Thinner, Greener, Richer...Or Not??

After a month or so of doing this thinner-greener-richer thing, I thought it would behoove me to make a list of all the ways I am succeeding...and of all the ways I can improve. And anyhow, this week's been a bit of a bust due to recovering from the 3-day holiday while dealing with a sick little baby. This is a post I've been working on for awhile...

Ways That I Am Healthier

• I run. I don't run far but I do run. And I push a bad ass jogging stroller with a 21# troll riding shotgun.


• I eat healthy...during the week. Usually. My philosophy is everything in moderation. This includes healthy eating. I can subsist on cereal, salad, and a low-carb dinner (thanks to gluten-free hubby, we don't really have bread, pasta, or anything fried ever) as long as I know I can indulge in steak or french fries once a week...


• I get a massage once a month. I cannot stress this enough massage is soooo good for you!! It sounds so indulgent, right up there with getting your nails done or getting a blow-out, but its so worth it. Besides relieving pain, it also relieves tension, stress, promotes circulation...the list goes on and on. Not to mention an hour of gabbing with my massage girl is beneficial to my mental health. (And, in case your mind is in the gutter like my husband's, at a reputable massage place there is no happy ending.

Ways I Am Not Healthy

• See above mentioned factor of going hog wild on the weekend. Not only does this apply to the consumption of items such as cookies, french fries, and vodka, it also includes the occasional cigarette. I'm bowing my head in shame.


• I don't stretch before or after running. I know this is terrible for my muscles. I have no excuse except pure laziness. But hey, I'm running. Don't I get points for that?

Ways I Am Green

• I recycle. Sounds like a no-brainer, but move to my county where the lady at the municipal building (you know, the place you get the recycling bins?) doesn't know where you take them. Where no one recycles except people who have a curbside pick-up. Where attempts to contact officials about where to recycle lead to dead ends, phone numbers no longer in service, and returned emails. I'll stop now, but suffice it to say it took me a damn long time to figure out how to recycle here.


• My house is well-situated for solar energy. Mind you, we haven't taken that step yet. But we will. Its in the 10-year plan, promise.


• I hang 75% of my clothes out to dry. Is this why my friend Ray calls me a hippie? Whatever. I'm saving on an estimated 5 hours of dryer use a week.


• I wash clothes in cold water 99.9% of the time.


• I limit the use of heating elements (hairdryer, curling iron, regular iron) as much as possible. Ask me how many times I've ironed clothing in the past year and I can answer you with one hand!


• I have canvas shopping bags and I reuse the plastic ones for waste can liners, cat litter, and diapers.


• I use the special light bulbs. I don't know what they're called, but we have them.


• I've taken to burning paper. Just recently, I cleaned out our files and a year's worth of financial history became the kindling for a weekend fire. Sweet.
• We garden. Well, Gabe gardens.
• Ooo and I reuse my Ziploc bags:)

Ways I Am Not So Green

• We drive gas hogs. Attempts to turn one of them into a Subaru failed miserably due to the trade-in value of an '05 Jeep with a hemi being astronomically low. It just didn't make financial sense.


• We have a giant house.


• I don't necessarily look for recycled or organic products.


• We run our air conditioning at 68 a degrees. For a 4000 square foot house. In the interest of preserving harmony in my marriage, I am just going to have to let this one go. I will say, however, that I've stood my ground on turning it off during the day when just G3 and I are at home.


• My canvas shopping bags spend more time hanging empty in the laundry room than they do carrying groceries around...ooops.

Ways I Am Richer (Saving Money)

• I'm still learning, but I think that following money-saving-mom's principles I'm going to be able to gradually save us something a little more worthwhile than a couple bucks here and there.
• A lot of my green efforts also save money, especially limiting the use of electricity, trying to condense my driving by running all errands one day of the week, and heck--even the grocery store rewards me something like .2 cents for using the canvas shopping bags:)
• Ebay. I would say I've sold well over $1000 of "stuff" since first discovering the magic of Internet auctions. Most of this is stuff that I would have just eventually thrown out or it would have festered in our closets for years.
• Blogging. Okay, haven't made any money here yet...but I will!!

Ways I Am Not Richer (Not Saving Money)

• Gabe and I are definitely consumers. We see something we want and we can afford it, so...we just get it. Recent indulgences that were unnecessary in my opinion include numerous items from truckaddons.com and multiple clothing items at Old Navy. And I'm pretty sure there's a Nikon D80 in my near future. (But hey, at least that's in the interest of documenting our lives...)
• A lot of green habits are actually more expensive. Such as, investing in a more economical car or a hybrid. Or installing solar panels. Or purchasing a new, more efficient dishwasher. Oh well...
• Sometimes, playing this CVS game, I feel like I'm spending more to get the savings than I would if I was just going to the grocery store and buying my shampoo and tampons there.

So there you have it. My successes and failures.