Shredding, sorting and green thoughts.

Today I am knee deep in shredding. Some of the shredding is mine, some I inherited from my mother. My mom moved in with my sister in August and is on hospice. My job is to shred her unneeded personal papers and be the keeper of family photos. But, today it is all about the shredding, sorting, shredding, resting (because of the fibromyalgia) sorting and shredding.

I do the shredding and sorting because I care about the earth and all the people living in it. It would be so easy to just stuff all the papers in a trash bag and dump it all in my trash can, but I plug along with my task. Hopefully I will not overheat my shredder like I did the last time I had a mega session of shredding.

Yesterday I did more recycling. I had a rare burst of energy and got all my cardboard together along with my plastics. Into the designated yellow bag went the plastics. Luckily my company allows me to mix everything together which is heaven and so convenient.

My husband is even more rabid than me. Both of us remember the first Earth Day. It was our belief at the time that our generation was going to do the right thing, to change federal and state energy policies and step up with more self-sustaining behaviors as a society. As I look around and read articles I can only wonder, what happened to those idealistic dreams? Where are all the people who carried signs and pledged to care for God's green earth? I am not sure. I think a few are still trying to change things but there are not enough. What can we do?

We can do a few things easily:
1. Do business with companies that follow green practices.
2. Recycle as much as possible.
3. Try and buy products that can be recycled and have the least packaging.
4. Use cloth bags for shopping. A product called Tote Buddy will help.
5. Plan your driving.
6. Turn down the thermostat.
7. Research clubs or groups in your area that encourage green ideas.

Anyone can do these few things, if desired. Hopefully someday we will wake up to the fact that we are selling our souls to other countries who will someday hold us hostage over the energy and we use and abuse. I fear that this may happen sooner than later. I can only do my small part, but one part combined with others becomes a movement and a movement becomes change. A change for the better. A change for our future. A change forever. That is my prayer for our nation and our environment.