No more little juicies and milk containers

A week has gone by in this new America. Last week I came up with a mission of my blog: inspire others by example and giving them good reasons to make environmentally friendly choices. Because it matters. Occasionally I get overwhelmed by all the things I should be doing but can't seem to get around yet. Then I remind myself that it's better to do one little thing at a time than to give up and not act at all. So here is another small change that was fairly easy and left me uplifted about the possibilities.

If you have kids and you pack their lunches and various snacks you are likely to find yourself buying small containers of milk or juices. What happens next is that the kids ask for juicy at home and it's tempting to get out the small container because it's more spillproof than a cup, once it's gone it's easier to argue, that they can only have one. Before you know it, you are throwing out 6 juice and milk containers a day. Plus the small packaged milk that needs no refrigeration is ridiculously expensive compared to the gallon price (for 6.75 ounces you pay between 3-6 times(!) as much depending on what kind of gallon milk you buy), not to mention that the sugared up chocolate, vanilla or strawberry versions are actually cheaper than the pure white stuff.

Last week I finally came across a set of reusable insulated plastic drinking containers, supposedly the kind that doesn't leak any chemicals into your liquid with a great new spillproof concept. I will just poor milk from the gallon jar and put an ice-cube in it for keeping it cool. This should do since it's usually only about three hours without refrigeration. For the juice I am able now to stretch a recycable half gallon with water, which makes the juice last longer and gets less sugar into the kids. With the above mentioned savings the drinking containers will pay for themselves in no time. Now I just need to teach the kids responsibility to make sure to pack them up. Hey, that's actually a good thing, too.

That's another expample of a little thing that matters. Instead of producing all the trash I will be able to recycle the big containers. Now if 50 000 parents did the same, can you imagine? And what I really like about it: It's a green choice that is actually cheaper than its alternative. That's the way it should be anyway. Unfortunately all too often the cost of damage to the environment is not factored into our prices and that is one of the biggest obstacles for many to choose green over dirty. I'll keep looking for those easy to do changes that actually save you money and share them with you.

Because it matters. Let's matter together. Yes, we can.

How the elections kicked my b.. to start blogging

It's a historic day. I am moved to write. New Pesident Barack Obama just kicked my moral bud to get to work and start this blog. There he is, walking fearlessly along the crowded streets of Washington DC, waving to his cheering supporters. The speech was beautiful, restored hope and lifted my spirit to believe that what each and every one of us do, matters. So here I am trying to commit to my cause: inspiring others by example and giving them good reasons to make environmentally friendly choices.

Yes, those lightbulbs matter. Yes, taking the bike instead of the car when you can, matters, using recycled paper matters. Thinking first matters. No, I am no green saint - yet. I still commit environmental sins, I am working on expanding my green ways though. I know the obstacles and the resistance when it comes to changing habits. Yet I see how much a difference it makes what happens around us. Here is an example. I grew up in Germany witnessing the rise of the green movement. Even without the green party people had green habits such as bringing their own bag or basket to the grocery store and dropping off glass at remote recycle containers before detailed recycling became the standard for every household. When I moved to the US my good habit of bringing my own bag quickly gave way to the convenience of having my groceries bagged. I am happy to see that the bring-your-own-reusable bag-movement is really becoming mainstream in the US. I have readapted to an old habit. I enjoy seeing less bags around my house and I try to encourage the cashiers to pay attention to people having their own bag instead of just starting to bag.

The bag is one of those easy examples how the simple things can make such a difference. According to gogreen-bags.com:

• The average family of 4 accumulates 1460 plastic shopping bags a year.


• It can take up to 1000 years for a plastic bag to break down in the environment.


• The oil it takes to produce 14 plastic bags will power your car for a mile, says Green Wikia.

That matters. Let's matter together. Yes, we can.