Hello! My parents were visiting from Montana this weekend~it was a ton of fun. We got to spend some time up in Washington (can you tell what the weather was like?? I had to borrow my Dad’s coat and lots of umbrellas, and of course nurse purse!)and since I don’t have any of my posts ready, I wanted to share some spring shots I’ve taken over the few weeks of some cool windows and doors and misc. Did I mention I love spring in Virginia? :) Can anyone tell me what this pink tree is? It is gorgeous!

Happy Earth Day! I decided I was going to stop using paper towels last year in an effort to save money and be kinder to Mother Earth. We were going through about 6 rolls a month and I’m kind of a paper towel snob (Viva or nothin’) so it was costing a pretty penny. I took the paper towel holder off my counter and put a bunch of old rags in a bucket under the sink. For the first few weeks, we all automatically reached where the paper towels were, but we slowly got used to reaching under the sink for a rag instead. I’ve found that they actually do a much better job of cleaning messes. They can be old burp rags, dish cloths, towels that accidentally got bleached, old t-shirts, etc. The dirty ones go in a bucket on top of the washing machine to be thrown in the next load.

Don’t have many rags? Go to your bathroom, pick up an old towel (off the floor, of course it’s on the floor. Towels hung up properly are a scarcity in this house) that you’ve been meaning to replace and cut it up. Then, take the money you would have spent on the 6 packs of paper towels and buy yourself a new, fluffy towel for your bathroom.

I have to disclose that I do have 1 roll of paper towels hidden in a secret spot for extra messy spills involving bodily fluids or cleaning toilets, but we’ve cut waaay back on paper towel use and just not having them out on the counter was a huge step.

Have you taken any earth-friendly steps in your house?