Way to go, Girl! Just in case you forgot, she will be receiving a $25 gas card to her station of choice. Not only did she save money on gas by conserving one tank for 3 weeks, (which I find amazing), but she now has another $25 to put towards her gas!
I would also like to thank Catherine and Nutmeg for playing along in the gas challenge. You ladies are awesome! A big thanks for all the people that came over and voted, too. You made the hardest part of this challenge, due to my indecisive nature, easy for me. Thank you 
Lastly, for everyone that played along or took something with them from this challenge, thank you. Thanks for being open to the idea that we all can make small changes to make a big difference. Whether is was the saving money that caught your eye or the easing up on the environment. For every gallon we save, it may seem insignificant, but added up over a year computes to big savings in money and CO2 emissions.
And that’s the thing. One of the most common responses I get from people when I am sharing my beliefs or “tips” on things I do to help save money and be more green is,
“Do you really think that makes a difference?”
Actually, yes I do. Thanks for asking. Let me tell you why. Not only do the tiny things we do add up, but they snowball. I didn’t just wake up one day and be all, “Hey! Today I am going green!” and start changing my complete way of life.
No. I started with one thing at a time. My goal was to change one habit a month in the beginning. Slowly. Then, as I did more things, my attitude changed. I saw that it really wasn’t anymore work to start bringing my own bags to the stores. I actually enjoyed the discussions I had with people about them and the feeling inside knowing I was doing my part.
But, it didn’t stop there. Then my neighbor decide to join in and start bringing her own bags. Then my other friends, then I shared it on my blog and hopefully some of you made that choice, too. I would also like to think that a few of the complete strangers that approached me at the grocery made those changes, also. It snowballed into several people making the choice to cut back on plastic.
If I had listened to the nay sayer asking if this small change “really made a difference” then this may not of happened. Those changes may have not been made. But the snowball didn’t end there.
As I realized how easy it was to make the plastic bag change, it resulted in my being more eager to make other changes, too. Soon my new habits weren’t limited to one a month, but several and those changes are still happening. Like a snowball. (do you think maybe I am wishing for some cool weather here?)
Lastly, and one of my proudest achievements, my kids. They are learning, too. They know we reuse almost everything nowadays. A funny story-
Someone had left several sandwich containers at school and I didn’t have any to pack Ty’s snack. I didn’t know what to do because we don’t have plastic sandwich bags in the house, so I wrapped his snack in some wax paper and taped it. When I picked Ty from school he was visibly upset. After calming him down I found out he was upset because one of his teachers made him throw the wax paper away when he was done. He thought we should of kept it to reuse, like the sandwich containers. I reassured him it was trash and that was ok, but he was adamant that we could of used it again. That’s my boy!
That’s what I am urging you to do today, on this Blog Action Day. Make one little change, no matter how insignificant you may think it. Don’t worry if you mess it up. It’s not about being perfect. I forget my canvas bags all the time. I just recycle the plastic bags I get. That one little change you may make, has the opportunity to turn into some quite large. You never know.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” - Gandhi
Share This
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
A few weeks ago I was presented with a truly cool award from Mama Zen. I know she probably thought I had forgotten about it, but not the case. Honestly? I have a very long list of topics to blog about right now coupled with a complete case of wonted slackers disease. Not a good mix.
Loading ...
