About the Project

Well, there I was…happily living my life and dealing with the day-to-day stresses of 3 young children and a hectic schedule.  I would struggle daily to get through the day just to collapse, exhausted, into bed every night and pray that morning would not come as soon as it was sure to do.  I would spend my days bustling around the house to get the kids ready for school or whatever the days’ activities, packing lunches, solving missing sock issues, begging them to get ready because they still had to eat breakfast, brush their teeth, and get out the door.  Then I would focus on getting my youngest to preschool so that I could race home to try to accomplish whatever monumental tasks I had lined up for the day.  These tasks, no doubt, would require hours of work, yet I only had a mere 3 hours before I had to race out to carpool.  Then I would have to make dinner, get their baths and try to have some semblance of “personal” time while I played games, put out fires over who could play with what toy (Heaven forbid they actually play with it TOGETHER so I could get dinner on the table).  Then, my husband would come home, dinner, brush teeth, stories, bedtime…me collapsing out of sheer exhaustion.  Why does it have to be so hard????  That is the question I would ask myself day-in and day-out.

Then one morning, I woke up and realized…it doesn’t HAVE to be that hard.  If I could just simplify my life and return to a sense of natural living that I had enjoyed in my childhood and beyond, it might just result in a calmer and more organized life.  Hence, the concept of The Going Green Project was born.  There were so many aspects of my life that could use an overhaul.  However, upon reflection, I found that I had drifted away from all of those things that grounded me in my earlier years – living simply, buying only things that were necessary (with the occasional treat, of course!), using what we already possessed and striving to become more vigilant about an eco-friendly way of life.  I decided that each week, I would take on a new, environmentally-friendly challenge to transform our consumer-driven mentality to one that provides a natural, sustainable existence.  I needed to do this for myself and for my children.  It is great to talk about all of the wonderful things we can do for the world and for others, but unless we practice those things in our everyday life, the words are meaningless.

I invite you to join me on this journey.  I hope that I am able to provide you with a number of tips, insights or just a good-hearted smile at what I am about to experience.  If you are so inclined, please feel free to take on my weekly challenges and send me your progress or perspectives.   I look forward to your feedback and thank you for jumping on board with me!