I recently got a comment from a reader that implied that I’m a pretty hardcore greenie…Well, I have a confession to make. I’m hardcore sometimes, and about some things, but I am definitely not Mother Earth incarnate.

I wrote a post a while back that was a bit of a rant, and while I still stand by it, I don’t think I expressed myself to the best of my abilities. I’m a little disillusioned by the whole “green movement”, because I think that some manufacturers are tweaking their products a little in order to be able to sell “green products” and get a spike in sales. As people who buy those products, I think we all have a responsibility to weigh our options and make the best decision for ourselves, our families, and our planet.  I wasn’t trying to bash people for buying green products, but just to raise awareness, that buying something new isn’t necessarily the best option for the planet…And hopefully that can help us all think outside the box.

I think I came off a little preachy and had you all thinking that I fashion my own shoes out of rubber from our tires after they wear out. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I think a lot of my eco-friendliness is in my head. Sure we recycle, and I try to use our clothesline during the summer, and we use compact flourescent light bulbs, but there are certain things that I am a complete green slacker on.

Here are my (not so) green confessions:

I don’t recycle plastic grocery bags. I try and tell myself that it’s okay that I don’t recycle them since I use them to bring back dirty diapers when we’re out, but I can’t seem to throw out the ones that haven’t been used for diaper duty yet. I’m collecting a mountain of plastic bags in my kitchen cupboard, and I keep telling myself that I just need to take them to the store for recycling, but I never have, and I’m not really sure I ever will.

I forget to use my cloth bags for groceries ALL the time. One of the reasons that the plastic bag problem has gotten so out of control is that I am really bad about taking my rag tag bunch of canvas bags into the store with me. I can’t seem to remember until I’m wheeling the cart up to the check out line…at which point there is no way I’m driving home to get them. Every now and then I’ll realize that my chico bag has made it into my purse, but those times are few and far between, and so hardly even count.

I buy all sorts of individually packaged foods. This one is new for me since becoming a mom. I used to loathe individually packaged items, and thought it was pure laziness to buy them. Now I see the light. There is nothing better than being able to toss a couple of snacks into the diaper bag and go. Sure I feel a little residual guilt every now and then, but I’m okay with it.

Okay, fess up where do you cut corners when it comes to being green?