Getting started

One housewife’s struggle to be a bit greener
One suburban house, two adults, two children, one au pair, one dog, three cars… it’s fair to say that our collective carbon footprint is fairly large. We can trot out all the old excuses. The fact is that we both work, so we often have to choose convenience over the planet. We commute by car, we go for the labour-saving, the disposable, the cheapest goods which always seem to have travelled the furthest. It would be easy to keep going just as we are, but in common with many fellow Brits, we feel that it’s time to do something to help the poor old planet. In short, it’s time to “do our bit”.

I should make it clear that I am not about to become an eco warrior. I’m not that kind of person and I can’t see the role of a compost loo in our house, or even at the bottom of the garden. What I am trying to do is make greener choices, where possible. So using less power. Minimising my food miles. Having a shower rather than a bath. Not selling the cars, but using them less. Embracing public transport a bit more. ( I have inserted the previous sentence to see if My Other Half is reading). But seriously, if there are practical things I can do to be a bit greener, so long as that does not jeopardise my already tenuous sanity, then that’s what I’m going to do.