Little Green Stilettos

Thanks to my green blogging friend Lisa from Retro Housewife Goes Green for inspiring me to write a reflection on my first (half) year of being green...

My first post, 'A Green Beginning' was in September 2008.

2008 was the beginning of a greener life for me ( and hence, my family)...I started composting (which for those of you who know me was not at the top of my list of household improvements)...I became an expert at recycling (corks, batteries, jars, Christmas cards and even visited a recycling center)... I slowed down and greenified my shopping (the best part was rediscovering vintage and finding the most glam, satin cocktail dress with Colette Dinnigan-like beading)... I made our kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms green...I discovered that vinegar is quite miraculous, I fell in love with Murchison-Hume Cleaning products, I found that green products clean my clothes beautifully and that cold water works just as well for whites, I became passionate about natural beauty products like Korres (best pink lipstick ever), Lavera (best fake tan ever), Burt's Bees (so many best things) and thought I has won the lottery when I discovered Natural Instinct Sunscreen...I felt so much better knowing there were just a few less chemicals that my kids were exposed to...I turned off lights when I left the room and turned off computers and the microwave at the power point when I went to bed...I tried to buy green Christmas presents (like those cute Animalz)...I ate less meat and dairy and tried to buy more organic and local food...I learned how to take a shower in 3 minutes (and love my shower-loving husband just that much more for doing the same)...I greenified the kids lunch boxes and stopped using plastic wrap, plastic bags and aluminium...I carried my SIGG bottle and Envirosaks with me everywhere (almost)...I planted a herb garden and I started my blog ...

Some transformation, huh? Problem is as with any diet (food or carbon) it is hard not to cheat...So, I need to confess some of my eco sins otherwise this post would be just greenwashing (which is sort of like what air brushing is to Magazine cover photos...there must be a celebrity/model out there with cellulite???) ...I still love baths - the hotter the better - and we have a large bathtub which I hate to think how much water it takes to fill...shopping has slowed but it is so hard to resist sometimes (especially the Scanlan and Theodore sale)....we are thinking about removing a tree in our backyard to help with the light and view...I only managed to be a total vegetarian for about three months (though still am eating a lot less meat products)...our house does not have gas so everything runs on electricity....we just came back from a month long trip to the US which involved numerous flights for five people (have not yet calculated the greenhouse gas effect of that nor the cost of offsetting it)...I have not become involved in any form of Climate Change activism...I still burn my scented candles (I love my Grapefruit one)...and, my herb garden pretty much died while we were away...bummer...

So...if you were to compare me to the Cover Girls for Green (Sara Snow, Tanya Ha, Sophie Uliano, Sloan Barnett) I would probably not make the cut (too much green cellulite)...but, I think I have done pretty well for a start and certainly hope my lifestyle does not require 6 earths anymore...and that is the point....it is just the beginning....who knows what green beginnings 2009 will bring? Stay tuned. xxx