The Thought That Counts

I've said before that I'm a recent college graduate without a career or a job yet. That being said, I am lacking in all sorts of means to be green and simple the way I really want to be. Living in an apartment and not having solid cash flow means a lot of things are just really not feasible no matter how much I want to help the environment, save energy, or simply live better.

When No Impact Man wrote this detailed article about vermicomposting, the use of worms in composting, I got very excited about the idea of composting. As someone who is now cooking a lot of vegetables, the increasing amount of stuff being thrown away is disturbing. Never mind all the political connotations about our land fills, throwing something away that isn't actually bad just doesn't seem to sit right with me. So, I read the article and did a little more research on vermicomposting, but the more I read, the less this seemed feasible for me to do right now. For starters, an apartment is not generously spaced. Even though the composting can be done in a storage bin, I really don't have a good place to put it. Furthermore, I don't have any place to store anything else that might go with it -- extra paper for the bedding, the fertilizer when it's complete, etc. Another big point was that I read it would take about 6 months for the first batch to be ready. Now, 6 months isn't a really long time but let's consider a few other things... I have a lease on this apartment. I could be moving in a matter of months and to be realistic, probably a few more times in the next few years. Even though it's just one bin of worms, I have to move it several places before I have a real garden to use fertilizer in. That's the other thing -- I don't grow anything yet. I did start some tomatoes lately but they're not even big enough to leave their first pot and I haven't even started talking about all the little extra things I need for gardening. Again, living in an apartment, particularly one you won't be in very long, makes all these things very inconvenient.

Energy conversancy is even harder. Yes, I would like to have energy efficient things but I live in a complex. A tiny complex. I have to use their washers and I don't have any space or place to do line drying or air drying. So yes, it costs me extra money and to be quite honest, I really hate using laundry rooms anyway. They don't maintain the machines as well as they should, my clothes always smell funny, and don't get me started on laundry room drama. My dream is use solar panels but that's something that won't be realized for a long time.

The hardest part of it all is reading these blogs and hearing these suggestions I have thought of myself or great ideas that had never occurred to me before and not being able to do any of it.... right now. One prime example is water -- I've heard over and over again not to buy bottled water and a lot of suggestions of alternatives, but like I keep saying they are just not doable for me now. I do have a Britta water filter but I really dislike the taste of Britta water. Tap water tastes strange to me too. What I'd rather have is a filter straight from the sink, like my parents have at home, but again, I live in a complex.

So, I do the little things, as I can. I recycle the cans and bottles I use now. I try to get my groceries from the stores that buy local. I frequently avoid fast food. And one day, I'll be able to conserve the way I really want to... until then, I just have to keep wanting to.