Going GREEN: in Baby Steps

Watch the Twin Mansions Go Green!
And don’t worry, we will be ever mindful of the gentle courtesies you have become accustomed to in our home. So we will be kind to you and kinder to our environment at the same time.
With my sister Jane as our guide and cheerleader, we are seriously under-taking steps to recycle and are changing our cleaning products to environmentally safe. As we evaluated what we could do to reduce our “footprint” we were surprised and delighted to find we had already made some big steps:
Changed almost all the light bulbs to energy efficient. (This was Nate’s first step in the Going Green direction. Nate is thrilled that he’ll take fewer trips to the top of a ladder changing bulbs now and discovered a marked reduction in our combined electric bills for the Twin Mansions, White House and Cottage. I am having a hard time adjusting to the lower light and clung tightly to the 3-way bulbs at your bedside.)
Nate set up a 250-gallon tank at each Mansion for rainwater collection to use to fill the pond and water the plants & gardens. (This isn’t a new idea however, the Twin Mansions have the original built in guttering on the rooftops that carefully collected every precious drop of rain water and channeled it to the cistern for the families.)
We bought high efficiency washer and dryer and have replaced two hot water tanks with instant demand hot water source. (Admitted this step was not as much going green as it was to add that tub to Preecia’s Velvet Hideaway. The old tanks had to be replaced to get the extra space for the 4’ x 6’ therapeutic massage tub standing on a glass pedestal – voila, a modern, energy efficient replacement! Which would you rather have, two really ugly, inefficient hot water tanks or a sexy two-person tub with 56 air-jets for massage? A winner for sure . . for your sheer pleasure and also for Nate’s utilities budget. One tank was so full of lime you would hardly believe it worked at all, unfortunately the other worked quite well. The newer tank replaced another that was irreparable, the older one has been used for replacement parts for existing tanks. As the old tanks wear out be assured they will be replaced in like fashion.)
Added earth-friendly, botanically based Arbonne products for body & hair to every guest room. Providing bath gel, body lotion, shampoo and conditioner in large sizes with pumps kissing goodbye to that myriad of little plastic bottles!
Nate will soon be setting out two compost barrels for all the fruit & vegetable matter. For about a year our food scraps were collected for friend Lana to feed her chickens. Did you know chickens love leftover rice? Not sure what we will do about pasta or rice or protein waste yet. Knowing my sister Jane she will find a solution that even her prissy sister can live with! While out visiting her new home in North Carolina this summer, Jane worked hard to convince me to raise meal worms to feed blue birds AND to consume waste. I’m just not green enough for that yet. Jane’s gardens are filled with birds, wild life, two worm bins and a decoratively fenced compost area. I just received an email she has added chickens!! And soon will bring in honey bees.
Recycling Aluminum – Addison’s class is always a winner in the Can Collection Fundraiser Contest. Lyons Twin Mansions can load the deck for her class! We have recycled aluminum for decades . . started with our eldest son Joe who sold the cans for spending money. We went to every post-party parking lot on Sunday morning and reeled in the cans and the bucks for our hard-working boy!
We are just now beginning to recycle paper, plastic & glass. There is a LOT of glass to recycle after a wine dinner, bachelorette party or wedding! Once a month the recycling trailers are here in Fort Scott . . I can see storage could become an issue. Right now we are just getting the internal collection sites figured out. I am discovering that being a good citizen takes some serious planning and then we all have to change some really bad habits. I admit that the commitment is intimidating especially when we are with really true and dedicated recyclers. But we are determined to do our part, even if it is just baby steps to start with!
Baby Steps are not bad . . just a way to begin. As Jane told me, every bit we do is helpful. That we are taking these baby steps is the path in the right direction. Better Baby Steps than no steps.