The Green, Green Grass of Home

Yesterday was Earth Day......and I did nothing. Nothing that I do not do every day. So...how green am I? I googled to find out. I chose 3 quizzes, one Canadian, one American, and one by the National Geographic Society.

How did I score on each? well the questions all varied .....I liked the ones asked by National Geographic the best. They gave explanations.

On the Canadian quiz...(put out by HGTV) I scored 8-14 points....according to them....I was "so-so" green.

On the US test ( put out by NBC) I was told I have made significant changes to my lifestyle for the better of the environment.

On the NG quiz....I scored 78 out of 100....and was told with a little work...I could be a pro.

I really thought I would score the lowest on the NG quiz...not the highest. And I did think I might not be as green as I should be for the Canadian quiz.

So...how green do I think I am? well....

We use cloth bags for shopping,
We use the light cycle on the dishwasher ( and only when full)
We use cold water for laundry and the dryer for towels and socks...everything else gets put on a clothesline or a dryer rack.
We walk to do small errands and we only have one car.
Kevin walks to work.
We buy mostly local products and belong to a local organic vegetable, fruit and meat supplier.
We use a push mower.
We have never used pesticides on our lawn or garden.
We only use green products for cleaning.
We heat our house with a heat pump and a natural gas fireplace.
The heat is 19 degrees daytime and 17 at night.
We always turn lights off in a room not in use.
We boycott drive-thrus.
Items we purchase now for our house are made out of natural products.
We love our house bugs.....we have had a tiny spider living in out bathroom for 2 years now...we call her Charlotte.
When we need to replace a new appliance...we shop for one that uses the least energy.
We have a low-flow flush.
In the summer we collect rain water to help with watering outside plants.
We recycle paper and plastic.
Our new thing this year is to eliminate gift wrap. Duh..sorry it took so long.

So yesterday, Earth Day, was treated like any other day. In fact....90% of our green choices, were choices we made over 30 years ago. I thought this was normal.

There are many areas where we can improve and be greener...and we will. Especially since we are only so-so green in Canada.