>Is it easy to become green? Live a more eco-conscious life? It seems like after taking the basic steps – recycle, compost, start a garden – it takes a little more effort to incorporate additional green habits into our lifestyles. Today Husband and I spent more time in the yard getting ready for spring. Here’s the Green Task List from today’s chores.

1. Brush pile. Dear darling Husband cut down a small tree last weekend, and today was the day to get rid of it. We thought (briefly) about renting a chipper and chopping up the entire thing, but decided against it. Why? It’s free to drop off the branches etc. at the brush dump. The brush dump staff will chip this wood and add it to the dump’s mulch pile. Mulch is free to city residents. Why pay to rent a power tool when we’re already paying for the service with our taxes? Decision: take the branches to the brush dump. Pick up mulch when we need it. Cost: $0. Time spent: three minivan-loads to the brush dump about a mile from home. Green factor? Pretty darn good. Rationalizes keeping my (not a guzzler, but not exactly fuel efficient) minivan, too.

2. Basic Maintenance on south side of house. This is the side with the tulips, the mums, the annuals, the Hen & Chix plants, mint, and if I’m lucky, hollyhocks. I raked out the old dry leaves, cut down the old dead mums, lost my clipper, took all the dead and dry goodies to the compost bin, found my clipper, moved a shepherd’s crook with two wind chimes, and pronounced the area ready for spring. Green factor? Typical, which is good.

3. Emptied and moved the rain barrel! We planned to set up the new rain barrel under a downspout at the back of the garage between the rhubarb and the garden itself. We dropped it back there, went back to our normal lives, and then it rained. And filled the barrel. I’ve used the water to clean bunny litter boxes and rinse out the compost bucket, but it was still three quarters full and too heavy to move. My solution: hook up a hose to the spigot and water a few bushes. I drained enough of the barrel that it was light enough to move, and then recruited Husband to put a few concrete blocks underneath it. Now it’s propped high enough that gravity can help me use the hose with more success, and Husband will reattach the downspout and aim it toward the barrel itself – hopefully before the next storm arrives. Green factor? Great! The neighbor behind us (a new gardener!) saw it and now wants one for himself.

4. Basic weekend chores: laundry. I bought a pair of anti-static dryer balls to replace fabric softener. So far, I’m seeing – or should I say feeling? – good results. If they work in the long term, it’s another victory for green living and fewer chemicals in our lives. Simple and eco-conscious, just the way I like it.

>It’s shovel ready. The economic benefits may be localized (okay, merely personal), but it fits the times. As soon as the weather cooperates, I’m on it.

You guessed it: Daisy’s small but wonderful backyard garden.

I’ve never formally defined it as a Kitchen Garden or a Recession Garden. It is what it is: a backyard garden of vegetables for the family, both human and rabbit residents of our fair home. The plot has grown a little each year we’ve planted it, and we’ve added simple environmentally-friendly tricks along the way. This year our goal is to use the space efficiently and get a better yield.

Here’s the to-do list.
Move walkway boards out of the dirt. These are re-used from an old fence. When it started to fall, we knocked it down the rest of the way and used the boards as stepping “stones” between the veggies.
Move trellises and tomato cages. I’m still doing the research to find better and taller supports for the tomatoes now that I’ve discovered some of the techniques for nurturing them well.
Spread the compost. It’s still in the bin, and I’m eager to get out the soil-ready batch and start anew.
Till. Husband does this. He now has his family’s old rototiller, so we don’t need to rent one any more.
Hook up rain barrel. It’s ready to use; we need to set it on its blocks and direct the downspout into it. Painting optional: I would like to paint it, though.
Buy the seedlings. I have the seeds; the tomato, pepper, and broccoli plants will come later.
Sketch the new layout. I know what I want; I just need to make sure I’m putting it all in the right place this year.
Plant!!

Ta-dah! list:
(That’s the “finished” or “outbox,” for new readers to Compost Happens.)
Make rain barrel! It filled with water during a rainstorm earlier this week; it’s “shovel-ready,” too!
Buy seeds!
Get excited and motivated! Okay, that’s always a given. I’ll never be a farmer, but I do enjoy my tiny plot in the backyard. Playing, er, working in the dirt feels good. Feels right.