A Little Green
Posted in: Illustrations
I’m going a little green, more eco-conscious. I sewed a fabric grocery bag last night. I’ll show pictures later because we’re headed off to the beach in a bit. I drew this right after sewing. At first the idea was to color me a lovely shade of green. But sometimes the idea is better than the reality. Me green wasn’t so lovely after all, no matter how many different shades I tried. So I needed another idea. Instead here I am being friendly with “nature”.
Anyhoo back to what I was saying. Alan thinks I’m going a little crazy. Well besides the sewing my own grocery bag there’s the conserving of water. You know the whole, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.” For two days I had this, I thought brilliant, idea of using some of our bath water to flush the toilet. Before this “brilliant” plan I was catching water in a bucket as it was warming up for our shower. But then I thought oh how much more I could save if I just use our bathwater. I would just scoop some out with a bucket and pour it directly into the bowl. It made me feel so good. I didn’t have to flush at all! But again the idea is better than the reality. Having some dirty bathwater sitting in the tub all day. YECK! Back to catching a little water in the bucket. So I need another idea. Any suggestions out there?
Oh more later. Off we go!
You could maybe just have a green outfit.
And, don’t get too ‘friendly’ with nature … I think there are laws about that kind of thing. 
i love your stuff and think you’re very inspiring. am thinking of taking a sewing class myself – can you recommend a sewing machine to buy?
Kuky says: I’m sorry but I can’t recommend a sewing machine. I have no clue!
I’ve had my sewing machine for years and don’t know what’s out there or what’s good. But do try a sewing class. Maybe whoever is teaching it can recommend one.
Oh this reminds me of when Sarabeth’s town had a bad drought awhile back and they saved the baby’s bath water (from those tiny infant tubs) and fed it to the plants.
I wish we could be more green when it comes to water usage but there’s no way to get a bucket of water from our bath to the outside without risking major disaster. So this is not a plan for us.
We do use rain barrels outside for watering. I’d love to start actively composting too. But I haven’t any advice for you. Sorry!
Enjoy your new shopping bag. We’re back to using paper which is at least renewable.
Hmm… There might be some easier changes you could make that would have a bigger impact. Changing things like how much you travel/drive, how often you use the dryer, how many new products you buy (and how much packaging those products have), how much you use a/c or heat, using hot vs cold water, how often you use the oven, etc. might have more of an impact (and less trouble on a daily basis!).
Yay! for the reusable shopping bag.
Can’t wait to see a picture of it!
Have you seen this blog:
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/
Not to feed your craziness or anything (sorry Alan!)…
I like the ears.
Kuky says: Hee hee someone noticed!
I’m planning to make some shopping bags too. One woman I met recently had different colors for different items — brown for bread, green for veggies, etc.
I also went “green-ish” on a bigger level, buying new appliances that are Energy Star rated when I moved. I got a front-load washer that only uses 9 gallons per load and the matching dryer. I also use my clothesline when practical and now I live much closer to work than in my old city (Actually, the house I’ve just moved into is a little farther from work than my temporary apartment was. I’m now 10 blocks from work. The apartment was 1 block and I would walk. When the weather cools I may walk again, but not when it’s 100+ degrees. I don’t want to gross my co-workers out by showing up sweaty.)
Anyway, I think all small changes add up, and just thinking of the things we can do on any scale is certainly a step in the right direction.