It's Not Easy Being Green

I have Suburban guilt. Not the city sprawl kind, the Chevy kind. I have a big gas-guzzling, 4 wheel drive, snow busting Suburban. It takes almost $80 to fill the tank each time I fill up and that's about twice a month. The Suburban felt like a necessity when we first got it. The third kid, the frequent trips to the mountains to ski, the need for cargo room for all those groceries! A mini-van would just not due...in fact, I didn't even test drive a minivan- I just didn't want one.

So now, 3 years later, I'm a little more environmentally aware and feeling kind of guilty about the fact that I mostly only drive 1 kid around each day (because the other two are in school). But I still love the 'burban. Besides, we bought it used (recycling) and if I traded it in, someone else would just be driving it, right? And we have this big dog now....the list of excuses goes on and on.

So, to ease my guilt over the gas-guzzler I drive, I've decided to make this year, 2008 the year I'm really going to make an effort to ease the carbon footprint of my life outside the giant SUV. That was my resolution.
So:

*I recycle all materials (plastic, aluminum, newspaper, junk mail, cardboard, glass)
*I try to use small tupperware containers for the kids' lunch rather than baggies and straw cups rather than juice boxes.
*I by milk from the milk store in re-usable bottles. Our family hasn't consumed milk jugs in about 3 years!
*I started out re-using paper bags in August and have since switched to canvas bags for grocery shopping- I am no longer a plastic bag consumer (not Target, not Walmart, not the grocery store).
* I try not to buy produce that's way out of season - that my blueberries flew here on a plane and then road a truck all the way from Chile or somewhere- my (big) Chevy is nothing compared to that blueberry's carbon footprint!
*I am slowly replacing my regular light bulbs with the CFL bulbs. This, I'm having some trouble with. I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't like the kind of light they emit. The kids say their bathroom is blue now.

I guess being green isn't always easy, but I keep reminding myself that it's worth it.

Besides, I tell myself that Leonardo diCaprio's house probably has that weird lighting in it too, and that makes me feel better.