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If you remember a few months ago, I wrote about how I was going to donate my wedding gown to Brides Against Breast Cancer.  Today, while I was sitting at work, I looked up at my post-it notes to see that the days to donate in the Philly area were yesterday and the day before.  I missed it.  So I checked their calendar to see if they were headed to another location that would be within driving distance.  Turns out I didn’t miss it, they are rescheduling the event for sometime next year (date TBD). 

I really wanted to donate my dress before we officially moved, just so I didn’t have to move the dress one more time.  They do have a form to fill out for donation and mailing.  So I think on my “to do” list this weekend will be to mail my dress to them.  I also wanted to get the donation done during this tax year so I can handle so many of the items I’ve donated at once.

I did notice for all my friends back in Cleveland that they are holding an event March 26-28.  These events are for donating and purchasing, so if you are a bride-to-be check them out!  They also have events across the country, so if you want to find an event near you check out their website.  Or you could do what I am doing, and mail in your donation.

A few months ago, my mom asked me if there was anything she could do to reduce the amount of water that was being used from washing hands in the bathroom.  She was looking for something she could either attach to the faucet or replace the faucet all together.  Living in the desert of Arizona, water gets very expensive.  When she asked me, I didn’t find anything right away online.  However, while recently doing some research into products that I want to put into my next home and stumbled into something called WaterSense. 

WaterSense is a label put out by the EPA to promote water-efficient products. By installing a WaterSense labeled bathroom faucet or accessory, you could reduce the amount of water by 30%.  Now pay attention, because I said faucet or accessory.  What I mean there is, my mom can go to the store and buy an aerator (with the WaterSense logo), then simply unscrew the old aerator from the faucet and screw the new one on.  No tools required.  This also means, that when I go to do all the upgrades on my new house (and there will be a lot of upgrades), I can buy a faucet with the WaterSense label on it.  If they tend to be more expensive, I’ll just buy whatever faucet I want and then spend a couple bucks on the aerator.

I don’t know why this WaterSense concept isn’t being promoted more.  This even goes beyond just faucets, but also toilets, showerheads, landscape irrigation and even just every day practices for water conservation.  For me, the faucet one is by far the easiest to do.  It takes less than $5 and less than 5 minutes.  Even if you don’t consider yourself handy at all, give this one a try.  I think of the task being similar to replacing a light bulb and I know you can do that.  I actually had a hard time finding instructions on the web because it is so easy, but these are decent.  If you aren’t sure if your product is already a WaterSense labeled product, you can look up products that qualify on the EPA website.

A few posts back, Alex commented about the blogs he reads and would like to know what I read.  So now available on this blog is a blogroll, available in the right hand column.  There are many great green blogs available.  I also believe this is what finally put me up on the Best Green Blogs.  Best Green Blogs is a great website to go to if you want to find other blogs addressing the environment and sustainability.  Many of the blogs in the directory can get into very specific topics, like travelling green or raising a green baby.

Check out some of these other blogs that I read if the topics seem to apply to your life too.  If there is something that you read that you think I should check out, let me know.  Even though my life has been a bit crazy the last month or two with selling my house (YEAH, it’s sold!), I’m still on the lookout for new things to learn, read, and topics I want to write about.  My topic list is growing so look for more new topics in the future, like the dryer I’ve dreamed about, conserving more gas by improving a home’s energy efficiency and a fantastic top ten list.

I know I haven’t blogged much over the past week or two since my life is being turned all around.  Within the next week we will be moving from the Cleveland area to Philadelphia, which means going away parties and packing.  At some points I don’t know which way is up, with all the changes coming about.  Once I get settled into Philadelphia, more regular blog posts will be coming.  I promise you that.

With moving, I’m coming up with some more green and economical ways of doing things.

• I went to the grocery store and liquor store this morning and didn’t buy anything.  I asked for their boxes that they were going to be throwing away.  This way I’m reusing materials that they would have been tossing into the landfill, and I get free boxes.
• Craigslist.  So I haven’t gone on there yet, but I have a few larger items I need to get rid of and plan to get on craigslist this week and sell some of this stuff.
• I’m looking for a lawn service.  I don’t know what I want or need, other than someone to mow the lawn until the house sells.  I noticed today that my neighbor, who is a bit older, also has a lawn service.  How great would it be if they did my lawn the same time they did her lawn?  Ya, it would be ideal if one of the neighborhood kids would just come do it, but I haven’t established a relationship with too many of my neighbors that have kids old enough.
• Purge, purge, purge.  You may have noticed that many of my posts over the past few months have been about me getting rid of stuff.  This was in anticipation of the move.  The less stuff we have, the less we have to move, and the less the truck is going to weigh.  This means we get a lower moving cost, but also the truck can travel more efficiently without the extra weight.  We also end up having a much neater house, which is great for a sanity check. 

Our lives our moving, but this blog will remain.  I just might be more aware of Philly amenities and big city features when it comes to being more green, but I’ll still try to keep an eye on things going on in Cleveland for all the Ohioans.  Look out for what new things I find.

Today happens to be Earth Day, which is a great way to bring environmental concerns to the front of everyone’s minds.  So what special thing did I do for Earth Day?  Nothing.  At least not really.  I did greet most everyone by saying “Happy Earth Day”, much like you would for new years.  That probably made more people aware that wouldn’t normally.

The reason I didn’t do anything “special” was because I’m making a lot of little changes over a period of time and not one huge thing just today.  The earth needs a lot of help, and what I do in one day won’t make much of a difference, but what I do over the rest of my life will.  So today I used my own mug when I went to Caribou, I drove my hybrid to work, I went running outside (not on a treadmill), recycled my Gatorade bottle, and list goes on and on.  I’m going to continue to adopt new ways of helping our earth out (and blogging about).  Join in with me to make some more little changes to have a big impact.

There are tons of resources out there, especially today, about sustainability, resource consumption and the like, but I really wanted to point out a fantastic video called “The Story of Stuff“.  My attention was drawn to it by another blog, Presentation Zen, to point out how this person’s passion comes across in their presentation style (regardless of message).  While her message is very strong, she highlights how awful our resource consumption really is, especially in the United States.  I don’t necessarily agree with all of her arguments, but most are truly convincing and informative.  I’ll be thinking twice about going shopping just to go shopping.  Take 20 minutes, I highly recommend you watch this video. 

A funny side note, last night when I told my husband today was Earth Day, he said he would ride his bike to work.  No, he doesn’t have a bike since I donated the old bikes. The reason this is funny is because he works from home and doesn’t have a commute.