Going Green in Comfort

( Geoffrey Whiteway / FreeRangeStock.com ) One day last week, I took a can of soup to work for my lunch. Once I emptied the can into a bowl, I threw the can into the trash then put the bowl of soup into the microwave. As the microwave roared and rotated, I stood in front of it mentally arguing with myself. Should I do the easy thing and leave the can in the trash, or should I get it out, rinse it off, take it home and put it with the others I have saved for recycling? I'd like to say I made the more eco-friendly choice, but I didn't. I kept thinking about how ineffective rinsing a can can be at removing the remnants of soup, and I couldn't help but think that the can would get soup all over the stuff in my "brief case," aka a cloth bag I tote around to carry extra stuff for work. And if I just carry it separately, everyone at work will think I'm some crazy person carrying around an empty soup can. So I left it in the trash. It was just one can, I rati...

(Jack Moreh/FreeRangeStock.com) Years ago, my husband and I belonged to a gym. It was a great gym. It had a pool and an indoor walking track, my favorite features. I've always loved swimming, and I like the idea of being able to walk without getting outside in the miserable heat this time of year is known for. But the best part was that it was on our way to and from work. We didn't have to go far out of our way to go there. I miss that gym, but it cost more than we can afford, especially now that we're parents. I've thought about moving to a cheaper gym, but I don't. The cheaper ones take longer to drive to, and in the few months I've been actively trying to minimize my carbon footprint, I've become more reluctant to drive more than necessary, especially to have to commit to doing it several days a week. I could walk outside at the gym or in my neighborhood, but it's darn hot out there, especially this time of year. So these days,...

My goal: To make as little trash as possible. Could you live a trash-free life? This past weekend, my husband, daughter, and I went on a day trip. Along the way, we listened to "Ask Me Another" on NPR , which featured a guest, Lauren Singer, who writes blog about her trash-free lifestyle called Trash is for Tossers . All of the trash Singer has generated over the four years she's been living a zero-waste lifestyle, she says on the blog, fits in a 16-ounce Mason jar. Everything else she buys is either biodegradable, recyclable, packaging-free, etc. I haven't done a whole lot of exploring on the blog yet, but I see it suggests alternatives for disposable products — bamboo instead of plastic toothbrushes, metal instead of plastic ice-cube trays, organic dryer balls instead of fabric softener, and so on. She also provides links or suggestions for where the products can be purchased. I'm all for giving this a try. My biggest hurdle, as I've mentioned...

Working in the cloud ( Jack Moreh / FreeRangeStock.com ) My boss wants us to work as much in the cloud as possible. The more we do virtually, as her thinking goes, the less we spend on paper products. So we don't have wall or desk calendars, and just about all inner-office document sharing is done in Google Docs. I agree with the premise. The more work we can do without wasting paper, the more trees we save, right? Call me old school, but for me, breaking the paper habit is easier said than done. I like being able to glance at my desk calendar as I settle in with  to see what I have scheduled for the day. I like having sticky notes handy for jotting down notes during a phone call. And last but not least, I can edit better on a sheet of paper than I can on a screen. But in the interest of living greener, I've decided to adapt. I've started keeping track of my personal appointments through the calendar function on my phone, and I've started keeping track of...