Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Time For a Little Change

It seems like I have gotten hooked on making changes lately. Not huge changes... just small ones.

  • Going Green: With all of the "going green" media coverage and Earth Day on Sunday, it got me thinking about how I can help the environment. I also watched the Oprah episode last week on "going green". And whatever Oprah says, I will obediently follow.... haha! So when Tom got home that night, I informed him of some small changes we would be making to help improve our planet:
  • Recycle: Can you believe we have never recycled before? Our apts. even have nice recycling bins by the garbage and I have never put anything in them! So this week I happily took out the garbage and was smiling to myself as I tossed some cardboard and milk cartons into the recycling bins.
  • Energy: We bought some of the Energy Smart Light Bulbs to help save money and energy. We are pretty excited to see if it even makes a small dent in our electric bill. I have also been trying really hard to turn off the lights when I leave a room and to leave the shades open during the day instead of turning lights on.
  • Diapers: We are going to start using cloth diapers..... YEAH RIGHT! I don't think I could ever do that in a million years. If the kids have a stinky diaper, we were wrapping them up in a plastic bag and tossing them in our garbage. So, I decided we should start using the actual "diaper garbage" in the kids' room and then return the Walmart bags to the store... where they recycle them.
  • I have also contemplated buying natural cleaning products. I will have to look into how much they cost. On Oprah they talked about how toxic cleaning products can affect kids who have asthma. Evan is very susceptible to getting asthma because of his premature lung issues.
  • Just a few of the names Tom has been calling me this week: Mother Earth, Mother Nature, Al Gore, Sheryl Crow, and health nut.

  • Organizing: I went to a Relief Society activity a few weeks ago on how to organize your home. I definitely needed the advice and took away a few things that I wanted to try right away. I haven't been totally diligent with these new ideas, but I'm getting better.
  • Wipe out your refrigerator every time you go grocery shopping. Your fridge is usually pretty empty when you go shopping so it's easy to quickly wipe it down. Ever notice how much nicer it looks when there isn't dry food or sticky stuff all over the place?
  • Make your bed every morning right when you wake up. I know, some of you prob. have done this since you were little. But, I had cool parents and I don't remember them ever making me make my bed! Having your bed made just makes the room look nicer... in a very easy way!
  • Never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. Waking up to dirty dishes makes you start the day off in bad mood!


  • Food: This week I've been reading a book I got at the library, "So What Can I Eat?", about how to easily follow the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" or "My Pyramid". I have never really counted calories or even payed too much attention to food groups. So this book is very interesting to me and has got me thinking about what areas of the food pyramid I need improvement in.
  • As some of you know, one of my very fav. things to do now is cook. And even though we have been trying to eat healthy, as Tom mentioned in his last post, we do have our "free days". So I decided this week that I needed to try cooking some very classic foods that I have just never tried before. Yesterday we made steamed artichokes ( is that a classic food?). This weekend I am making homemade cinnamon rolls. And next week I want to try and make fried chicken. I have only been seriously cooking for a little over a year, so I still have a lot to learn! When I think back to when we first got married, I was extremely picky when it came to food and cooking. I have come a long way in things I will try. I used to NEVER use fresh onions, peppers, garlic, mushrooms, or a lot of vegetables. Now I can't imagine NOT using them! We are even starting to use more tomatoes in our recipes!
  • Another thing I have been trying the past couple of months is baking bread every Saturday. I was getting frustrated that I couldn't find a really healthy, cheap, and tasty bread at the store. So I got the idea to make my own! I bought a book on Amazon called "The Breadman's Healthy Bread Book". (the author is originally from Bozeman, MT) It is an awesome book. I use my bread machine so they are super easy to make! So far we have tried 100% Whole Wheat, Apricot Nut, Blueberry Lemon, Honey Banana Whole Wheat, Italian Herb, and Apple Walnut. Almost all of them are 100% whole wheat recipes and extremely healthy! There is nothing like the smell of home baked bread!


  • I wonder what new thing I will want to try next. But, you know how it goes... you get all kinds of ideas in your head and then you don't stick with them for very long! I guess we will see how long I will keep up my new changes.










3 people who like me:

Topher said...

I thought of a few more names Tom could call you:
- The Jolly Green Giant
- Greenpeace
- Granola Girl
- Eco Freako
- Gumby (maybe your dad still has the infamous green sweat pants you could use)

Anonymous said...

Tom better not call Emily "The Jolly Green Giant" or he will be sleeping on the couch.

I tried to "strongly encourage" our kids to make their beds, but finally it is just easier to ignore it and say to yourself, "Pick your battles."

Susan said...

Hey, mom and dad made me make MY bed! Oh, I see...they were just too tired by the 5th kid to enforce the chores. I should be compensated somehow for that.