I can’t believe I’m about to write a post on how to go green in a home you own. Because the truth is, I don’t feel like our family follows many of the rules…at least not the ones that require major investments of time or mullah. Frankly, at the moment, we’re short on both of those commodities. However, there are some really easy things that us homeowners can do that renters kind of lose out on.

1. Use organic fertilizers. This is a great one. I don’t have experience with this brand of fertilizer, but it’s made of fish emulsion (a nice word for poop), but it has been deodorized so that it can be used anywhere. Our dog rolled in a bunch of the fully odored stuff last summer. It takes several washes to remove the stench, so odorless is definitely the way to go.

2. Install a lower flow shower head. You don’t have to choose between water pressure and the environment anymore. It’s possible to conserve water, and still have a nice shower. And with these options from $5-$60 at Low Impact Living, it’s easy to fit any budget.

3. Use eco-friendly paints. Green Living Ideas has compiled a guide to environmentally friendly paint options, and it really is worth a look. They say that pollution is actually higher inside of our homes than outside (even in smoggy places like L.A.), and toxic paint is a big cause of that.

4. Send the gas powered tools packing. At least here in the heartland, there are no emissions standards for lawn mowers, weed whackers, etc. And that means that around here, they are huge polluters. I know for a fact that midwesterners pride themselves on a well kept lawn, and we don’t have to give it up just because our mowers are pollution machines. There are some great electric options out there (like this and this), and if you can’t seem to spring for a new electric weed whacker, they are a great item to look for at a garage sale (my folks bought one last summer for two bucks, and it works great).

As for our family, we’re still working on the going green thing in our new home. I’d like to put up a clothesline, find a second hand electric weed whacker, and finish installing our CFL’s as the light bulbs continue to burn out, but all in all, we’re doing alright with it.

Any tips for going green in a home you own?

Is having it all worth it?  I sometimes laugh at my teenaged self who was determined to be an accomplished career woman and mother…at the same time.  I didn’t really have a clue what I would do, but gosh darn it, I was going to be successful. Sure, part of making that equation a reality is choosing how one defines success, and some days for me that means remembering to flush after cleaning out the potty (I aim high…I know).

Yet, the last few weeks have been, well, harrowing. I know that now is not the time to define whether I’m succeeding in my work life balance, being as how we moved into a construction zone semi-remodeled home two weeks ago today, I just entered my third trimester, and last week we had to travel a long distance to a funeral. I totally get that it’s not supposed to be tidy and pretty right now, and that falling behind in one, two or (in my case) many areas is pretty understandable.

But, I can’t help but notice that little niggling voice inside of me saying “You could handle situations like these better if you didn’t have so much on your plate.” and “It’s not like you’re bringing in the big bucks…why are you working so hard?” and “You probably won’t get anywhere with your work at home endeavors, so why not give up?”. I don’t really have the energy to fight that voice off completely, so I’m just working on finishing one task at a time and trying not to look too far down on my list of things to do. I’m pretty sure that the overwhelm of the list in its entirety could be the catalyst for a nervous breakdown, and nobody wants that.

I’m sure all mothers (especially working mothers) have moments where it feels like they are working on saving the world, and their only tools are a spatula and a spork. That’s where I am right now. It’s a tough spot, and I wish I could just snap out of it. Instead I’m using my spork to dig steadily, and come up for air, large quantities of food, and water, when I need to.

Do you have experience with wanting to give up on your ambitions when it seems too hard?

So…um…the proverbial stuff happened to hit the fan on Thursday this week. It was a hectic week by any measure. I had a volunteer event to plan and pull off. It was the week before Spring break for my husband, with all of the administrative walkthroughs and observations that that entails. Oh yeah, and we were supposed to close on our house yesterday. I say supposed to because it didn’t happen. In fact, after all of the scrambling around for paperwork, and the emails from me to the lender and back (which I would then relay to my husband through text, or facebook status message, or whatever) and the phone calls and the running around town, we didn’t close yesterday because of a technicality and basically messed up paperwork (but not on my end).
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This past week I’ve been getting super into my new organizational system and have even begun building a binder to help keep our home on auto-pilot. I’ve included lists of all of my daily routines (complete with sheet protectors and dry erase markers to allow me to check things off as they get done) and have started to include tasks that are to be done weekly. I’m loving it so far. It’s all basically via the FLYlady website, but I’ve added a few touches of my own to make it work better for our family.

So many times I’ve envied my friends and family member who seem to have it all together with little to no effort. I’m starting to get the hang of this organization stuff, though.

There’s a big BUT coming.
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Quite a while ago now, I wrote a blog post where I ruthlessly made fun of my husband for his “idiosyncrasies” when it came to how he organizes his stuff. You see, among other things, he used to keep his CD’s in alphabetical order by category, and listen to them in that order. He also used to be a total freak about scheduling out our day. A lazy Saturday might have an itinerary like this “Well honey, from 8:15 to 9:45 we’ll be at the farmer’s market, and then go to the coffee shop until 11:30. I would like to walk the dog promptly at noon, and grab lunch at say 1:06…so that I have time to walk my normal route, and get a 12 minute shower in.”

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad, but I do remember a time when we were dating where he told me that we were going to hang out with friends and that there was no time table involved, but had a near brain hemorrhage when I took 20 minutes to get ready.
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We’re well on our way in our search for a “new to us” home, and one thing is becoming rather apparent. Since we’re looking mostly at foreclosures, or properties somewhere along in that process, we are going to need new appliances (oof). We already own our own washer and dryer, but everything else we’re going to have to buy. So, I’ve been doing a little preliminary research on the topic.

Did you know that there is actually a website out there (greener choices) that will calculate the energy consumption of two new refrigerator models and compare them for you? It’s amazing. You can then find out how much you can save in energy and how much each model costs over their lifetimes. I’m in awe.
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I think I’ve mentioned that organization is not my strong suit…oh yeah, I did say that the house being more organized was my New Year’s Resolution. Well, since proclaiming that as my wonderful and painful (I hate cleaning) goal, I have done absolutely zilch to make it happen. That means that we’re half way through January, and our home office is astoundingly cluttered. I had my father over the other day and was mortified when he wanted to come in and check something out on the computer.  Yes. It really is that bad.

I was watching some show the other day, and if I could remember what it was I would tell you, but the guest was saying how we all actually do have daily routines. Psshht, I thought, not me…if I had even a little routine in my body, I would have a clean house and a nice office to work in.  The guest went on to say that YES, even to all of the doubters out there, we DO all have routines, it’s just that some people have productive routines and others don’t. Well, that shut me up. I looked around at what I was doing. Exhausted after running around in circles all day after my daughter, with no real structure. And then the realization hit me over the head…we do this EVERY day.
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