i'm trying to focus my "energies"

lately i have begun trying to minimize the impact my family and i have on the environment. i have also been trying to reduce plastic usage, buying "stuff" (so, less consumerism), decreasing waste and increasing composting and recycling, saving money, reducing gas usage, reducing hydro usage, eating less meat, and on and on and on.

and, yes, it's just as overwhelming as it all sounds.

today, in a moment of eco-fatigue, i sat down for a moment and asked God, "what am i supposed to do here? there's so much i need to do, but i can't do it all. how do i do this?"

and my answer came, as clear as the words on this post, "just pick one." one at a time. i can do that. so.....

i have decided on minimizing waste and consumerism. increase recycling and composting, buying less stuff (don't worry, pam, paper and chipboard are biodegradable, so i'll still be paying your hydro bill, lol), and cooking more foods from scratch. less in, less out. oh, and we will also be driving less (uses less gas and saves money).

so, for the "cooking from scratch," i'm going to do some cooking/baking this weekend:

1. my own pasta
2. dare i try bread?
3. maybe i'll just start with banana bread
4. a big batch of rice, to be kept in the fridge for the week
5. some beans, to be kept in the fridge for the week

i think that's ambitious enough, esp given that we have 4 hours of respite tomorrow and i still have no idea what we're gonna do for 4 whole hours! especially if it's going to rain. better get planning, i think.

i've also posted on Freecycle (St Thomas chapter) that i'm looking for cloth diapers for asher. let's face it, he's not going to be potty-training anytime soon, and with the diurretics and laxatives that he's on, we go through a lot of diapers. i hate spending that much money, and sending all that waste to landfill. but... if you have cloth diapers, or access to some, and they need to be the big ones, so they'll fit 25lbs and up, please let me know.

i also have one other item i need to look for: a solar-powered generator, to be used as a back-up power source during black-outs. given that one cannot really predict events like that with much certainty, and given that my child is technology-dependent and required power in order to be fed, this is somewhat of a high priority for us. but like i told a friend earlier: i don't know anything about power generation, and therefore, i don't know what i'm really looking for. you can see my problem. so, if you know anything about solar-powered generators, or if you have a lead on one (and you're reasonably local, say, within the 519 area code), please contact me. you can either post a comment here, or email me (if you have my address, that is). thanks so much! :)

anyway, have a great weekend; may it be simple, green, and filled with power during the storms (take that metaphorically if you will; i'm just hoping we don't have any black-outs!).