The Green Parent

It’s the last day of January and subsequently the last day of my January eco-challenge to adhere to the principles of The Compact.  Nothing new, other than food and medical necessities, for one month. So how did I do?  Well, those of you that have been following me all month long know that I cheated. [...]

I cheated.  That’s right, you heard me.  I cheated on my January eco-challenge this week. I’m not proud – I really wanted to make it through this month without buying anything new besides groceries.  But I thought long and hard about it and I still stand by my decision. So here’s the deal. A young [...]

We just wrapped up the second week of my family’s January Eco-Challenge: The Compact and I’m happy to report that we are still new-stuff-free.  Although we ran in to a couple of close calls this week. For starters, my four-year-old computer came down with a virus.  And not just any old virus, but I real [...]

I thought our first week of the The Compact would be a breeze.  I mean seriously, we have barely put away all of the stuff from Christmas yet, how could we possibly need anything new?  I almost felt guilty doing this eco-challenge in January.  HA!  I faced my first conflict on January 2nd! That was [...]

As I mentioned over the weekend, I am embarking on a new venture this year – a year of eco-challenges in which I try to live by the principles of various challenges (think plastic-free, vegetarian, 100-mile diet, etc) for a month. I’m staying flexible on exactly which challenges I decide to try, because I want [...]

Welcome to 2011!  Are you the New Year’s resolution type?  I am.  But this year, I decided that I wanted to do something a bit different from the standard list of promises.  I wanted to really make big changes in the way I do things – but I wasn’t sure which changes to make.  Should [...]