If you give a boy a bento box…

Super S - Saving the world one plastic baggie at a time (and then choking the living crap out of it one paper towel at a time…)

I’m just going to come out and tell you this right now, not gonna lie, before you start to read this (well, I haven’t even written it yet) you have a right to know…I am a great big HYPOCRITE, a bit of a fraud, a walking contradiction, possibly even (so sorry Holden Caulfield) a phony! Ok, if you are still here reading you either a) can’t believe that could be true about me b) love me anyway c) want to see me go down in flames so you can feel a little better about yourself or maybe d) you are just curious where in the hell I am going with all this… Hmmm, let’s see if I can remember.



X enjoys his perfect bento box birthday cake

Oh yeah… Like most folks nowadays, I try to do my part for the environment, the planet, our future planet dwellers, etc. We recycle at home,  use reusable containers whenever possible (difficult for Cyn as I drag her away from the convenience of the ever appealing plastic bags,) pack X’s lunch in a bento box (which often includes emptying things from a small container, such as apple sauce or yogurt, into a bento container because he will remember to bring the bento boxes home, but may not remember to recycle the plastic containers at school,) don’t run the car during carpool time, love to buy/use things made from recycled materials, buy organic milk and I absolutely adore organic cotton (not sure how that really helps, but organic and cotton are two of my favorite words and it just feels right for the planet for me to be that happy about material!) So all good stuff, right? Right! So...I am helping to save the planet, right? Wrong! The problem is I often undo much of this good with my over attachment to a few conveniences. I confess, I love paper towels. A dish towel will rarely do. Paper towels are fresh and clean and white and new and I use way too many for way too many things and I am so sorry, but I can’t seem to break that habit. Another big issue which I hadn’t thought much about until recently is the heated dry setting on the dishwasher, I always use it, every cycle and I am not sure how I will survive without it now that I know I am wasting energy. Even with the heated dry setting the tops of cups are still a bit wet and I have to dry them with a…come on, you know what I’m going to say…A PAPER TOWEL. If I give up the heated dry how many paper towels will I have to use to dry the dishes…Oh, Cyn says we let them air dry. Ugh, ok, well maybe for my grandchildren and their grandchildren I could try that, but I’m telling you right now, it’s gonna hurt a little, so I hope those damn kids grow up and amount to something and I don’t save the planet for their little asses for nothing!

The point is, in case it was lost in my rambling somewhere, I feel as if I try to be a green little friend to the earth, but am often left feeling like there is so much I could be doing…composting, driving less, always using cloth towels and napkins, or even just not running my computer as much (as if!) So if you are greener than me, I salute you! And if you are not, I salute you too because you are likely trying and it isn’t easy being green!

Kiss me, I’m green­-ish as no actual paper was harmed or wasted in the creation of this blog!