Well, here goes. This is my first blog post ever! I know, what do I have to say that hasn’t already been said because these days everybody and their mother has a blog. But I think I have a great perspective on trying to find ways to live green, and save money doing it.
My name is Jenny, and I am a recent college graduate with several tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, so anything I can do to save Emory, my boyfriend, and I some money is always good. Living a “green” lifestyle has always interested me. I always said I would use cloth diapers, better for the environment and so much cheaper (I especially found this out after working at Target for 4 years, seeing how much disposable diapers cost) but since I haven’t had any kids yet, I haven’t been able to try this out. I have taken several college course which have students take an Ecological Footprint Quiz (you know the ones that tell you how many Earth’s we would need if everyone lived how you do). You can take your own quiz here: http://www.myfootprint.org. I recycle and do little things that I believe will help the environment, but it can be really hard to do sometimes. I know that eating meat is actually pretty horrible for the environment because of how we, as Americans, now have commercial farms rather than small family farms of the past. But there is no way, NO WAY, I could ever become a vegan or even a vegetarian… I just love my burgers, bacon, and steaks WAY too much. Thus, I have tried to cut back on how much meat we eat, only three MAYBE four days a week and having smaller portions of meat and more fruits and vegetables (well, maybe not vegetables, I kind of dislike many vegetables). We also live in Northern Minnesota, Duluth, so the public transportation system is very limited, I could take the bus to work, but it would probably take over an hour, whereas by car it takes me about 15 minutes. I am all about being green, but I am much more about practicality. If it doesn’t fit in with your lifestyle, don’t do it! It will just become a hassle, and you WILL hate it.
I have always been a huge crafty person and love finding new things to do or make. I recently got interested in making my own art pieces and things for our house (thanks pinterest!). A month or so ago I found a posting on Pinterest for making your own lip balm, ala Burt’s Bees. I thought this was the best idea ever! I am sooo addicted to Burt’s Bees, and I lose so many tubes, so I thought this would be perfect, especially since the site claimed I could make it for about 8 cents a tube. If I bought a tube of Burt’s Bees at any store it would cost me about $2.99 or $9.99 for a pack of four. I found this fascinating. Could I actually save that much money on a single tube of lip balm? This is where my adventure into living green first started.
Adventures in Green Living 