A drop in the bucket

"What I do really doesn't have an impact on the environment. It's just a drop in the bucket."

I hear that a lot. But guess what -- each drop in the bucket combines with the other drops in the bucket and before you know it, the bucket's full! That's how it works. You carry your own coffee mug and skip the styrofoam, drip. You take your reusable cloth bags into the grocery store and bypass the paper or plastic question, drip. You decide to carpool one or two days a week, drip. You switch to cold water wash cycles, drip.


Here are some other significant drips that can fill up the buckets pretty fast:

• replace some of your lightbulbs with CFLs
• skip red meat at least 2 days a week (there's some real health benefits here as well)
• use cloth diapers
• breastfeed
• use filtered water rather than bottled water
• buy some sturdy plastic or metal place settings for your outdoor dining and skip the paper products
• use cloth napkins
• switch to bar soaps rather than liquid soaps
• walk to church
• turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth
• buy from consignment shops, thrift stores, garage sales, Craigs List, etc. when gently used products will suit your purposes
• go paperless whenever possible
• buy recycled products
• plan vacations closer to home

The list could go on and on. What are you doing to add your drops in the bucket? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Keeping it green,

Hana

Photo courtesy of Robert Kraft