Happy Earth Day!

Many of you already know that we Gardners have made a conscious effort over the past year or so to be more Green. And so in honor of Earth Day on April 22 we wanted to share some of the things we've done to be more earth friendly this year.

We hope that by sharing our ideas, others might see one or two that they could adopt or investigate further as well. We also know that many of you are doing things to be earth friendly too, so if you see something we don't have listed and should try- please let us know. So, without further adieu, here is how we're being Green this year:

1. Short commutes - While most of us are locked into our commute, occasionally we do have job changes and for one reason or another, have to move. Luckily last year when I changed jobs, I was able to reduce my commute. So now we live within a few miles of both our workplaces.
2. Fuel efficient cars - While we don't have a hybrid, we both drive smaller fuel efficient cars. This is nice when gas prices are so high, even if small cars are inconvenient for hauling things sometimes. We've been able to make due with borrowing vehicles from friends, or renting them for an afternoon when necessary. We hope for a bigger vehicle someday, but our goal is not to reduce our current fuel economy when we do.
3. Energy efficient light bulbs - The sunlight ones we've tried looked a little blue, so those ended up in the garage. But indoor light ones work well for "regular looking" light around the home. One tip though - they don't work well on fixtures on a dimmer switch because they tend to hum.
4. Canvas grocery bags - Thank you Smiths! For DG's birthday last year they got us two really large canvas bags from Lands End for grocery shopping. These are great because they sit in the grocery cart and stand open so they're easy to load.
5. Low flow shower head and toilet fixtures. We just picked up a kit from HD for about $15 and it was really easy to install.
6. Drought friendly plants. We've done a few things to spruce up the yard, and I was able to find great information from UGA's websites to instruct us about the best plants to buy that will withstand the drought.
7. Participation in our local power company's green energy programs. We actually pay a little more to get our power from a renewable source in our county. The energy comes from methane gas captured from a local land fill. To offset that one, we also signed up to let the power company pay us to install a remote control on our AC unit. During peak summer hours during the day (while we're working) they will have the ability to shut our unit down for 2 hours. Each time they do they pay us a fee. Since we're not home often during the day and it's a relatively short period, this one shouldn't be a problem for us. We'll see how it goes this summer.
8. Recycle water. Using grey water is not usually permitted for health reasons, but during the summer when Atlanta was under a complete watering ban it was the only allowed means of watering plants. So we gathered water in a bucket while the shower was warming up to keep our plants alive.
9. Recycling - Our county offers recycling for an initial $30 fee for the carton and special blue bags. We have to separate bottles, cans, and glass from paper - but that's about it. Almost everything can be recycled these days!
10. Planting a garden. That's right - they don't call us Gardners for nothing! This week our newest green adventure was planting a vegetable garden. We will water it with recycled water in milk jugs that are buried between the plants with only the opening above ground. By putting pin holes in the jug before you bury it, it allows the water to seep slowly and water the plants.

That's about it. Please share your ideas if you have one for us, it's kind of become a hobby! Happy Earth Day!