Virtual Assistant Janet Barclay challenged me to describe three things that I do to minimize my impact on the planet and I’ve taken up Janet’s challenge!

Gift Giving

Rather than giving stuff this year, we’ve given more “experiences”. We’ve purchased horseback riding lessons, guitar lessons, dinners in restaurants and a few gift cards. Did you know that many kinds of wrapping paper can’t be recycled? We’ve recycled bits of fabric into gift bags and the wrapping paper we use is made from newsprint and can be easily recycled.

Electricity Conservation

We have compact fluorescent bulbs in all of our light fixtures and we keep lights turned off as much as we can. Did you know the chargers keep converting electricity even if the device is not plugged into the other end? We unplug power adapters and portable device chargers as soon as we’re done using them.

Fuel Conservation

We installed a programmable thermostat on our furnace (I always forget to turn the heat down at night). I group my errands and do them all at the same time. This means I use the car less frequently. Planning my trips to minimize left turns reduces the amount of time I’m sitting in traffic and saves fuel too!

I’m interested to know what fellow bloggers are doing to minimize their impact on the planet so I’m tagging the following people to see what they have to say.

• Eliza at Silver and Grace
• Heather at Smart Spaces Organizing
• The Deep Friar
• Marilyn Bohn at Get it Together Organizing
• Avonelle at Code Poetry Software

Now I know everyone is very busy especially at this time of the year, so if you don’t have time to blog about this topic I understand. If you do write a blog post, please link back to this post and leave a comment here so we won’t miss your answers!

And if there are any other bloggers out there who want to participate, please join in, we all need more green ideas!

Happy Holidays! Joyeuses Fêtes!

Commercial fishing vessels are required to carry distress flares and it is a good idea for all boaters to have a couple of distress flares in the boat’s safety kit. Flares should be stored in a watertight container in a cool, dry location. However, flares are only good for four years after the date of manufacture. They should be disposed of after that time.

Flares are explosive and cannot be thrown in the trash. They must be treated as hazardous waste. If you have expired flares or flares that will expire soon, please note that from August 1-8, 2009 the OPP will be collecting expired and unwanted marine flares. Please see the OPP website for drop-off locations.

For more information about safe boating, visit Transport Canada’s Office of Boating at www.boatingsafety.gc.ca.