10 Weeks to a Greener Me-Week 1

One of my concerns with going green was the cost associated with it. Can you become green without breaking the bank? This week I think the answer is yes. These changes were fairly simple and will make a significant impact on the environment.

The first choice I made was to purchase an eco friendly water bottle. To my surprise they were everywhere. You just need to pick the one that is right for you. You can choose from plastic or aluminum. There is a bit of a controversy regarding some plastic bottles made with Bisphenol A or better known as BPA. Certain research suggests that there could be health concerns with BPA. I am not getting in the middle of that one! What I found is that most of the plastic refillable bottles are labeled no BPA. Aluminum has been around for decades and is 100% recyclable. I chose an aluminum bottle.

I found the prices vary from $7.99 to $24.99 and you can choose a plain bottle or from various designs. The cost savings is ….well do I really need to explain that? Just think of how much you pay when you go to the convenience store or you buy the case of water at the grocery store! If you travel, the one thing I thought about was going through security. Did you ever pay $3.00 for a bottle of water and then walk up to security? Hate that! You can’t take water through the security gate anymore. If you had an eco friendly water bottle you could pour it out and then refill it on the other side of security before you boarded the plane.
Earth911.com states Americans buy an estimated 28 billion plastic bottles every year and that nearly 8 out of 10 bottles will end up in a landfill. Reduce and Reuse seems to make a lot of sense here. Bottom line is I think this is a fairly easy change and the more people who do it will help the environment and their wallet!

Have a great week,
Susan Shollenberger

10 Weeks to a Greener Me

Over the years I have become a woman of convenience. Life is jammed pack! Full of commitments and things to do. Really there is just not enough time in the day to get everything done. One day after a midafternoon talk with a friend I decided to be more concious of the products I was using. What is in these products and is it healthy for me? Is this food over processed or full of hormones and antibiotics? Is this lotion actualy helping my skin or making it worse? These were many of the questions that ran through my mind. I found myself to busy to even realize what was going on around me.

I decided to slow down and start paying attention to the things I was using and feeding my family. With a career change and the start of a new business in front of me I decided to start paying attention the products I was using and start thinking what else I can do to be green.

All theses strange things went through my head like, "I am not sure I have enough money to make these changes right now? Will it be difficult? Will my family participate or will I be the only one who cares? Will it save me money? Can I still have convienence and be green?"

SO over the next 10 weeks I will be sharing my story of becoming greener. Every week I will talk about what I did, how much it cost and how it helping the environment. Oh yeah and if it is convenient!

Talk to you next week,

Susan Shollenberger