Enjoy Your Earth Day!

We're unplugged... or trying to be. No TV, no car, no public radio, no ridiculously giant bathtub brimming with well-heated water. We will try for another picnic, spend the day in the backyard, plant a few flowers in an indoor pot, and do some sort of project with the recycling.

I'll let you know how it goes!

*** 12 hours later***

Oh dear...

• Hours of television watched: 2.5
• Hours spent outside: 1 (maybe, if you stretch it)
• Trips in the car: 1 (2 if you count to the clinic and back again as separate trips)
• Cases of tonsillitis: 1
• Referrals to an ear, nose, and throat specialist: 1
• Kitchy Earth Day activities accomplished: 1 (yeah! I know! Impressively, Maya led an effort to decorate an old EnviroKidz box as a bed for Anakin the cat.... and he agreed to use it.)

First, Maya measured him for his house. Then measured a few different boxes to find one big enough for this bad boy.

The completed box sheltered Anakin from the girls while he sat in the sun. What a thoughtful project!

The day was not a total loss. My girl has a lingering virus and has been recommended for possible tonsil removal, which leaves me feeling queasy, but the cat has a new bed.

This Earth day was entirely tinged with a different shade of green.... the sickly green of guilt.

We may have chickens, incandescent light bulbs, and relatively responsible shopping habits. But, I have really slipped on my recycling routine. The level of creativity I use to green up various aspects of our lifestyle has declined sharply. Even more embarrassing is a recent home improvement project actually led to a low-flow faucet's replacement with a very sexy but environmentally disastrous model..... and a massive bathtub that I indulge in far too frequently.

Urgh.

Essentially, I blame Elliot. Sorry kid. With a toddler and a new baby, I gave myself all kinds of gentle leeway last year. And I developed some bad habits, from way too relaxed house maintenance to equating a "green lawn" with a completely neglected lawn.

Well, Elliot is 18 months old now, and her usefulness as an excuse is on the decline. As a result, here are a few new, completely doable resolutions for the remaining 8 months in 2009.

• Install low-flow water fixtures every where possible (sorry, high design)
• Reinvigorate recycling efforts (too lazy to take it to the garage? add an extra bag or two under the sink... and kick the composting back into gear!)
• Program the thermostat (we have been blaming our (not so) tender baby on our excessively toasty house all winter)
• Pick an under used patch of lawn and turn it into habitat
• Paint the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom with low VOC, renewable paint products (I have my eye on Mythic)
• Collect rainwater for the garden when possible
• Take the girls on weekly adventure day outings to wild spaces

I'll add the list to my sidebar, keep you appraised of my efforts, and probably add to it.