It's Easy Being Green

Today was a beautiful day. A mild, sunny early spring day, just balmy enough to let you know that winter had loosened its icy grip for yet another year. I walked to my mailbox to collect my daily assortment of bills, flyers, circulars, take out menus, advertisements etc... a metal cylinder stuffed to the brim with unwanted paper. Paper white, sterile and impersonal, telling me that my checking account was overdrawn. Slick, shiny paper, long and folded like a pseudo menu printed with idyllic graphics of what I assume were to be the rolling hills of Tuscany, offering me an obscene amount of free cola if I only buy two large pizzas at a set price (extra toppings excluded of course). A thin fluttery book of paper the size of a wedding album showcasing picture perfect images of antacids, corn removers and hemorrhoid cream, all on sale; this week only. I stood there sifting through my armload of daily brow beating, wondering how many trees were sacrificed to tell me I needed get to the nearest "blah blah" ASAP to stock up on shoe laces. A dark cloud had obscured my lovely day. I thought if a tree had to die, why couldn't I have at least gotten a card from a friend to wish me happy spring, a letter from a loved one telling me they missed me, or a check from the bank saying they wanted to thank me for all my faithful years of entrusting my money with them. I was sad, I just stood there with my reem of papers; unloved, unmissed, with no compensation for my slavish loyalty to my local savings and loan. I sighed a long sad sigh, turned my back on my sad mailbox to make my sad way back to my sad existence, and as my sad eyes cast their gaze over my sad walkway; there, just beyond the first step to my door, I saw the alive, delicate green shoots of the crocus pushing its way out of the sad brown soil... and I smiled.

There are so many options today that can help us be ecofriendly or "green" without sacrificing style. Sustainable hardwood floors have become the norm, bamboo and other fast growing woods come in a large selection of hues and finishes. Beautiful fabrics are made out of hemp or soy. Carpeting ,rugs, furniture, art etc... are made from recycled plastics, and that's just the tip of the iceberg (pardon the global warming pun) I'm not saying you have to stop living your gorgeous, glamorous, rock n roll lives, just make some different choices. The next time you want to reupholster the sofa, look into natural or soy based fabrics, and forgo the synthetics. Instead of throwing out your old chest of drawers, paint it a beautiful color with no VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, change the hardware and use it as a buffet in your dining room. It will look personal and chic, and hold all your linens, place mats, napkin rings, and that hideous cut crystal deviled egg plate your Aunt Myra gave you for Christmas. Donate your old clothing to the charity of your choice. Better yet, take your old sweaters and make throw pillows (its not that hard) There are endless things you can do that will not only show off your originality, but will help save our beautiful, wonderful planet for our kids, and their kids, and so on, and so on.......
Iam going to try to post some pics that will show you just how cool green can be, I'm not having the best of luck with the uploads, hopefully it will work. Remember, keep it green if you can!