I’ve fallen off the wagon, guys. When I retreated to the mountains to house/dogsit this summer, I thought for sure that the immediate presence of nature would affirm and support my efforts to green-up my life. But instead I got distracted. I used un-earth-friendly cleaning products. I used many paper towels. I forgot my cloth shopping bags most of the time. I recycled much less than I could have. And now that I am back to my regular life, in my own space, a lot of the good habits I created in June and July have evaporated. I want to get back into my system, my rhythm. It was going so well!
Because we conceived this blog partly as a confessional space, I want to ‘fess up my excuses for being so undisciplined this summer:
#1) Cabin life is dirty. There were bugs and spiders to be smooshed (only the bold and biting ones), and adorable but hairy, muddy, dusty dogs to clean up after. And there was a dump instead of curbside pick up. I resorted to paper towels and heavy duty cleaners for dirt management.
#2) I found it tricky to transfer my systems and lifestyle into someone else’s space. More often than not I used their systems of cleaning and organizing, which were already in place in the cabin.
#3) This one is probably the real reason: I was on vacation. I think this exchange from Sports Night sums it up:
Casey: What happened to your values?
Dan: I find that maintaining them is a lot of work. I take a day off now and then.
Casey: You take a vacation from doing the right thing?
Dan: Yeah. I don’t loot storefronts or anything, but once in a while, when I consider the effort it takes to diligently adhere to a moral compass, I take myself out of the line up, and I rest for the next game.
Oy! Inadvertant, but not what I want. So it’s time for my next game, which is the same as the last game: cloth towels and cloth bags. And hopefully soon I will also tackle phantom energy. Thanks for listening folks!
