It’s Earth Day!

While I am not the most eco-savy girl, I am trying to take some small steps on the road to being a greener family.

Living in rural Louisiana, I don’t have recycling service, and the closest place is a good 30 minute drive from my house. Riding my bike to the run errands is also out, as I live 30 minutes by car away from major civilization. I do consolidate all my errands, and since we are a one-car family, I hardly ever have the means to go anywhere anyway.

Despite these challenges, I have been incorporating some changes into our home. My first foray into greening my life up a bit were these energy-saving bulbs:

They are certainly more expensive than standard bulbs, and my budget is often so tight it squeaks. However, I resolved to buy just one box a paycheck, and start replacing all my hard-to-reach fixtures with these bulbs. Since they last, like, for ages, I knew they investment would payoff, but cringed at the extra expense. So, if you have light-bulb sticker shock like me, just take it one box at a time, and pretty soon, your whole house will be filled with better bulbs.

I have also vowed to stop my HORRIBLE habit of buying individually bottled water. I got a dishwasher safe, BPA-free water bottle, which I will keep loaded and cold for those post-Wii Fit workouts. Those Brita commercials guilted me into it.

In my quest to be a little more Earth-conscious, I think my biggest motivator has been all the women over at MaryJanes Farm. If you don’t know what I am talking about, then you need to run, don’t walk, to http://www.maryjanesfarm.com and check the community out. I may not be the princess of organic, but I have learned a few lessons about trying to shop more locally, eat more locally, and appreciate the value of handcrafted products from our nation’s cottage industries. While tough economic times make me want to go for the cheapest I can get, I’ve also realized that I need to support local businesses that are in danger of being edged out by mega-marts. Even if I can take only one small step a week, I am going to try to focus on sustainable living, supporting my community and making better choices for my family. I can’t do it all at once, but I can take these small steps, one at a time.

So, this week, I bought local honey! We consume alot of honey around here. I’ve heard it may help Youngest with his allergies, but I’ve always scoffed at going on some mystical trek in search of local honey. I’m lucky if I can get a shower in a given day, let alone try to track down beekeepers. Now, a local business has made my life easier by getting their product on the shelves of  local stores! Let me introduce you to Hummer and Son Honey (http://www.hummerandsonhoney.com/)

 It’s a Louisiana product, it’s tasty and I like their snazzy logo. Check out their website and order some for yourself, your mom and everyone else you know.

So, that’s Bayou-Mamma’s small step for this week. What’s yours?