green green green

so lately i've been doing a lot of recycling and ive been thinking more along the "green" lines. joe has even been calling me earth girl erin, so obviously my efforts are shining through! today he even asked me "can we recycle this" which i thought was totally awesome because i didnt think he would take to this "conditioning" very well.
a couple of things that ive been doing are:
-i recycle as much stuff as i can so it doesnt become part of our landfills.
-when i take my garbage and recycle out to the dumpster, i pull a few random things off the top of the pile of trash inside the dumpster and i recycle it. usually these are just things like 2 liter bottles and milk jugs, but every little bit counts!
-ive walk as much as possible when i go to the post office to ship orders. right now i cant walk there, though, because they are doing road construction and there is no room for me to walk. this is quite annoying.
-ive been cleaning my tub and other things with baking soda and vinegar. goodbye bleach and 409. i'll miss you, scrubbin' bubbles, but not too much...sorry. look at these tips. also, check out this site for a place to buy eco-friendly products!
-i love to buy local. i dont mind paying the extra money, it makes me feel better when i support local farmers and other vendors.
-we are big fans of lots of blankets in the winter, but my mom gave me an electric blanket for christmas...its something that i dont think i can give up, but its better than heating the entire room i think...im not sure, though.
what im going to start doing soon:
-stop purchasing so much plastic and aluminum! joe just bought me this pitcher that i have been oh so in love with for almost a year, so im going to start making lots of juice.
-buy new lightbulbs for the apt- the energy efficient ones.
-i dont want to use my dryer on sunny days as soon as we get a house, thats for sure!
-im going to make canvas bags for when i go grocery shopping. this will be fun! i cant wait, im going to do an apple one for sure!
-starting tonight, i will turn my computer off every night. i guess this is just a habit i brought with me from my parents house...does anyone else leave their computer on all night?...err, all year even?!? i cant believe how much time its on when its not being used!
-when we get a house, im DEFINITELY going to make a few rain barrels. these things are great- they are barrels that you put under your gutters and connect a faucet at the bottom to connect a hose. they can hold about 65 gallons of water! great for our garden!
there are A LOT more things, but these are a few of them. what do you do to be green? im interested in your ideas. also, does anyone know of any good zines that cover topics like this? hmmm, i miss writing zines, maybe i could write one on the issue. i'd have alot to say, i think it would go over well.
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i found this cool site today. it tells you where the best place to live is, according to your tastes and preferences! i KNEW that i belonged in oregon, the little quiz even says so!
so i just found out that wisconsin is in the top 5 "most-time-wasting states". i believe it! have you ever been up north, to northern wi? im not saying they waste their time...they just take their time. im going up there in 2 weeks and i am really looking forward to it. i love everything there, the air is so fresh, the trees stand so tall, and the sky seems so blue. beautiful lakes, wonderful trails. lots of lovely farms that we pass on the way up too. i love seeing the amish out in their buggies- the way they live is so peaceful...charming, even. i know that they work hard for what they have, but what they have is just so real. ive also been thinking a lot about whats real and whats not real...more on that later, maybe.
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i leave you with a few new shop things...no journals, though.

apple and nature stationery...