PrissyCook

We have the capacity to make change. My little sister’s favorite saying is from Ghandi; “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Last year, I decided to integrate a theme into my blog on ways I can reduce, reuse recycle. It was last year at this time that I spent a week looking at big and little changes I could incorporate into my life. It was in my Tread Lightly on Earth blog series One, Two, Three, Four and Five that I really began to study my daily habits and see where I could make changes.

And that journey has brought me a lot of really neat experiences. I rode the city bus to work once a week for a few months, I carpooled in between those bus rides and I’ve been riding my bike to the grocery store. There have been times that I was annoyed by this little journey. Most notably in the kitchen. The light bulbs in my kitchen have been switched to florescent bulbs. Ugh. It takes them a few minutes to light all the way to their full brightness and forget doing any food photography at night. Everything turns out with a yellow shade. But for me it’s so important that I make the changes I can in my life, because let’s be honest, there are some things that I can’t change as easily.

It’s not realistic for me to get a new car, my parents live 20 hours away so I fly home to see them and I love to bake and the oven is really an energy hog. Today my friend shared a link with me to TED TV. Today I watched this new A Greener Future video:

So, what I have to report on this past year is that I think I’m still doing a pretty good job keeping up with my personal green pledge. This year, I’m hoping to add a few more eco-friendly habits to my everyday life:

• Taking my own canvas bags to the mall. I’ve done this a few times already and it’s a little odd asking the girl at the undies store to not wrap your items in tissue paper and that you’ll just put them in your bag. But, OMG, it’s so nice to get home and not have any trash to contend with.

• Packing my lunch. I’ve been doing a really great job of this since my grandmother got me a super cool lunch bag. And, I’ve picked up a new pet hobby; Bento boxes! The biggest benefit I’ve had since packing my lunch more is that I’m not getting those after lunch slumps as much.

For lunch, I try to find fresh local produce. Watermelons are just coming into season and these were grown in nearby Mexico. I’m mixing them with freshly chopped basil and a little sea salt.

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