Trashblogging ... no litterally!

There's a lot of trash talk in the blogosphere, but I didn't realize until the other day that there's also a ton (literally too!) of literal trash blogging going on - blogs that are entirely devoted to the topic of trash! I first found out about this in a CNet News article on bloggers saving, weighing, and writing about their trash. It seemed pretty extreme - one guy saved all his trash for a year! And then blogged about it at Save Your Trash. And we were beginning to think we were a bit extreme... Then again, there's a long way from Wisconsin to California...

Then there's Beth over at Fake Plastic Fish, who goes to great length eliminating plastic trash - even recyclables - and then keeps whatever she does generate. She keeps a running tally of all plastic items she's discarded (868 items weighing 13.5lb since June 2007). She's very similar to EnviroWoman - a self declared WhackedOutEcoFreak who also keeps all plastic and loudly declares not to use any plastic (although it's hard).

The CNet piece also covers 'Compactors' who never buy anything new...

Well, we don't keep our trash in bins in the living room, but most of the advice contained in these blogs are relevant and sensible. For instance, Save Your Trash had a nice summary post with good advice on things we've blogged about as well: Use a reusable coffee mug and bring your own grocery bags. He also has good advice we haven't talked about here: Use a reusable plastic bottle and bring your own container to restaurants to bring home leftovers.

Even though some of those bloggers are a bit extreme, the point they're making is poignant: We produce an awful lot of trash in this country (and throwing it away, doesn't really make it 'go away' - it's just moved somewhere else). So anything we can do to reduce this problem should be well worth it.

Blog Action Day - October 15

October 15 has been designated as Blog Action Day, where many bloggers around the world will post on a single topic and/or donate one day's earnings to a charity. With our focus on sustainability and the environment, it seemed only natural to join this event. If you have suggestions for a specific topic, let us know by email or in the comments.

Welcome to Green-Savvy

So we decided to start a blog to write about how people living in typical suburban America can make more sustainable, eco-friendly choices in their everyday lives.

We live in Oshkosh, WI on a reasonably large lot (1/3 acre), but have no public transportation, and need two cars just to get by. However, we garden, do a lot of canning, belong to a CSA, and generally try to do a lot of things for the environment. We're not perfect, but we try to improve and do as much as we can. We hope this blog can help others learn from us, and that it will help us stay focused on being as earth-friendly as possible.