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How to plan a 'green the family' meeting
Do you really want to green your home? You can't do it alone. Here's how to get the sort of family buy-in you need to make it work.
Fri, Mar 26 2010 at 2:44 PM
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YOU KIN DO IT: Grab the fam and make a green plan. (Photo: LaBellaVida/Flickr)
You have lots of free time, right? Of course not. Life is busy and getting busier all the time. And let's face it: when it comes to squeezing in grocery shopping, getting the laundry done and dreaming up ideas to green the planet, we all know which to-do item is going to get pushed to the bottom of your list.
Which is why if you feel like the Green Lone Ranger, you may be going about things the wrong way. Going green as a family — especially if you have kids — should be a group activity. One way to get the ball rolling is by forming a family green committee.
So grab a big bowl of organic popcorn, a couple of recycled notepads, and call the gang together. Let's turn your family into a self-starting green machine.
Buy-in equals progress
Just as democratic government is derived from the consent of the people, real green change requires buy-in from everyone — even if we're talking about a single household. You'll never get the kids to turn off unused lights if they don't think it's important. And if they're not minding the power bill, forget about getting everyone to separate their trash for recycling.
In our article "How to green your 21st century business," we discussed the importance of multi-departmental green committees in the workplace. These same principles apply at home. If you can get everyone contributing to the idea of a more efficient, less resource-hungry home, you'll not only improve participation — you're likely to discover new solutions.
Make a plan
You can conduct your family meeting just as you would at work. Start by prioritizing some broad areas of discussion. Here are 10 possibilities:
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Energy use
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Laundry
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The kitchen
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A "greener" yard
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Recycling
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Safer household cleaners
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Using less gasoline
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Heating and cooling
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Water conservation
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Family meals
Jot your favorites on a set of index cards. Agree on some fixed period of time — 10 minutes per topic, maybe — and start brainstorming. Everyone is an "idea man."
Using a whiteboard or a sheet of paper for each topic, write down every suggestion. Adopt a "no bad idea" policy: everything goes to paper at this stage without discussion. Try not to let people filter each other's contributions. Once the ideas slow down, move to the next card and a clean whiteboard.
This phase shouldn't last more than 20 or 30 minutes. When you get to that point, stop. Now comes the business part. Bring out your whiteboards, one by one, and try to arrive at a single action item from each. Combine similar suggestions, talk things out, and move the most practical, highest-yield ideas to the top of the page. Then take a vote.
Write down your goals
As you come up with your winning ideas, assign family members to each task. This is a family, not a boardroom, so the object is to create a sense of ownership rather than a system of accountability. Discuss how your action items will get done. As you build these mini-plans, transfer them to a master sheet. This will get posted in one or more locations around the home.
Commit to the next step
The final thing you should do is schedule the next family meeting. It could be a week or a month, depending on how much you've decided to start doing and your family's enthusiasm. At your next meeting, review progress on your first batch of items and brainstorm a few more.
Never toss your whiteboards: they're a great place to start the next time the topics are addressed. It also reinforces the idea that everyone's opinions matter. This is team building, even if the youngest members don't have all their permanent teeth yet. Have fun.
Do you have a tip for greening the family? Has something worked well for you? Please share in our comments section!
Copyright Lighter Footstep 2008
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i agree. the best kind of education is one that begins with respect -- for ourselves, for all humanity and for the planet. once we wake up to this reality, a reality which indigenous peoples across the world have never forgotten, then we'll have a chance to continue to prosper on this space ship called earth.
i blog about ways in which we can help move ourselves in this direction at http://www.100daystochangetheworld.com
susan
The problem is not that conservatives dont believe in saving the planet, but that we are spending trillions of our tax payers money in things like this going green thing. We need to invest in getitng out of debt now. In fact this whole gree thing is still a myth according to scientists.
Great debates though,
Ron
Why would you waste your time reading the content on this site if you don't agree with it?
Who doesn't cringe at this dorky eco-leftism?
and I truly am sincere in this....what is 'leftist" about teaching kids to turn out lights when they leave a room. Or planting a garden. Or thinking about not buying stuff that you don't need. Don't conservatives believe in this too? I mean, why is it considered to be leftist?
These proportions as well as a number of other facts (carbon dating estimated it to be between 3.500 - 5,000 years old) indicate that this specific olive tree is probably the oldest in the world.
coursework help | term paper help | research paper help | book report help
So go GREEN people because otherwise the planet will die and us along with it. It's no joke folks, ust because some scumbag stole some of the emails from a group of climatologist which when read in a certain way makes it seem like they suggested cooking the books on climate data doesn't mean it's true. Like George C. stated, "It's not alie IF you believe it."
I'm all for helping out the environment where I can, and I think it's a worthwhile endeavor to instill that in my kids.
...is what the kids will say when you have this meeting.
The last thing I want in a family gathering is a bunch of eco-nitwits.
More foolish green propaganda. Why does CNN even link to this silliness. You want to know why my family turns off lights when they are not using them? It's called common sense. Why pay for energy you don't need? If you want to have a productive family meeting- get together and figure out how to stop obama, schumer, pelosi, reid et al from destroying the greatest country God ever gave man.
Avoiding waste and preventing pollution are great things, but do it right. Start by researching the facts about everything you plan to do. For example, learn that biodegradable is not the same as breaking down out of sight. or How much energy does it take to wash those "cloth" bags as oppossed to recycling the plastic ones. Don't buy the propaganda, research the FACTS for yourself.
Here are some more simple tips:
http://www.energyrefuge.com/archives/home-energy-saving-tips.htm
How about grab the family together and inspire them to be great citizens, do good in school, stay off the streets, and contribute to society by getting a job and paying taxes instead of mooching off the rest of the tax payers. That would actually be a concept huh??!!!! Global warming, al gore, libs, and obama are a joke!
What is it with all these right wing tea-baggers posting nasty comments here? If you don't think it's worthwhile to teach kids not to be wasteful, then keep all your Fox News propaganda to yourself! What the hell does Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, or Obama have to do with this topic?
Love this approach. Here's a green idea for you: Rather than throw good stuff away, post it on TriBarter.com and get valuable points to use to get other great stuff. It's free to join and to post.
In the family is where sustainable living starts!
What better gift to give your kids than a better world!