The Day My Green Journey Began

I can’t believe I am about to admit this: Oprah changed my life. Give me a chance to explain before you judge me and stop reading my blog after the very first sentence of my very first blog post on my very first blog. It was April 22, 2008. Earth Day. I cannot remember the unusual circumstances that led me to turn on the Oprah Show that day. On this particular day, Julia Roberts was Oprah’s guest. Her main point was that we can make small changes in our home and life that can make a big impact on the Earth.

Next, Julia’s friend Sofie Uliano, author of the book Gorgeously Green, joined the conversation on the show. Sophie outlined a few things that we can do to begin being “green” and why we should do them. The first thing she spoke about was how eating organic food was healthier for both us and the environment. She listed which foods were important for us to eat organically: baby food, dairy, meat, rice, grains, peanut butter, certain fruits and vegetables, etc.

In addition to eating organic foods, she mentioned that there are two other areas that would be easy for us to make changes: paper towels and bottled water. Because 1 billion bottles are consumed each week with only 76% being recycled, she promoted using an eco-friendly, reusable bottle. Also, instead of using paper towels, she argued that we should use washable rags. Julia and Sophie also spoke about composting for awhile. Finally, Sophie spoke about one more area of change: personal care items. Sophie, Julia, and Oprah went through a line of cosmetics pointing out the chemicals that are not only harmful to the environment, but also to our bodies. She used the statistic that only 11% of ingredients in personal care items are tested. If we read the ingredient label on a product and cannot pronounce something, she argued that we should not put it on our bodies or down the drain. On the show, she listed some of the top ingredients we should look out for because of how they are hormone disruptors. To keep you coming back, I will let you know what they are in a later post.

My “green” journey began that day on April 22, 2008. So, yes, Oprah changed my life. As soon as the show ended, I went to my favorite hangout place, Barnes and Noble, and bought Sophie’s book Gorgeously Green. I read the book over the next few days. I was so excited and inspired that I immediately eliminated any personal care item that had an ingredient that I couldn’t pronounce…which was everything! I do not suggest this at all. I made a drastic change very quickly. My personality leads me to tend to do this VERY often, by the way. I didn’t really even have a plan to go forward. I just knew that I didn’t want to keep doing what I was doing…or using what I was using. Over the years, since that day, I have been making baby steps toward living a more balanced, eco-friendly life. I want to use this blog to give you practical ideas that I have implemented or hope to implement in the future. Please join me on this exciting, life changing journey!