Thursday, October 29, 2009

A major step backward

I'm sorry to say, but this month we took a major step backward in our quest to green our lives.
We found the perfect property on a lake in Minnesota, priced right. We wanted this for our family. Our kids are at a great age, and they are growing up so fast. So, now we live on a lake.

The downside?

We're now 45 miles from our jobs (90 mile round trip).
No more biking to work.
Recycling has become a major inconvenience because there is no local recycling station.
The house is smaller than our other home, so we will need to expand it by at least bedroom.

I'm living up to my "gasaholic" name, because now I will be consuming more gas than ever.

So what am I to do? Shall I just accept this setback, say "screw going green?"

No. We're going to pick ourselves up and start all over again.

Our current plan is to improve the efficiency of our fleet. I've been waiting years to buy a Chevy Volt, however I may need to get a Prius or some other small car that gets great mileage. This would replace our Mercury Mountaineer (we would keep it, but just use it for hauling and pulling).

We will also be shifting the kids to local schools.
I will close my office and shift it to the town where the kids will be in school.
My wife is interested in finding a job closer to home, although that may be difficult for her.

Currently we are all commuting together, rather than taking two cars in.
We will get our composter going again.
We will continue to buy recycled paper products.
This house is full of lights that we can replace with CFL's.
And on it goes.

We really love living out here, literally on an island. The nature is just gorgeous, and we look forward to enjoying this new home.

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