It IS Easy Being Green (well, most of the time)

Over the past year or so I have caught the green bug along with everyone else (thank you, Al Gore). I have always tried to be energy efficient. I have been recycling as long as I can remember. Even when it meant bringing my make shift recycling bin in the trunk of my car on my 45 minute commute to school and then sorting it according to specific material at the University of Maryland Recycling Center. It was over the past year, though, that I really got serious. Some changes have been easy ones, while others force me to remind myself a daily basis why I have made them. Here's a quick run down of those changes and how I feel about them:

Reusable grocery bags- I love that I did this. I love it so much that even when all of my bags got ruined by spilled oil in the back of the car, I bought new ones. They hold more than regular grocery bags, they cannot break, I can carry more at a time by wearing the straps on my shoulders, PLUS my grocery store deducts 5 cents from the bill for every bag used.

Rechargeable batteries- I HATE them. They are expensive, they do not hold a charge for very long AT ALL, and half the time they don't charge when I try to charge them. When it's for something important (like my camera) I have resorted back to the regular batteries.

Fluorescent light bulbs- They are ugly and cost a little more, but they do seem to last a lot longer, and supposedly use less energy.

No more paper/plastic dishes and cutlery- Glad I did this, but hate the fact that I am constantly washing dishes. One day, when I have a second dishwasher, this won't be an issue.

These are all relatively small changes that hopefully make some sort of difference. I'm not willing to give up my SUV or switch to disposable diapers, but I can handle the small stuff.