Is it Easy Being Green?

This week in MY FRIDAY COLUMN I take a look at what it takes to live in a "GREEN" house.

IS IT EASY BEING GREEN?

Last week one of my children asked me if we lived in a “green” house.  While kidding I said it is closer to a grey brick, but I knew exactly what they meant.  Apparently they had a discussion in their elementary school class about conservation, and what it meant to “Go Green”.  So we spent some time that afternoon going over some of the things that we do around the house, and thought of some things that we could do better.  Which also led to them going through our house turning out all the lights.

One of the biggest things we do as a family is try to limit the amount of garbage that goes into the trash each week. The main thing that we do to accomplish this is by recycling. With New Albany’s curbside recycling it is easy to separate things that can be recycled. If you live outside of the city limits you may take recyclables to one of the drop off points that the Floyd County Solid Waste

Department has each week

At our house another thing we do to limit our garbage is by utilizing a compost bin.
As part of the process of decomposition dead material must also 
be introduced. With all of the Oak trees in my neighborhood, last fall I had plenty of leaves in my yard but none of them
had to be put in plastic bags to be hauled away

Over the last few years rainwater and sewer bills have gotten
a lot of attention in New Albany. 

I  have taken a step that uses one to control the other.
I have connected two 55 gallon barrels to the gutter system 
of my house. It is a primitive system that was installed cheaply
in just one afternoon.

I try to use my bike to travel whenever I can. This is another step that I take to reduce my carbon foot print. It is also great exercise and saves plenty of money in gas. Even though it is less than four miles to my job, It still saves a considerable amount of gas and wear and tear on a car. Plus it takes about ten minutes to drive to Clarksville, and I can ride there in about fifteen minutes. Plus I feel much better and seem to have a more relaxed day at work when I get there under my own power

In the early days of Sesame Street, Kermit the Frog sang that “…it’s not easy bein’ green”, but it may be easier than you think. Taking a few minutes out of your day to separate your garbage, turning out the lights when you leave the room, and planning ahead to keep your car usage to a minimum, are simple ways to make your household greener. If everyone just tries to do a little more, it can make a big difference.