5 Tips to Minimize Paper Towels in Your Home

In the last few years I have become passionate about producing less waste in my life and home. I love the phrase, "We don't need a few people doing zero waste perfectly. We need a lot of people doing it imperfectly."

I don't think I will ever create zero waste, but I know I can make an effort to produce less--and it's actually pretty easy to make some changes! Eliminating paper towels was an easy change for me, but I know how intimidating it can seem!

I actually stopped using paper towels (for the most part, see below) like five or six years ago. I can't remember if it was because I wanted to be less wasteful or because I'm kind of a cheapskate and hated spending money on something I was literally throwing away. 

Have we completely stopped using paper towels? No! We keep them on hand for pet messes, but really that's the only thing we use them for. I consider this a major win! Look at us doing that less waste thing imperfectly!

It can take some time to adjust to any changes made in your home, so here are some tips that will help you with the transition to minimize your paper towel usage!

1. Move the paper towels to an inconvenient place. Maybe this sounds super simple, but it is a huge help! Ours are under the kitchen sink and towards the back. Because they are inconvenient, we don't reach for them when there's a spill or we need to dry our hands.
2. Leave a hand drying towel beside every sink. The kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, the guest bathroom sink. Put a hand drying towel there and you won't be tempted to dry your hands with a paper towel. We have six white hand towels for the bathroom and I change it daily. In the kitchen, I have a towel hanging on the cabinet door beneath the sink. I love using cute towels for the kitchen. (TJ Maxx always has cute ones and I love when people gift me cute kitchen towels.)
3. Stock up on kitchen towels and cleaning rags. I am the world's messiest cook and baker, and I'm in the kitchen pretty much every day. If *I* can rock not using paper towels, so can you! We have a drawer full of kitchen towels-- it has small rags, bar mop towels, and flour sack cloths. (They're all from Target.) Sometimes I go through the entire drawer in a week, and I just pop them in the wash. It's really no big deal. For cleaning rags, someone gave me about 30 shop rags a few years ago and they come in so handy! I keep them in a basket in the bathroom cabinet. Maybe that seems like a lot of rags, but I just folded 12 cleaning rags from the last few days. We use them A LOT.
4. Use cloth napkins. I LOVE using cloth napkins. I might just be eating a grilled cheese, but the cloth napkin makes it seem like a fancy meal. One thing I've noticed is that people don't like to use cloth napkins because they are afraid they will get dirty. Um, that's kind of the point. If you have pretty ones you want to keep in pristine condition, just pick up some at the store or Goodwill that you don't mind using. You can also make your own! (Sometimes when I have just a small square of fabric leftover from a project, I turn it into a napkin!)
5. Have a dedicated basket for dirty rags. In the kitchen, there is a basket beside the sink for dirty kitchen towels. In the bathroom, dirty cleaning rags go into the laundry bin with the bath towels. Having a dedicated place to put your dirty rags makes it easy on wash day!

There you have it! In your journey to quit paper towels, do give yourself some grace. It can take some time to get used to, but it is absolutely worth making the switch!

2020 Goals Recap

It's been so long since I've written a new post that Blogger has changed on me! I spend a lot of my free time sewing (and thus not blogging) and I'm okay with that. That being said, I really enjoy going back and reading my end/beginning of the year posts so I wanted to pop in and do that today.

As it turns out, NO ONE had 2020 vision and this year turned out completely unexpected. But not all bad! I do still try to block out March and April where I spent six weeks making masks. Shockingly, I didn't lose my sewjo. I was just so. sick. of masks. But I've sewed some fun stuff since, and I'll try to do a recap on that. (We'll see. ha!)

I honestly didn't even remember the things I wrote down at the beginning of 2020. It's been a long year and I decided to give myself grace on all the things I didn't do. But let's see how I did. 

Marriage

• Make sure to have one six-second kiss every day | I feel terrible saying we don't do this every day! Guess that just means it needs to be on the 2021 goals list...
• Two planned date nights every month | After a few months, we decided to bump this up to a date night every week and I'm so glad we did! We have date night every Tuesday and always look forward to it. Sometimes we go to a local restaurant and sometimes we stay in and do a puzzle or something low-key, but I love having the time to connect with Casey. Sometimes we plan something together and sometimes one of us does the planning. It's always fun to come up with something new and fun, and Casey always plans fun dates!
• Express my expectations | Unfortunately there's no real way to measure this, but I have definitely been trying to communicate better and more, even about tiny things. Opening up a conversation is actually what led to us doing date night every week, so there are definitely benefits to expressing my expectations.

Going Green

• Continue using reusable shopping bags, coffee mugs, water bottle, real china and silverware, limiting paper towel use, and refusing plastic straws. | 2020 has made this one a little more difficult. At the beginning of Covid, we stopped using reusable shopping bags because we weren't sure if it was a good idea to continue using them. Reusable bags aren't the norm here--I've literally never seen a single other person in town use them--so our town doesn't have any rules about them, but we didn't want to make any grocery workers feel uncomfortable. We have since started using them again and haven't had a problem (other than grocery workers being confused, but that's normal). I HATE using grocery pick up (which was our only option when we had to quarantine a few times) because they put every single item in its own plastic bag. I could rant, but I'll refrain. We use these plastic bags as trash bags, so at least they've been getting used.

We're still rocking the real china and silverware, but I need to do better at speaking up against using a plastic straw. We limit the paper towel use to pet messes which has increased this year because we are now kitten foster parents! Though technically our paper towel usage has increased a little because of this, I still am proud of us for being mindful of when we use them.

• Figure out what to do about recycling. I didn't do this and I'm not sure if I just lost vision or if it was a 2020 thing that I didn't feel like bothering with. Either way, I've decided we'll just pay the fee to have recycling pick up this year. The only packaging I've truly tried to be mindful about is egg cartons, and I try to get ones made of paper that I can throw in the compost pile. However, I met a neighbor via Facebook who raises chickens, and she said she'd be happy to take empty egg cartons, so I'm going to try to remember to give them to her instead! 
• Shop the farmers market regularly. We've tried our best to support the farmers market this year, especially through Covid. Our favorite booth is a lady who bakes all kinds of delicious pastries. We get some almost every week! I was thrilled that there were extra booths before Christmas, so we did some of our Christmas shopping there. I love to support local entrepreneurs! 

Personal

• Be a better friend | That lunch date with myself in March never happened because I was too busy making masks to eat lunch. (Apparently I'm still not over the mask-making trauma, ha!) We did have a friend move in with us a few months ago and she will be here until she gets married in April. It's been so fun having her here. We've also been able to have some friends over for small dinner parties (which sounds far more fancy than it is--usually I make spaghetti or breakfast for dinner then we hang out).
• Read at least one non-fiction book a month | Oops. I just checked my Goodreads and I only read (listened to) two non-fic books this year. I prefer to listen instead of read non-fic, and I discovered podcasts this year, so I've listened to podcasts and forgone the books. That being said, I've been listening to my Bible. (See below)
• Create a cleaning schedule for my home | Oops again. Okay, to give myself some credit, during November I decided to create what I considered to be my ideal daily schedule. Part of this includes cleaning time throughout the day, like doing dishes after breakfast and lunch, and spending time in the afternoon picking up around the house. On the days I follow this schedule, I've rocked it!
• Complete at least one sewing project per month. I just now looked back and made a list of everything I made this year. I'm SHOCKED at how much I accomplished! In addition to about 350 masks (which took me six solid weeks of sewing while Casey did most of the cutting), I also made 6 skirts, 2 dresses, 2 pinafores, 3 purses, a stuffed bunny, 8 (I think) neckties, and a Princess Anna costume for myself! I'm currently working on 2 more purses, another pinafore, and a quilt top.

Spiritual

• Read a new Bible plan | I'm 21 days behind and have 4 days to catch up (I'm going to listen to it while I do some cleaning). I HATED the Bible reading program we chose and was already regretting it in March. I'm going back to my One Year Bible next year and really looking forward to it. I did like that Casey and I did it together though!
• Grand Finale | Our church couldn't have our annual kids camp this year, so we weren't able to do this. But we have some great ideas that maybe we can use next year!
• Play more worship music at home | We have ROCKED THIS. Every morning when I get up I tell Alexa to play worship music and we play it throughout the day. We even got another Echo Dot so I could have it playing in my office, too. 

This took far longer than I expected it to, but I'm glad I sat down to do this. It made me realize that, even during a global pandemic, I was able to move forward and make changes that help me become the person I want to become. I believe that every small step contributes to a bigger goal, and I'm glad I kept stepping. Now it's time to work on a list of goals for 2021! 

Mini Review: Skin Balm Apothecary

I thought it would be fun to do a little review on some products I've tried from Skin Balm Apothecary. I found them on Instagram last year and thought it sounded like a really awesome company--all their products are organic! I've purchased (and repurchased) a few of their items and wanted to share my thoughts here!

Peppermint Lip Balm | I originally purchased the Balm Quad, so I got to try all three lip balm flavors: peppermint, peppermint orange, and orange and lavender. My absolute favorite is the peppermint. (I wasn't a huge fan of the other two.) Peppermint lip balms are my go-to, and I am always stocked up on Dr. Bronner's peppermint balm. BUT the SBA peppermint balm is EVEN MORE PEPPERMINT-Y! Which I LOVE. I think I've purchased like 4 or 5 of these over the last year or so. (My mom just bought me a few more!) My only problem with it (not really a problem, more of a nuisance) is that the twist thing at the bottom of the tube twists inside my purse, so sometimes I open the top to find the lip balm pushed really high.

The Eye Balm | I feel like this is the product with the cult-like following. It is to be used around the eyes to promote skin health and to help with eyebrow and eyelash growth. Many claim it also helps with bags under the eyes. I can't make such bold claims, but I do like it. I don't wear mascara, but I can tell it makes my eyelashes at least look a little longer, and it helps them stayed curled longer if I decide to curl them. At $15 per tube, it's not a must-have in my skin care routine, but it's nice to have!

Revive Clay Mask | I don't use this mask as much as recommended, but I do like it when I use it! I really need to get in the habit of doing a face mask a few times a week. I always make sure to moisturize (I use organic jojoba or almond oil) after using it.

I want to try the Blemish Balm (it reduces redness and inflammation) and also the Purifying Collection. While the products are pretty pricey, it's because they are organic, which is really awesome! Chelsea, the owner, often pops on Instagram to explain the importance of organic skincare, and it has really got me wanting to use more organic skincare products (hence the organic jojoba and almond oils I use for moisturizer). It's nice to know I can get quality, organic skincare products from this reputable company!

Secondhand September

Whilst perusing Instagram the other day, I came across #SecondHandSeptember, a movement encouraging people to only shop secondhand for the month of September instead of buying anything new. I'm joining the challenge! Here are some rambles about it, plus photos featuring some of my secondhand items. (Except for that marvelous dress in the first pic, which was a bit too small, but it was a thrift find!)

(fun fact: I wore this yellow skirt to work the other day and my coworker looked at it so confused. "I had a skirt just like that," she said. I asked her if she donated it to Goodwill. She said she probably had. So there is a good possibility this was her skirt! ha! I thought it was cool.) This jacket was also a thrift find.

This year I've been making an effort to shop secondhand more than buying new things as a way to be more ethical in my clothing purchases. The little I've read about fast fashion is truly sad, but also fast fashion makes it tempting to shop more often, buying the new trend for every season. As I've gotten older, I've realized that I prefer to wear clothes that I love instead of what is specifically in style or trendy. I think this has also partly helped me decide to thrift more. Thrifting means that I can find unique pieces that no one else has!

I do, however, buy a few new things here and there, so I'm saying no to that this month. I'm excited to share my thrift hauls (if I even go thrifting or find anything - ha!) and even more so to share outfits that feature some of my secondhand pieces. I actually have a bunch. My friends know I love to dig through their piles of clothes they plan to donate, and my bestie Julianne often brings me a bag of secondhand goodies when she comes to visit. (I'm not-so-patiently waiting for cold weather so I can wear the hot pink and bright orange sweater she gave me!)

This flowy cardigan was secondhand from a friend.

When I first got into blogging around 2010, the fashion blogging world was completely different. It was just starting out and sponsored posts were the exception and not the standard. My favorite bloggers didn't wear outfits with links so you could buy the exact same pieces--rather they focused on how to take the clothing you already had and remix it to make new outfits.

That's a thing I really miss in the blogs I see today. So many posts, not only on blogs but especially on Instagram, feature gifted items with a link and a discount code so everyone else can buy the exact same thing. I'm not against sponsored posts or anything -- I did a few of those back in the day too -- but I wish that more people would focus on the idea of the outfits rather than how to copy it exactly. One of my favorite bloggers used to create an "inspiration calendar" each month using photos from bloggers with a "challenge" for the day that was inspired by the outfit. "Wear something blue." "Mix patterns." "Wear a hat." "Belt a cardigan." It was so fun to gather inspiration from outfits and create an outfit using pieces I already had that were inspired by my fave bloggers.

My grandmother gave me this cute dress when she didn't want it anymore!

I definitely just chased a rabbit there (can we call the rabbit Fred? Let's call him Fred.), but one thing I like about outfits involving thrifted pieces is that there is no way to link to the same piece. Rather, I hope, it inspires others. "I've never thought to wear my olive cardigan over my mustard dress." "I'm going to try layering a collared shirt under my favorite sweater." "I'm definitely going to wear my hair scarf as a neck scarf!" Honestly, I just browsed my "style board" on Pinterest for all those ideas.

Anyway, my blue is showing and I'm getting really wordy here, only to say I'm joining in on Secondhand September and can't wait to share more about it!

Jacket and skirt were both thrifted!

My Fave Essential Oil Blends

Last year I began using essential oils and I’ve really been enjoying them! My favorite way to use them is in the diffuser. I love being able to change the smell every day depending on my mood. Here are a few of my recent fave diffuser blends!

Thieves and bergamot - This is called the “apple cider” blend and I’m so in love! It’s pretty much the only thing I diffused all winter! Sometimes I swap the Thieves for Eden’s Garden’s Guardian blend, which is basically the exact same thing.

Cedarwood and vanilla - I’m surprised that I love cedarwood so much because it’s described as being “earthy”. But it smells sweet to me! I love to diffuse it with vanilla, and sometimes I’ll add orange to it as well.

Lavender, cedarwood, and frankincense - This is a great calming blend. I also have a roller blend with these three oils that I rub on my wrists, neck, and over my heart some nights. (I have a few blends I switch between before bedtime.)

Orange, vanilla, and cassia - Oooh, this smells soooo delicious, like something sweet coming out of the kitchen. Cassia is strong, so I usually do one drop of that with a few drops each of vanilla and orange. This is my favorite “homey” blend.

Eden’s Garden - Good Morning - This is a blend from Eden’s Garden and I am OBSESSED. It has all my favorite scents in it--vanilla, orange, and peppermint. It smells so sweet and uplifting and I diffuse it all the time!

DIY Produce Bags

 After writing down some of my goals/intentions for 2019, I found myself doing some research (i.e. Google and Youtube) about ways I could implement my "going green" goals. I had the idea that I should buy a "no waste utensil travel kit" with a fork, knife, spoon, straw and napkin. Etsy has so many cute ones! But then I was like, why would I buy a pack of utensils when I have a ton around the house? (Except for the straws, which I've been meaning to get some for a while now.)

So I found myself watching YouTube videos on how to sew a little utensil pouch I could take on the go with me. Which then turned into watching videos about DIY grocery bags and produce bags. You know how the YouTube thing goes.

Anyway, I only have one small reusable bag that is a good size for produce, so I decided to dig through my fabric and make another one! I watched several tutorials but ultimately decided to wing it, which is honestly how I do much of life! lol. By no means is it perfect, but I think it will do the job nicely. Plus it's exciting to use a little bag that I made myself! I'll probably make a few more of them soon!

2 0 1 9 | Goals and Intentions

When I wrote my 2019 post, I was really expecting it to be more along the lines of goals and intentions I have for the new year, but it turned into an entirely different thing. No problem, it was all good stuff. But I do have some things I want to implement in this new year. Nothing is finalized or set in stone, but here are some things I've been thinking about working on this year.

Marriage

• Make 2019 marriage goals. Casey and I discussed some ideas a few months ago about ways we can be more intentional in our marriage, and I'd love to implement those ideas this year. We wrote down our family priorities and would love to make an actual game plan on how to actively work on those priorities.
• Work with Casey to create a family budget. I used to do Dave Ramsey and loved it, but have never done it with someone else, so I know it will take some getting used to! However, I know it's totally worth it and look forward to it.

Going Green

• I've had some setbacks with trying some natural products. In the last few months I've struggled with finding natural shampoo and deodorant that meet my needs, so I'm using conventional products until I do more research and try to find something else that will really work for me. Instead of getting discouraged, I want to keep moving forward, even if more slowly than I anticipated. 
• Switch up my skin care. I've been using natural skin care on my face for a few years now, but I want to switch it up. However I'm a cheapskate and the things I want to try are pretty pricey. So... maybe wait until 2020? haha.
• I wrote a post with some of my Going Green goals and I'd love to mark some more off my list this year! I think some easy to implement ones are to make more of an effort to not use straws (and bring my own reusable stainless steel ones... which I still need to get) or plastic one-use cutlery. I also want to put a few of my reusable grocery bags in Casey's car so I'll have them on hand if we're making an unplanned grocery stop. Oh! And I want to figure out how to use a laundry line outside to hang dry our white towels. 

Personal

• Make more of an effort to be a friend. Since moving, I've found out a lot of my friends from working camps every summer live super close to me! I've gone out with several of them for lunch, but would like to do a better job at maintaining those relationships.
• Read more. I used to be such a reader, but not so much in the last few years. I probably just need to make a goal and stick to it!
• Create a cleaning schedule for my home. I did this years ago and it worked wonders for me! I don't really like cleaning, but FlyLady's methods were very helpful to me. I usually keep a nice house (don't look now--I've been stuck on the couch sick for 2.5 weeks and the house is baaaaad) but a schedule would help me with the "deep cleaning" that I tend to put aside until absolutely necessary.

Spiritual

• Read the Bible through. It's been a few years since I've read the Bible through in a year, and I want to do it this year because I do well with daily structured reading. Otherwise I have a bad tendency to slack on Bible reading. I'm using my One Year Bible. I've read the One Year NLT version through multiple times, but this year I'm using the ESV version. God has already been opening my eyes and speaking to me through the daily readings!
• Increase my prayer life. Let's be honest, this is on my list every year. Some days I do great, other days... not so much. But it's important and oh so worth it! 
• Work with Casey on a special project for the youth of our church. We've had this idea for a while but the implementation is difficult and we don't exactly know how to start. But I believe it is an idea from God, and I know He will bless our efforts if we step out in faith to launch this new ministry!

So those are the things that have been on my mind! We will see how they go. I do love new beginnings like the new year. However, the beautiful thing is that each day is an opportunity for a fresh start! Whether I accomplish all these things this year or maybe just a few of them, I know this will be a year to grow and bloom!

My Journey into Essential Oils

A few months ago I bought my first essential oils! Lavender, peppermint, and lemon. (I also got vanilla, which isn't a true essential oil, but I LOVE the smell of vanilla.) I know there are a lot of people who love essential oils and all the things they can do. Honestly, I bought them to make things smell good.

I love making things on my own, and one of the things I wanted to make is cleaning solutions for my new home! I really hate the smell of most household cleaners―they're so strong―so I decided I could make them. Most homemade recipes have very simple ingredients like vinegar and castile soap. Essential oils are an added bonus for a good smell! Plus some of them have properties that work nicely in cleaning solutions, like the lemon oil I bought.

Turns out, I haven't really gotten into making cleaning solutions (instead I've been using the Think Dirty app to purchase better cleaning supplies), but I have been learning how to use my oils. Here are five ways I've enjoyed the three (plus one) oils!

1. Diffuse. Lemon, lavender, and peppermint are a powerhouse blend in the diffuser. However, my favorite is to diffuse the peppermint and vanilla!
2. Face Moisturizer. I use almond oil as my face moisturizer. In the morning, I use almond oil mixed with peppermint, and at night I use a mixture of almond oil, rosehip, and lavender.
3. Sleep. Lavender is known for its calming properties, so I put a drop underneath my pillow before bedtime. It usually helps me fall asleep quickly!
4. Headaches. Peppermint helps relieve pressure from headaches, so I'll rub a little on my temples if I feel a headache coming on.
5. Perfume. I had to stop wearing perfume years ago because it gives me headaches. But I love to rub a little peppermint and vanilla on the back of my neck. My mom says I smell like cotton candy.

Since I've gotten in the hang of using these oils, I've been doing research on more oils and finally decided to purchase more! I buy mine from Edens Garden. (Disclaimer: If you purchase using that link, I get reward points, which I can save up to spend on Edens Garden products.) They are high quality oils but because it is not an MLM, the prices are significantly more affordable. I did a lot of research and prayer before deciding to go with this company (if I was going to use oils, I wanted to make sure they were quality), but I'd also love to try some blends from some of the MLM companies eventually.

One reason I've become more interested as I've learned about oils is because I believe God gave us many tools that we need to take care of ourselves—plants being one of those tools—and that's where essential oils are from. I would rather use those natural gifts from God to take care of myself instead of manmade medicine when possible. (Not that there is anything wrong with medicine—we are so blessed to have it! I'm just really bad about popping Advil for anything and everything and would like to avoid it when essential oils can help instead.)

I'm so excited because I just got my next order in! Before it got here I already had a (very) detailed list about the blends and rollers I want to try! I'll be giving them a shot and I'll share more later.

Here's what I just got: cassia, cedarwood atlas, copaiba, cypress, eucalyptus globulus, frankincense, geranium, grapefruit, headease (an Edens Garden blend for headaches), patchouli, rosemary spanish, sweet orange, tea tree, ylang ylang

I also got fractionated coconut oil and roller balls (from Amazon) so I can make my own roller blends.

I'm looking forward to exploring the world of essential oils some more. It's been fun already and I love learning about it!

Going Green

I firmly believe that the Lord put the earth in our hands to take care of, and I want to do my part. I have a long list of things I eventually want to do to help sustain the earth, so today I'm going to share what I'm already doing and the next steps I want to take this year. I believe that baby steps are the key to accomplishing any goal, so I'll take this one step at a time!

What I'm already doing:

• Recycle. I was so excited that Hammond has a recycling program! They pick it up with the trash every week. I bought a cute basket to keep in our kitchen so I can put all our recyclables in there and empty it into the recycling bin on trash day.
• Bring reusable bags to the store. I decided to start using reusable bags when I moved to Hammond. I keep my bags in my car at all times, making sure to put them back in there as soon as I unload my groceries. This has helped me a lot with remembering my bags when I grocery shop! Sometimes I forget to take them into other stores (like TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, etc.), and I often forget to grab them if Casey and I take his car, but remembering most of the time is a great step in the right direction!
• Drink out of a reusable cup instead of bottled water. Casey's grandma got us some travel mugs that keep hot stuff hot and cold stuff cold. I love it for keeping my water ice cold! We bought a filter for our faucet so we have filtered water and don't have to use bottled water!
• Use cloth instead of paper. I'm a messy cook. So I have an entire drawer FULL of (cute) dish rags and towels. We keep a basket on the counter to put the dirty rags until it's time to wash them. Next I need to get us some cloth napkins so we can stop using dish rags for dinner! I also have a basket in each bathroom with blue cleaning rags and the main bathroom has a specific basket for dirty cleaning rags. I have to wash them separately or they turn the laundry blue! I do keep one or two paper towel rolls in the house for certain things (like when I have a sick puppy), but I rarely ever use them. 
• Turn off the faucet while I brush my teeth. I almost forgot to include this one because I started doing that a few years ago. It's super easy to do!
• Let the sunshine in! We are blessed to have a TON of windows in our house. I literally prayed for a home with lots of windows, and God answered! During the day, I never turn on lights, but choose to let the natural light in!
• Shop at the farmers market. Casey and I love to walk to the farmers market on Saturdays, and I usually pick up some strawberries. I'd love to start buying more of my produce there and support our local farmers and economy. Plus, the food is so much fresher!

I'm honestly pretty proud of myself for what I've done so far to "go green." Most of these changes have been easier to implement than I thought they'd be! Here are some of the next steps I'd like to take this year.

• Hang dry more laundry. I already hang dry most of my clothing (I worry about it shrinking in the dryer), but I would like to hang dry more. I've started putting my bathroom rug and blankets on the fence to dry, but I got a foldable drying rack to dry more of our laundry. 
• Switch to green cleaning products. I need to do more research on this, but want to use cleaning methods that are better for our home and environment.
• Use stainless steel straws. And bring them to restaurants with me! I need to get some of these soon!
• Collect rainwater to water plants. It tends to rain in the afternoons here, so all I need to do is set out a bucket! We don't have a lot of plants to water anyway, so I wouldn't have to collect much.

My ultimate list has more items on it, but I am choosing to focus on the above things first. Here are some other things I'd like to eventually do!

• Use bamboo toothbrushes.
• Carry my own reusable utensils in my car or purse for when I grab something quick to eat.
• Carry my own containers to restaurants for leftovers.
• Unplug items I'm not using.
• Create a compost bin for food leftovers.
• Choose products with less wasteful packaging or buy in bulk using my own containers. 
• Grow some of my own food, probably starting with herbs.
• Plant a tree.

I've been enjoying gaining more knowledge and information about things I can do to help this beautiful planet that the Lord gave us! Some of them are big steps from where I am currently, but I know that lots of little steps still make a difference. I also hope that perhaps something I do can inspire others. My friend is the reason I started carrying recyclable bags to the store, so perhaps one of my actions will inspire one of my friends to do the same! 

If you're interested in making steps to going green with me, pick something out of these ideas that seems the easiest for you and do that! I truly believe our actions can make a difference--even if they are small. Let's make this world a better place together!