Almost Famous! & working towards less waste

Well, I'm nearly famous! I wrote a blog entry for Canadian Living's Online site - their green blog - and they will be printing it tomorrow! How exciting! So if you want to know about my dirty little secret - you need to check it out

http://www.canadianliving.com/blogs/category/green-living-blog/

It will be published on Sunday April 27th.

It is a beautiful day here in Southwestern British Columbia. Perfect for being outdoors. I've got the windows open (Mother Nature is the best air freshener!) and the blinds up (the sun is warming the floors and making the plants happy)

On my patio, I have a little pond - it's really a giant orange bucket with some goldfish, some plants and a pump. My fish have outgrown the container and I have decided it's time to let them go. One of them, Fred, has been with me for more than 8 years so its a tough decision. However, a friend of mine has a big pond, net covered (so the birds and raccoons can't get in) and I think they will have a much better life there. I'll miss them as they've gotten quite tame and come up to check you out when you go outside. But it seems to me they deserve a better life than a bucket. When they are gone I'll make sure to share the pond plants with one of my friends with ponds, and the big bucket will be cleaned well and can be repurposed to hold outdoor toys, or passed along to someone else. The water I'll hang on to and over the next week use it water my plants. It's the perfect fertilizer mix. So not one thing will go to waste.

We are accumulating too much food again. I think that perhaps I will have to skip the odd week of delivery to ensure we don't waste food. I've been thinking about the world situation and the price of grains, etc. I we just used everything we buy - and didn't buy more than we need, I bet that those of us in developed countries could certainly make a difference in how much is available. Now when I throw away bread or rice or flour that isn't used, I'll be thinking about how someone else in world could have used this. I think that it's a good goal - only take what you can use. It's earth friendly - and it's definately good for those in need if we don't hog more than our fair share.

It won't be easy, but I'm going to work toward that goal and try to plan better. I'm used to just getting what looks good and I don't always put much thought into how I'll use it up. This is going to be something I'll work on. More for others, less for waste, just enough for us. I think that's a win/win situation, don't you?