Monday, October 15, 2007

It's the little things that mean so much

The challenge: Write about the environment for Blog Action Day.

We do make a concerted effort to lessen our environmental footprint chez Rose, but it isn't something that requires a great deal of thought, effort, or even sacrifice anymore.

Let me take you through my morning so far:

I made the coffee at about 0545 when I got up to let the dog out. I was still pretty tired, so I just went back to bed for two more decadent hours. The java was still hot because our coffee maker has a thermal carafe, which preserves the temperature and flavour without using more electricity. It also came with a permanent filter, so no trees were harmed in the production of my caffeine fix. The grounds are composted, and will nourish my tomato and cucumber plants next year.

That coffee maker has probably saved us hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over the past few years. It makes a very fine cup of joe, so we no longer purchase coffee when we are out and about, nor do we use styrofoam or paper cups.

For breakfast, I made oatmeal. My mother will be pleased to know that we do not use that instant, just-add-boiling-water chemically adulterated crap. In the same amount of time that it would take to boil the kettle, a pot of wholesome porridge can be made. It costs just a fraction of what the aforementioned "fast" product costs, and there are no envelopes to throw away.

While we were eating, the laundry was chugging away in the HE washing machine. The clothes are hanging on the line now, of course, thus reducing our residential electricity use by 5 to 10%.

Homeschooling commenced with reading. Both books were ordered from Amazon and delivered by those big brown trucks, whose parent company strives to reduce its environmental footprint. I think that Amazon could probably do a better job in reducing its packaging, but I promise that I recycle all of those materials.

So, that's the morning wrap-up. Saving electricity, saving trees, saving money .. it's all good!

3 comments:

Jenny said...

Well, I guess I contribute by not drinking coffee at all. LOL! There, no electricity used, no filters.

(all in jest, my dear! I know so many people that need their morning coffee. I usually have a coke in the morning, which is probably worse than coffee both in what it contains and what it takes to make it and the can. But, I refrained this morning from having anything but a glass of water)

Anonymous said...

When you have a moment, drop me a line at kurthyn@yahoo.com

I'd like to share some info that few people know is taking place to clean our environment.

Anonymous said...

Way to go, Rose!!!

Keep up the good work at Chez Rose!!

You are an inspiration. I will catch up to you someday...