…and it’s a good thing too, because I’m a little late with this. I was planning to post a little review of my new fave (well, one of twenty faves - I’ll tell you about the rest eventually!) book from Harper Collins, Gorgeously Green, on Earth Day, but forgot until almost midnight. (Great minds think alike.)

On Tuesday night I was watching Oprah on one of our HD channels where it’s on at 11:05 pm (weird time? I think so.) and she had Sophie Uliano, Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock on. I’m not an Oprah fan like I used to be. I find her rather annoying a lot of the time, but she occasionally has shows I really like that I can catch a few minutes of and this was one of them.

Why was I up that late when I have an amazing baby who sleeps from 10:30 pm until morning? I was finishing the exceedingly long two year letter and also realized the 21 month letter was still in point form so I had to finish that too, and get it ready for scrapbooking.

Anyhoo…

Gorgeously Green is a book written by an environmentalist and mom from Hollywood that details an easy 8 step program toward living green. It’s absolutely brimming with tips for a more earth friendly life. Some are easier than others, but it’s a very non-judgmental book in that she recognizes that nobody can do everything and it’s better to do something than nothing.

We really try around here to be as green as possible, particularly since having children, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.

One of my favourite quotes reminds me of my responsibility to Mother Earth, if for no other reason than to save it for my children and their children and their children after them.

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
Native American Proverb

Some things I do well:

+I clean with only vinegar and baking soda. Occasionally I use Dr. Bronner’s organic soaps, but that’s it. (Well, I also have Nature’s Miracle for the damn dog pee.)
+Instead of disposing of my old cleaners in the trash or using them in my own home, I gave them away on Freecycle to someone who would have used that stuff anyway. (I bet you have a local group too - click and see!).
+I give tons of stuff away on Freecycle, actually. It keeps it out of the landfills and I don’t have to bother listing it to sell.
+I wash my laundry with Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap. It works awesome, smells great and is great for the ocean! I also have a few other natural ones around the house that I’ve picked up to try when I run out of my giant Tide that I’ve had for a year.
+I use green light bulbs.
+I recycle everything I can. Our city’s program sucks so I can’t recycle Styrofoam or plastics that don’t have numbers on them, but I do my best.
+We’ve always gardened, until this year. We now have a teeny tiny yard so this year I’m going to be doing pot gardening just like when I was in an apartment, and growing strawberries beside my house.
-We don’t use any chemicals in our yard. We fertilize organically and do everything else with elbow grease.
+We use all natural and/or organic lotions, shampoos & conditioners and as many body type things as we can find locally.
+We eat a lot of organic food - especially the important ones. ALL baby food (mostly homemade from organic produce), 90% of dairy, as much meat as we can find, snacks and produce. I carry this guide or this guide or this guide in my wallet to help me shop smart. I am often swayed by Costco berries, grapes and pears, but I do my best.

Some things I need to work on:

-Dishwasher detergent. I still use the terrible phosphate filled stuff. I’ve tried 7th Generation and Nature Clean and neither of them get my dishes clean. I’m going to try homemade next but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
-I don’t compost. I think this is just a combination of laziness and a kid who would be digging in it before it had a chance to compost. Some day I hope to change this one.
-I use too much paper towel. This is one I can definitely change. I’m going to put “cut rags” on my to-do list for this week.
-Since having a second child, I suck at cloth diapering because I’m rarely home and too lazy to carry around a pee soaked diaper. Hey, nobody’s perfect.
-I’m sure there’s lots more!

I need to re-read this book and make myself a list of goals. Another thing to add to my to-do list! I highly recommend this book if you’re interested in greening up your life. Please do. Our kids will thank you.

While you’re buying Gorgeously Green, pick this one up for the kids - it’s fabulous too!