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What on Earth Did I Do?
Last Thursday, April 22nd, when I logged in to my computer and checked the Internet, I was reminded that it was Earth Day – “a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment” (Wikipedia).
Well, that got me thinking – have I been doing my bit to promote and care for the environment? Sure, on Earth Day we can make a point of turning off the TV (even though hubby would have a fit) or using less electricity and water – but shouldn’t we be doing this consistently rather than just on one day every year?
I consider myself pretty good when it comes to recycling but what else have I been doing to help protect our wonderful Earth? A friend of mine is obsessed with saving the environment and I really applaud her for it – but she makes a point of flushing her toilet only once a day in the evenings, and I’m sorry but I just can’t do that…I have to draw the line somewhere!
But I have made changes, especially around the house. Instead of doing two loads of laundry (darks in one, whites in the other), I now wash everything together using the cold water cycle. And instead of using my dryer, I hang the laundry – on good days, I hang it all outside and on rainy days I hang it on a specially bought clothes rack in the basement. We used to do that when we were kids and I’d forgotten how wonderfully fresh the clothes smell when they’ve been dried out in the sun – lovely!
Now, I’m absolutely passionate about my bath time, when I get to luxuriate in a tub full of hot water, with my favorite lavender bath salts and a book. But I recently read that a bath uses 150 to 200 liters of water while a shower only uses 30 to 80 liters. So I now take showers most of the time and treat myself to a bath only a couple of times a week. And surprisingly, I find myself enjoying my bath even more than before because it’s now become a real luxury. The only thing I really miss is reading in the bath tub – did you know it’s just not possible to read while showering?!
We have a spring garden right now and it’s absolutely beautiful – but it requires a lot of watering. Well, it rains a lot here so, rather than waste all that water, we recently bought a rain barrel. It’s filling up nicely and, on days when we have sunshine, we can use the rain water from the barrel to water the garden…a simple but effective solution.
So I guess I am becoming more and more conscious of the need to conserve and protect our planet. It’s the only one we have so we need to take care of it and nourish it the way it’s nourished us.
Check out these great websites for ideas on how to go green:
I love this post! Our era is rediscovering rainwater catchment. How cool is that!