars, etc. But now, it's just second nature and I can't imagine not doing it. So this year, we're going to try to step it up a notch. If it turns out 90 percent of the scientific community is wrong and it is proven that human actions don't have anything to do with the planet, so be it -- I'll actually be relieved. I don't have anything to lose. And if anything, maybe I can help leave the world a little cleaner for my little monkey.

Anyhoo, here's what I'm thinking. In my quest to make the world a cleaner place, whenever I come up with an earth-friendly idea or discover some great green products, I'll let you know. We'll call these Tree-hugger Tips. If I can make even one person start living more green, I'll feel like I've done something. As Ghandi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world, baby!" (Okay, maybe he didn't say the baby part.)

So, I bring you (drum roll, please) hernan-dos first Tree-Hugger Tip:
In the past, I had always used plastic bags from the grocery store to clean up after Norman. I didn't think those bags could be recycled. Then I found out they could if you bring them back to the grocery store. And I discovered these. I've been using them for about three months now and they've changed my life I tell you. They're very lightweight so they don't add a lot of bulk to your pocket. They have holes along the top so you can easily cinch the bag. And they're the perfect size. If you have a dog, run, don't walk and get yourself some poop bags.

UPDATE: This resolution is already starting to suck. We looked into getting some carpet for the upstairs. Turns out the style/color we liked wasn't recycled nor would it probably be recyclable considering it was bathed in Teflon. Ah well. Carpet, shmarpet. We'll keep looking.