heidikins.com

When heidikins IM’d me last week and asked me to do a guest blog this week, I was…well…(in the words of the One-and-Only)…Oh! My! Laws!…So. Excited. So here I am, guest blogger on heidikins.com—in all its glory.

Miss heidikins has specifically asked me to speak on the subject of environmentalism and the small changes you and I can make each day that add up to a big difference. A self-professed hippie (however, my boyfriend recently corrected me to be a “yippie”—i.e., a hybrid yuppie/hippie), I guess I am somewhat of an expert on the topic.

So, here goes—my “tried and true” ways that you can (actually) make a difference.

1. Bike to work. Or use public transportation. Or carpool. Or combine trips so you drive fewer miles. Whatever makes sense, just do it (and with $5 gas, you can’t go wrong here). I commute 25 miles each way to work in the mornings on my Jetta, and I have three carpoolers. They each pay me $10 a week to ride, and I make out pretty well. Plus, that’s three fewer cars on the road.
2. Unplug things when you aren’t using them. Computer chargers, toaster ovens, blenders, televisions, coffee makers, etc. In my old apartment, I looked at my electric meter while everything was plugged in. Then, I went back upstairs and unplugged it all. When I ran back downstairs, it had almost stopped turning entirely. My power bill was drastically reduced, and so was my impact on fossil fuel consumption.
3. Offset your power consumption with wind power. And while you’re at it, add up your car’s mileage and throw that in there as well. You can even offset your air travel, too. You can do this through your local power company in most places (like Rocky Mountain Power) or by visiting The CarbonNeutral Companyonline.
4. Use reusable cloth bags at the grocery store. Of course, I’m going to use this opportunity for a little bit of shameless self promotion and tell you to check out Ruthie Pearl bags—my very own line. However, I’m not opposed to your checking out the competition at Reusablebags.com. You can even pick up a few bags at your local thrift store for spare change.
5. I have a feeling I may get some push-back here, but I’m going to share this one anyway. Recycle your toilet water. I know, I know…it sounds gross. But it’s not that bad, especially if you live alone. We have a funny saying in my house: “If it’s brown, flush it down. If it’s yellow, let it mellow.” Heidikins is going to kill me for that one, but it saves water and leaves you more money for shoes once the bills are paid!
6. Grab an old paper ream box at your office and toss it under your desk at work so you don’t have to walk to the recycling bin every time you have a piece of paper to throw away. And if your office doesn’t have convenient recycling, by all means, talk to them about it. Bonus points if you decorate your box with some cute, recycled paper or clippings from old magazines.
7. Buy used when you can. I’ve been shopping at thrift stores since I was about 15 years old (back when Nirvana, Birkenstocks and flannel were “IN”), and I can’t tell you how many compliments I get on my amazing finds. Plus, the super-hip buyers where I work (a large clothing retailer) tell me that 2009 is going to be all about “two-thousand-nineties.” Buying used clothing and furniture helps the environment by saving on energy consumption from production and transporting goods. And what’s even better is that you’ll have one-of-a-kind items that you got for super cheap. Imagine my delight when everyone was jealous of my oh-so-Carrie-Bradshaw pearl and chain necklace that I wore to din the other night. It cost me…ahem…$.99 at the local thrift store on 33rd.
8. If your city/town offers curbside recycling, USE IT! And then, strive to always have more in your recycling bin than in your trash dumpster. I would say that my boyfriend and I only put our dumpster beside the road about once a month. You’ll be amazed at how many things are recyclable. Get into the habit of imagining the amount of stuff that theoretically ends up in landfills as a result of over six billion people living on the earth. And then, make a commitment to yourself to reduce that.
9. Unsubscribe to junk mail and catalogs that you don’t have any use for. I am just as guilty as the next fashion-minded gal of LOVING an afternoon on the couch with the latest J.Crew or (insert your favorite clothing store here) catalog. But, isn’t that what your spare hour (or four) at the office and the company-paid internet is for? And while you’re at it, switch to paperless billing for everything that you can—bank statements, credit cards, utilities bills, car payments, cell phone bills, etc. Usually a quick phone call or a few mouse clicks will take care of these things.
10. I told myself I was going to limit this blog posting to only 10 items…so I’m struggling here with what (of the myriad of other items) I should include. So I will leave you with this: Educate yourself. Don’t let tree huggers like me tell you that the earth is going to blow up in 2011 if we don’t all buy Priuses. But on the other hand, don’t believe people who tell you that global warming is a hoax. Figure it out for yourself, and draw your own conclusions. If you’re reading this blog, I imagine that you’re one of the smartest people on the planet, anyway (with some of the best shoes). You can figure it out for yourself.

That’s all for me, ladies (and perhaps a few gentlemen!). If you want to know more about me, you can visit my newly started blog at laurenyant.blogspot.com. Here’s to saving the earth, one blog posting at a time!

Note from the editor:  If you are interested in Ruthie Pearl bags, check my post here for pictures, more about Lauren & the bags, and a heidikins.com discount!  I am currently schlepping my stuff around Manhattan in my Ruthie Pearl bag and I couldn’t be happier with the cute style and fantastic porportions; this bag holds EVERYTHING!