Now that it is officially spring and Earth Day is rapidly approaching; I can’t help but think green thoughts. Not only am I thinking about the green grass that’s soon to come (not soon enough here in Michigan), but also about green efforts.

After a little research, I discovered that medical scrubs aren’t the only thing that’s green here at Lydia’s. Many of the employees are living environmentally friendly lifestyles at work and at home. I only had to walk a few feet to my co-workers desk where I found a place to put my paper for recycling.

I asked some of the employees how they are green on a daily basis. I found out that this is what they do:

• Recycle everything possible (paper, plastic, aluminum, batteries, etc.) One employee gets her son involved with recycling and she says, “He loves to go [to the recycling center] with grandma.”
• Return cans and bottles to the store instead of throwing them away
• Use reusable totes for shopping (here’s one tote that Lydia's offers which can be used for shopping or for bringing your stuff to and from work)
• Drive fuel efficient cars
• Bike or take the bus instead of drive
• Turn off lights when leaving the room “I’m obsessive about never leaving lights on in more than one room at home,” said Lindsey.
• Use energy efficient light bulbs around the house
• Turn off or unplug appliances/ electronics that aren’t in use
• Make sure that the dishwasher and washing machine are completely full before running, in order to save water
• Use green products
• Keep the heat down in the house
• Make all errands in one trip to cut back on gasoline

And one of my favorite green efforts came from Gail, an employee at Lydia’s, who is environmentally friendly even when she’s quilting!

Gail uses recycled express and priority mailing envelopes in the creation of her quilts. I thought this was an awesome way to show how you can be green in all aspects of your life! I think I need to be more creative like Gail.                           

Finding out all this information was exciting to me. At home I tend to be alone in my quest to be green (the recycling boxes are right next to the garbage and my roommates still don’t use them)! But at least now I can come to work and be surrounded by others who are on the same quest. And who knows, maybe I’ll eventually rub off on my roommates.
 
So what do you do to be green? Do you have any suggestions for us at Lydia’s about what we could do to improve? We would love to hear your ideas.