When I first started thinking about “going green” I read a couple of things that meant alot to me (so much so that I wrote them in my day planner and I carry them around with me to serve as a reminder that even the little things count). These words made me feel a whole lot less guilty about not being able to just do a complete 180 on my lifestyle. Sloan Barnett wrote in her book, Green Goes With Everything: “Look, I don’t live in a log cabin. I don’t bake my own bread. I wear leather shoes like everyone else. I’m normal. I’m you. And I’m far from perfect when it comes to being green. I’m different shades of green, let’s say–some days kelly, some days hunter, some days a selfish lime. But I’m trying, and I think there’s a lot of value–practical value for you and your family–in trying too.” And this (sadly, I am not sure who said/wrote it): “Going green doesn’t have to mean single-handedly saving the Earth. Instead, it can be just reading a label, thinking a little, and making new choices.”
A choice I recently made was signing up for the Campaign Earth Challenge- - adopt one eco-friendly practice for 30 days. These are activities that supposedly every “average Joe [or in my case Jane] can relate to.” Reduce junk mail by canceling catalog subscriptions (in this age of the internet we all shop online anyway). Shop at a farmers’ market or buy directly from local farmers (something I already love to do). Ride the bus (um, no comment). And use CFLs(my husband is SO all over this. . .another trip to Home Depot). The Challenge’s creator, Sarah Kasprzak Lachance says “the idea is that by the end of the month, each activity will become habit. After all, who would ask to be put back on junk-mail lists?”
So let’s talk about the Campaign Earth challenge. I take things pretty seriously when I sign my name to them as you are asked to do on the Campaign Earth website to accept the challenge. So. . .cue the MI 1, 2, and 3 music please. . .the first mission if I chose to accept it is to call Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Serena & Lily, Horchow, Land of Nod, Tea, etc., etc., etc. (because sister gets a LOT of catalogs!!) and tell them to please stop sending their catalogs to me in the mail. This really breaks my heart. From a young age I have loved two things. . .getting mail and shopping. Catalogs combine the two in perfect harmony! Sniff, sniff. . .but, alas, I have accepted my mission and “signed” on the virtual line. So I begin to gather the catalogs as they arrive in the mail and set aside just 10 minutes each day to call these companies and request to be removed from their mailing list. With each conversation I feel compelled to tell the representative that I will DEFINITELY still be buying from them so don’t do anything crazy like delete my customer number!!
I have called 25 companies (Yes, Schmoops, 25 and I’m not done. . .and 25 catalogs doesn’t necessarily mean that I have ordered from all of them. . .okay, so I have. . .you knew this when you married me, right?) and asked to be removed from their mailing lists. It is bittersweet, but I know it is a positive step down the Green Brick Road!
~KW
