Doing my part for global warming

DISCLAIMER: For those of you who think this is going to be a post about reduce/reuse/recycle, please stop reading now. Any further reading will be at your own risk! I do not want to receive hate mail from you if you insist on reading the rest of this.

Just in case you do not believe my disclaimer, let me start by saying this. I LOVE my disposable mop, my single use cleanup wipes, and my disposable toilet bowl cleaner wand thing-a-ma-jig. They save me tons of time and they are extremely convenient. In order to counteract the tinge of guilt I have when I toss each one in the trash, I dutifully fill my recycle bin every week with glass, paper, plastic and more cardboard than a family of 5 should use in a month (let alone a week). Oh yeah, I also have reusable shopping bags in my car that I remember to use about once every 10 - 20 trips to the grocery store.

So why do I feel qualified to say I am doing my part? I'll tell you!

My family has lived in our home in Loveland, CO for 12 years now and every summer we say we are going to tint the windows to keep out the heat. This year, we actually did it. We got the girls' bedroom windows on the east side of the house covered with reflective tint. It was surprisingly easy to do. My husband and I got the job done in under an hour and without any arguments! Now the girls are neither blinded nor roasted by the morning sun!

No, I don't think simply because this lowers my air conditioning usage means I am saving the earth. However, Colorado boasts to having over 300 days of sunshine every year and we haven't had a single morning of sun since we did the deed almost 2 weeks ago now. In fact, temperatures are cooler, the rain falls every day and I haven't had a need for heat, air conditioning, or my sprinkler system since then. I'd say I am more than doing my part for our earth!

Of course, now that I posted this, we are bound to hit 90° tomorrow and not drop below it until fall.