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!

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

5 days left!

Just a reminder that there are 5 days remaining until the deadline for this month's APLS carnival. I just got around to writing my post so I now feel justified in reminding you. In case you've forgotten, and are in a reader so you can't scroll down to the other post, this month's topic is:

"When does size matter?"
I read a lot of blogs about families and I occasionally find myself thinking "Sure, that's easy to do if there are 4 of you". For example, I can't maintain a worm bin since I just don't have enough food waste for them to live off of. Other times I will tell someone about a green change I made and they think (or even say!) "Sure, that's easy to do if there's only one of you". Such as when I describe line drying laundry in my laundry room. So, what efforts that you make are easier to do because of your household size? Which are harder and make you wish there were a better way?

Submit a link to your post to tina.cardone1@gmail.com when you're done!

Also, apples season really has gotten off to a great start. I'm lucky enough to have an apple orchard a mile down the street and they also have a farm store/bakery right at the orchard. There's apple sauce and apple pie and apple crumble and apple everything you'd ever want, fresh and local and delicious. So, APLS, how do you like your apples?

Fall carnival season

The fall APLS carnival schedule is now up!

Please note that all submissions are due to the blog host by the 15th of the month. The carnival will be posted a few days later.

September: When does size matter?
Tina at crstn85 writes:
I read a lot of blogs about families and I occasionally find myself thinking "Sure, that's easy to do if there are 4 of you". For example, I can't maintain a worm bin since I just don't have enough food waste for them to live off of. Other times I will tell someone about a green change I made and they think (or even say!) "Sure, that's easy to do if there's only one of you". Such as when I describe line drying laundry in my laundry room. So, what efforts that you make are easier to do because of your household size? Which are harder and make you wish there were a better way?

October: Greening your Halloween
Kellie at Greenhab is planning a fall-themed carnival. Look for additional details soon!

November: Lessons learned from sustainability
Steph at Greening Families writes:
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?

We're looking for hosts and topics for our winter season. Interested? E-mail me at goinggreenmama@gmail.com.

From August into September

First, make sure that you checked out everyone's contributions to the August Carnival. Robbie of Going Green Mama did a great job of rounding everyone up to renew APLS and there's an excellent post summarizing everyone submissions here.

Amazingly, next week it will be September! That means back to school for a lot of us (personally I'll be going back as both a teacher and a student, double the fun) and also means its time to think about the next discussion topic and I'm hosting this month. It would have been very appropriate to discuss sustainability at school, but I didn't have that much foresight so maybe someone can take that on in October.

September's carnival topic is "When does size matter?". I read a lot of blogs about families and I occasionally find myself thinking "Sure, that's easy to do if there are 4 of you". For example, I can't maintain a worm bin since I just don't have enough food waste for them to live off of. Other times I will tell someone about a green change I made and they think (or even say!) "Sure, that's easy to do if there's only one of you". Such as when I describe line drying laundry in my laundry room. So, what efforts that you make are easier to do because of your household size? Which are harder and make you wish there were a better way?

I look forward to hearing answers from the perspectives of people in all different size households. Please email submissions to tina.cardone1@gmail.com by September 15.

Thanks!
Tina at crstn85

p.s. Enjoy the start of apple season APLS!

Reminder - posts due Saturday

Participating in the August carnival? Don't forget to send your links to goinggreenmama@gmail.com by Saturday. Thanks!

APLS August Carnival Topic

Hi everyone,
I'm glad there's still interest in reviving APLS! Thanks to those of you who emailed or posted.

Our August topic is on Green on the Cheap. Has the economy impacted how you live green? Do you buy fewer green products to save money? Or have you redoubled your efforts to live sustainably? What have you learned about living environmentally friendly on a budget?

Let me know your thoughts! Please send links to your posts by Aug. 15 to goinggreenmama@gmail.com. The carnival will go live on Going Green Mama on Aug. 19.

Also, while we have the September topic and host confirmed, the rest of the year is open! If you'd like to host and haven't confirmed a topic or month, please let me know at goinggreenmama at gmail.

Have a great month!
Robbie @ Going Green Mama