Sunday, November 22, 2009

December APLS Carnival Topic: Green Journeys

When people find out that I'm a vegetarian, one of the first questions is always, "How long have you been a vegetarian?" and then "Why did you become a vegetarian?"

Going veggie was my first eco-related lifestyle change, but it took ten years of feet-dragging and a crashing housing market before I finally committed to greening my life about a year and a half ago.

That's a very abbreviated version of the story of my green journey...What's your story?

December is a good month for reflecting on beginnings and endings, where you started and how far you've come. So in that spirit, I'd like to hear about your green journey for this month's APLS Carnival.

  • What triggered you to start trying to live a sustainable life?
  • What are the biggest changes you've made to live sustainably?
  • How far have you come since you started your green journey?
  • And what do you feel you still need to work on?
Please email your submissions to consciousshopperblog@gmail.com by December 15. I'll post the carnival on December 18 at my blog The Conscious Shopper.

I'm looking forward to hearing your story!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

November APLS Carnival is Live!

The November edition of the APLS Carnival is now live at Sustainable Living and You: November APLS Carnival.

As the holiday rush begins, take some time to relax and read this month's thoughtful entries. They will definitely encourage you to think about all the blessings in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

November APLS Carnival Topic: Sustainable Living and You

When I began making changes to live a more sustainable life, I frequently thought, "There is no way I'll be able to do that!" when reading descriptions of what others were doing. I was simply overwhelmed at the distance between my lifestyle and theirs. Now I'm doing many of the things from which I initially recoiled and know that they were changes well worth making. I've talked to others who have felt those same feelings so wanted to explore this notion of changing behavior in hopes of encouraging folks to start making changes that currently feel enormous. I know there are some more modifications I have on my list that seem a bit overwhelming right now!

The questions I would like you to consider when writing about this topic include:

What have your efforts to live a more sustainable life taught you about yourself? Have you been able to change a behavior you initially thought you could not? What has surprised you about your own capacity in your efforts to live more sustainably?

If possible, please include specific examples of changes as I think those would be particularly useful to people trying to make those and similar changes in their own lives.

I'm really looking forward to reading what everyone has to say! Please email your submissions to steph@greeningfamilies.com by November 15. I'll post the carnival by November 18 so we can all learn from, and be inspired by, each other!

Thanks much,
Steph @ Greening Families

Sunday, October 18, 2009

October Carnival is up!

The October APLS blog carnival, Proselytizing Green, is now up on my blog, Greenhab. We have some great posts from a number of contributors this month, so stop by and learn how your fellow green bloggers spread the word.

If you didn't have a chance to participate, but have something to share on the subject, be sure to leave a comment over on my blog.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Reminder: October APLS Carnival

Hi fellow APLS! This is just a friendly reminder that the deadline for the October APLS carnival is coming up. In light of Blog Action Day, I thought I'd extend the carnival deadline to Saturday, October 17th. If you're anything like me, you were up late blogging last night and may need a little break.

Again, the topic is "proselytizing green". Do you shout the green word from the mountain tops, try to lead by example, or keep your opinions to yourself? How and when do you spread the word?

Email me your blog at greenhabgoods {at} gmail by Saturday evening to be included in the October carnival.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

October APLS Carnival Topic: Proselytizing Green


I wish I could sit down with all of you and chat over a nice big cup of organic tea...or wine (really, let's be honest). There are so many things I want to ask you and so many topics we could cover. I've finally narrowed down the topic for the October APLS carnival and have selfishly picked the subject of "Proselytizing Green".

I started my Greenhab blog a few years ago so I'd have a place to track my family's progress and ramble on about the ways in which we were greening our lives. For a while I felt like I was preaching the green word until I realized that the people reading my blog (other than my mom I guess) were already like-minded people.

Over time, I became more confident in mentioning environmental injustices to some friends, family and coworkers, but I'm not really an "in your face" type of gal. Now that my kids are in school I'm encountering things like fundraisers, wasteful lunches, junk-filled parties and the absence of recycling. I feel like the stinky hippy parent in a school full of affluent unstinky soccer moms. On the inside I'm throwing up a little in my mouth while, on the outside, I'm all "smile wave".

So, I'm wondering when, where, how, and how much you proselytize living green? When do you just let it go? When is it not worth it to start something? Or do you always speak up? How loud? Are you a tell-it-like-it-is person? Or do you try to take a gentle approach? And, although I use "proselytize" in the loosest way, does living a sustainable lifestyle feel almost like a religion to you?

Okay, I think those are enough questions for now. Talk amongst yourselves! But don't forget to send me your thoughts by Friday, October 16th. The carnival will be up on my blog on Monday the 19th of October. Email me at greenhabgoods {at} gmail {dot} com.

As always, please feel free to interpret the topic loosely. I don't want anyone to feel boxed in by the questions I've asked above, they're just some thoughts that came to mind. I'm sure if we were chatting over tea we'd have lots to share on the subject!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

September Carnival Is Up

The round up of the September contributions is now posted at: http://crstn85.blogspot.com/2009/09/does-size-matter-apls-carnival.html

Thanks for all your contributions!
Tina