Day 98: Brush & Flush -Water Conservation

 My boys are big enough to brush their teeth on their own, but they needed a little reminding on how to use as little water as possible when making those teeth sparkle. We started the "buddy brush", where you have to brush until everyone is ready to rinse, then everyone rinses quickly, then the water is turned off until another rinse is needed. We also talked about the "buddy flush", where if you have to pee, especially before bed- when they all go at the same time, you wait to flush until everyone else has peed and only flush once. When we woke up today the boys already remembered about the buddy flush and my oldest asked anyone if they needed to pee before he flushed.

Here is a little bit of info on water conservation from not running the water when your brush your teeth from a website called 50 ways to Help the Planet:

BRUSH WITHOUT RUNNING
You've heard this one before, but maybe you still do it. You'll conserve up to five gallons per day if you stop. Daily savings in the U.S. alone could add up to 1.5 billion gallons--more water than folks use in the Big Apple.

Day 97: Make Reusing & Recycling Fun for Kids

We recently bought a children's book called Michael Recycle. In the book there is a little boy that is superhero and his power is going to cities and teaching them how to recycle and make their towns more beautiful, clean and green. It is a really cute book, and there are actually a few of them by the same author, Ellie Bethel. My kids love the story and we have been saving cardboard boxes and other keepable trash to build ourselves a Micheal Recycle city. Yesterday we finally gathered enough supplies, and had some free time, to start our recycled town. The kids loved making houses and thinking of creative ideas that the trash could be. It will be an ongoing project in our front room for a while. Every day we will add a little more recycled trash, maybe paint it a bit, who knows what else we will think of to add to it. And every day while we work/play with it the kids are learning that recycling can be fun, as well as good for the planet!

    

The beginning of our Recycled Town                                                                             Michael Recycle Book. 

Day 94: Be Honest

I could have got quite a haul from a new store yesterday for free. I went and checked out the new Latitudes gas station/bistro today and needed to grab a few libations for the football playoffs while I was there. When I went to check out the deal that was listed for the beer I was buying did not ring up, so the lady took my word and typed it in for me, as we were chatting she mentioned what a good deal the drinks were for that price and I finally realized I had grabbed a 30 pack instead of an 18er, that is why the wrong price rang up and why she thought it was such a good deal. Now, it would have been the easiest thing in the world for me to just keep mum, it was already scanned, changed to reflect the new price and I had already been carded but instead I apologized for my mistake, ran to the back of the store to return the wrong pack and started the checkout process again with the right amount drinks. Honesty is always the best policy.

Day 93: Have a No Screens Day

Sorry I didn't get to post yesterday, we had a No Screens Day for our Good Human Act, and for some fun! That means we had no tv, no wii, no DS, no computers and hardly any phone(had to take an inportanat email or 2). We also started the day off having a no lights day too, we took flashlights to the bathroom and anywhere else dark- they loved using the  flashlights, but we had to change that one when I made dinner, kinda hard to cook with out seeing the food. We tried to keep most of the lights off after dinner though too. It was a really fun day. We spent extra time outside, made an awesome fort and I got my spring cleaning started in my kitchen. It was a wonderful day and saving some energy for our planet made it even better! We are going to try and do this every other Saturday from now on!

Day 91: Let Someone Go in Front of You in Line

Today for my Good Human Act when we went to the Post Office to mail something out to my mother-in-law we let a lady go ahead of us that was in a rush. My little guys and I had nowhere pressing to be and we were happy to quicken the trip for someone else, especially since I have been there :) I know a few times we have been at the grocery store just grabbing a last minute thing or two and people with full carts have let us go ahead, it is really nice when people are so courteous!

Day 90: Call Senator to Say "NO" To The PROTECT IP ACT

For my Good Human Act today I called my local Senator by going to this website http://americancensorship.org/modal/call-form-moz.html and emailed Congress to protest to Protect the IP Act. Today many websites are going dark today to protest SOPA & PIPA too:
Here is a link that has a video about it and a form to email Congress. http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa

The video below discusses the Senate version of the House's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). In the Senate the bill is called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). SOPA has gotten more attention than PIPA because it was moving faster in the legislative process. But PIPA is just as dangerous, and now it is moving faster.

PIPA would give the government new powers to block Americans' access websites that corporations don't like. The bill lets corporations and the US government censor entire websites and cut sites off from advertising, payments and donations.

This legislation will stifle free speech and innovation, and even threaten popular web services like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

The bill is scheduled for a test vote in the Senate on Jan. 24th: We need to act now to let our lawmakers know just how terrible it is. Will you fill out the form above to ask your lawmakers to oppose the legislation and support a filibuster?

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Day 86: Exercise Green

Exercise is good any way you do it, but exercising green is even better. Yesterday I ran outside with a friend. We got some fresh air, got our butts kicked by a giant hill and din't use any electricity or power to get a great workout. The gym is great but sometimes it is nice to exercise green!

Day 85: Say "No Thanks" to Unneeded Receipts

My act is short today, when asked if I needed a receipt printed, when we stopped to pick some pizza up for dinner (it's Friday pizza/movie night!), I simply said "no thanks". I will continue to do this everywhere I go unless I actually need the receipt, which for me, is not very often. This saves a bit of paper, but over time might really add up.

Day 84: Sign a Petition to Stop LGBT Discrimintaion

A wonderful lady we know, named Pam, posted a petition link on facebook to be signed to prevent LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) discrimination in schools. I signed immediately! No one deserves to be bullied!

Here is more information about the Petition:

PETITION: STOP LGBT DISCRIMINATION IN OUR SCHOOLS

Discrimination based on sexual orientation must come to an end, especially in our schools. That’s why Rep. Jared Polis introduced H.R. 998, the "Student Non-Discrimination Act" to ensure that we end discrimination based on sexual orientation in schools for good. The safety of American children should be a bipartisan priority, but from the looks of it, right-wing special interests are already fundraising to block this basic anti-discrimination measure. In fact, the arch-conservative publication The Weekly Standardsent out a bigoted email calling gay Americans "sexual deviants." Help us fight back. Sign our petition right now calling for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation in our schools. http://www.dccc.org/pages/bullying

Day 83: Hand Deliver Misaddressed Mail

Yesterday we got 5 pieces of mail that didn't belong to us. Usually I would just drop it back in the outgoing mail slot, but I decided, since the addresses were near ours, that I could save the mailman a little work and just hand deliver the mail to the proper owner for my Good Human Act today. Easy breezy!

Day 82: Neighborhood Litter Patrol

I know I have cleaned a road before and cleaned up trash in my neighborhood before, but after 2 days of large cardboard and lots of styrofoam being in the road of our neighborhood I broke down and cleaned it up today. I kept hoping someone else would do it so I could get an original Good Human Act for today, but I couldn't drive past it another day and pretend to not see it, or not stop to clean it up. So, on the way to run errands with my family today I made my hubby stop the car and let me pick it up. Since we were going to the grocery and they have a huge dumpster we were able to drop the trash off without any extra stops, which made it really convenient and the road looks so much nicer again!

Road Cleanup.

Day 81: Be a Patient & Courteous Driver

It was my carpool day this morning and we were running a bit late, so I was a bit impatient. It always seems like when you are running late that is when traffic is the slowest and other drivers are the most obnoxious, and it is really frustrating. So today, as I picked up the kids who ride with us I decided to mellow out. I took a few breaths and pretended like we had all the time in the world. I didn't get in a huff when the light turned red just as it was my turn to go or get bothered when there was a traffic build up, that was going to put us even father behind, at the freeway entrance (due to an accident). Instead of letting all the traffic problems compound my agitation I decided to let it all go and actually had a pleasant and quick drive to school. I even let a few people in my lane when I normally might have sped up to block them. I kept up my driving goal of patience and courtesy when I was called by my son's school and had to go back and pick him up for not feeling well. Though I was bummed he was sick and wanted to get to him quickly I drove smart and cheerfully and the extra drive didn't bother me today. I think if more people just relaxed on the road instead of being impatient there might be less accidents and a happier atmosphere on the road. I will try to always be a patient and courteous driver, not just today for my Good Human Act.

Day 80: Use both Sides of your Paper

Today for my Good Human Act I collected all the paper I have been saving, that I have either used only one side of and don't need anymore or cut a part out of and can only use part of the paper now. I gathered all these papers and 1/4 them (from a normal 8x10) and made a  "note papers" box. I used an old "thank you" note box to keep the pages in and now I have a handy note box right by my computer to keep track of things or make lists on.

Day 79: Turn Stuff into the Lost & Found

 It was such a beautiful day today we just had to get out of the house, so I took the 3 little guys to the zoo. We all had a wonderful time, the boys were in great moods, the weather was perfect, most of the animals were out... it was a great zoo trip. The kids favorite parts didn't have much to do with the zoo animals though. They adored feeding the ducks the bread and popcorn from home and they loved just playing in the big open space with all the huge trees and tiny sticks. I got shat on while we were in the big open area by an unseen bird bomb, and even that didn't make a dent in the day's funness:) We even got a Good Human Act done while we were at the zoo, which is just the cherry on top of a delicious fundae. While we were playing we found a tiny SD card for someone's phone by the ducks and we found a forgotten cooler while the boys were playing hide and seek in the big open area, so on our way out of the zoo we took our finds to the front office lost and found. I hope they find their way back to their owners!

My arm got shat on :)

Feeding the ducks!

Day 77: Return Shopping Carts

I didn't plan to run any errands this weeks since I did a whole bunch in a batch the other day. But Chad finally got put back on the shift at work that he has been wanting to be on for a year, so that called for a quick trip to the store for some celebratory champagne!! When we got there there were tons of carts out of the cart racks, I didn't have much time and I had all three boys with me so I tried to gather as many as I could that were close to us and corralled them up for my Good Human Act today.

Day 73: Doggy DooDoo Clean Up

There has been a large pile of dog doodoo on a sidewalk near our house for a bit of time now and noone has claimed it and cleaned it up, so for my Good Human Act I cleaned someone else's doggy poop to keep our sidewalks nice and clean, I should have done it long ago. Merry New Year!!

And I would like to thank whoever dropped a secret delivery of baklava by our house with a Happy New Year's note! It was delicious and so kind!

Day 71: Help the Older Generation with Newer Technology

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to post because it was my birthday (yay 30!) and I tried to stay away from the computer :) It didn't stop me from doing my Good Human Act though! My son Keston and I went to the grocery store to pick up some Papa Murphy's Pizza (yum!) and a movie and while we were waiting in line to use the Red Box machine an older lady was before us and just couldn't get it figured out. Technology changes and changes fast today and lots of people struggle to keep up with it, myself included. But Red Box I get so, Keston and I helped her through it and we all had a good laugh about how far society and entertainment have come. It was fun to help and Keston loved that he got to help too. I can't wait to see what technology stumps Keston someday, he is such a whiz already it will have to be some mind boggling stuff compared to what's out there today.

Day 70: Unplug Your Cell Phone Chargers

Today I looked online for a planet/energy conserving idea and found that leaving chargers (and small appliances) plugged in, even when they are not being used or charging, still drain energy. Today for my Good Human Act I went around my house an unplugged everything that I didn't need right then. We have 3 cell phone chargers plugged in but only charge our phones at night...unplugged, I keep our dust buster plugged and hardly ever use it...unplugged, I have my stand mixer plugged in even though I am not baking at the moment...unplugged,  baby monitors we only use at night...unplugged, treadmill I use only when it is too cold to run outside... unplugged, Christmas tree we will only have up for a few more days...unplugged, blow dryer/diffuser I try to avoid using unless I have to go outside soon after a shower and don't want to freeze my head off...unplugged. Now I can plug any of this stuff in when I need it and will try my hardest to remember to unplug it when I am done!

Here is a bit of information about leaving cell phone chargers plugged in from Vanity Fairs 50 Ways to Help Save the Planet:

Turn Off Your Chargers

Most cell-phone chargers continue to draw electricity even when the phone isn't plugged into it. If your cell-phone charger averages five watts per hour and is plugged in all the time, that means a total of more than 40 kilowatt-hours every year, or about 93 pounds of CO2. The same problem applies to your other electronic equipment—your laptop, iPod, digital camera, and BlackBerry. Unplug all your chargers when they are not in use.

Day 69: Pledge to Not Text While Driving

My mother-in-law, Ina, sent me a link to pledge not to text while driving a few days ago and it wasn't until today when I got a few texts from people while driving to the Natural History Museum in Albuquerque that I realized I should be signing that pledge. I typically only text when I am stopped at a red light or in really slow traffic because I am not very good at multi-tasking but today I text, (with voice command...so hopefully that is not as bad) while driving on the freeway- which I really shouldn't have done. So, needless to say for my Good Human Act today I signed the pledge and when I did I found that for every person that signs AT&T is donating $2 to the National Organization for Youth Safety, which a great added incentive to sign the pledge to not text while driving.

Here is the link if you want to take the pledge and have $2 donated in your name from Causes.com:
http://www.causes.com/causes/639835-connect-for-good/actions/1475122?recruiter_id=47285525

And here is a little more information about the NOYS, that the pledge donation goes to:

NOYS is a collaborative network of over 65 national organizations, federal agencies and business and industry leaders that serve youth and focus on youth safety and health. Through this network, NOYS influences more than 80 million young people, ages 5 to 24 and adult advisors.

Day 67: Hold the Door Open for Others

A small act that I try to teach my boys to always do it to hold the door open for others. Today I was able to do this at my gym. After the class I was taking was a Silver Sneakers class, which is geared towards older exercisers, and as I was leaving both the classroom and the gym I was able to get the door for many folks coming into the gym or the room for the class. Sincere thanks and small talk passed quickly and it reminded me of how simple a Good Human Act can really be. I know that having a door held open for me, on many occasions has been an incredible help or just a reminder that there is simple kindness in people everywhere.