Upcoming Challenges

In just a few short days we will be beginning our very first challenge (can't you just feel the excitement in the air? it's like the Olympics!) and I figured it was time to fill you in on what exactly lies ahead. These challenges will be purposely non-specific, so that wherever you are on the green spectrum (I so need to come up with a different word than 'green spectrum', it sounds like I'm writing up a high school lab report) you can join in on the fun. For example, lets say one month our challenge is 'energy efficiency'. It would be up to you to decide how you want to challenge yourself. If your house is full of incandescent bulbs you could challenge yourself to change 3 bulbs to CFLs. Or, if you live in a house with all Energy Star appliances and CFLs, you could take the plunge and install solar panels. Two different actions, two different places on the spectrum, but here's the thing: both actions make a difference! So it doesn't matter to us what you choose to do as long as, if you have the desire, you do something.

So, with no further delay, here are our challenges for the next 6 months. On the 1st of each month we will give you more details on the subject and throughout the month we will post on things related to the challenge and how each of us are doing on our own personal challenges.

February: Purge! Reuse and Repurpose your way to a clean slate
March: Reusable Bags and other containers
April: Green Your Lawn
May: Laundry Logic
June: Eat Local!
July: Water Conservation

Just three short days until our February Challenge kicks off. Oh, the places we'll go, the clean houses we'll have, the cool new ideas we'll share. I can barely stand the excitement!

Welcome to Every Shade of Green!

I felt a bit like I was prepping a St. Patrick's Day photo shoot today, but thought this photo would give a glimpse into what our little blog will be about.  We are a small group of people in Hartland, Wisconsin who have been exchanging 'green', eco-friendly ideas for a few years and have decided we want to share our ideas and, more importantly, hear the ideas of others in the Hartland area.  As the picture alludes to, we will be hitting on lots of topics... from cleaners to clothes to kids' stuff to gardening to do-it-yourself ideas and on and on... all with a local angle.  Each month we will post a challenge, where we will challenge ourselves (and perhaps you!) to do a bit better on that topic then we have been. We know we are all at a different place on the green spectrum, all at different stages in our journey to a more environmentally sound lifestyle.   So, no matter where you are in the spectrum, whether you are a pale, pale green and are just thinking about maybe, just maybe, changing a light-bulb or if you a deep emerald green and are living in a 100-square foot, off-the grid house where you grow all your own food, we think you'll find something of interest here and we hope you will have ideas to share.

We want to cover the green movement from an intensely local angle.  Yes, there are hundreds of eco-blogs out there (which we love and will share our favorites with you), but this blog is different in that we want to share resources and ideas special to our little corner of the globe.  Don't live here in Lake Country?  Perhaps you want to start a little local blog for your own neck of the woods.

Over the last few days in January we will introduce ourselves and give you an idea of where we are in our own green journeys (as you will see, even in our little group there is every shade of green).   We will also be letting you in on what our challenges will be for the next six months.  I mean, who doesn't love a good challenge?  Come back February 1st for our first challenge!