The Mean Green Machine

This is the time for New Year's Resolutions.  We're all looking over this past year and looking optimistically to the new year and deciding to make changes for the better!!   So, among a few of mine (yes, I said few) is the resolution to be more GREEN!  It doesn't take a long hard look to see areas that we could all be a little more considerate of our planet.  I mean, we only have one Earth and we haven't been very good stewards of it so far.
So, a few things that we did in the past that we will still carry over into the new year are:
Saving water jugs.  This is something REALLY easy and cost efficient everyone can do. 
We live in an area that has yucky tasting water.  So, we always buy filtered water.  I like to keep a lot of it on hand.  So, instead of continuing to buy new water and containers, we just refill our current containers.  AND for an added bonus, our local grocery store has a machine to refill your water bottles with and it is only $.25 a gallon and $1.25 for the larger 5 gallon containers.  Great for the environment and your budget!!  Something we may look into in the new year is buying a water filtration system for our home.
We also have the reusable, cloth grocery bags.  I think these are wonderful!!!!   We have always saved the plastic grocery bags to reuse for things and I have noticed that one trip to the grocery store can really add up to LOTS of plastic bags.  The reusable cloth bags are large and take the place of about two (2) plastic bags.
New years resolution is to use these GREEN bags more.  I tend to forget to pack them in the car when I'm headed out the the store.
We have tried to find more things around the house for entertainment than to always go out... saving on gas and money.  Again, double goodie for planet and pocketbook.  And also incorporate ways of sharing with our kids the things we are doing and can do to protect our planet.
I bought the curly cue lights (that's what I call them) for our home.  They last an enormous amount longer (less waste) than the old ones and use a lot less energy... another double bonus since this will also save money on the monthly electric bill.
So, looking forward to the new year there are a lot of things on my list in the area of GREEN.  We live in a very rural area and do not have access to a lot of recycling options that people have in the bigger cities.  My plans are to see how much of this I can change.  I know, financially speaking, smaller rural areas opt out of certain recycling programs because they can't "afford it".  I'm going to do more research and see what would work for us.  I know if more people came together for a common goal such as this, we could definitely see improvement and get more options for recycling set in place.
I am also going to speak to our director at the preschool where I teach and see what we could implement there.  We could also have Planet Awareness Week and invite parents to come and learn ways that we can live green and protect our planet.
This whole idea really hit me when talking to my son who wants to become a Marine Biologist when he grows up.  So many things that we do every day that we don't take into consideration the impact it has on our planet and all the water and life that it holds.  We really need to own up to our responsibility and clean up our home!
I would love to hear any other opinions and advice on going green.  I would love to work up a blog post of ideas for REAL families in both urban and rural areas in the effort to live green. Respond by comment or via Twitter or Facebook.
Happy Green Living!!