Welcome to Radiant Ideas!

Growing up without much money, I watched my parents save pennies & the environment. I wish I would have taken better notes. Instead, I was more concerned about what my friends thought.

In high school, I hid the container that held the scraps for our compost pile when my friends came over. I cringed whenever my mom washed a ziplock bag or folded up a piece of tin foil to be used again. And I never understood why it was such a big deal to leave a light on – what’s a few cents anyway? I never gave much thought to growing landfills (they were somewhere else), or drinking water (it was always there), or global warming (Michigan winters ARE pretty cold). Looking back, I think it was natural for me to rebel against my parents’ ideologies – that was my job as a teenager, right?

Now that I’m a grown woman with a family of my own, I am trying hard to change my way of life to be more environmentally conscious & a better role model for my kids. We do the usual: recycle, use CFL bulbs, take shorter showers, use linen napkins, & buy organic/locally grown produce. I also started my own eco-friendly gift & home décor business. But I still feel like I could be doing more. Perhaps I'm still harboring some guilt about those careless teenage years?

It truly can be overwhelming to change everything at once. So each month I pick a new green idea to add to our daily lives. This month I decided to dispose of at least one piece of litter a day. It doesn’t sound like a lot but in a year that’s 365 pieces of trash. I see it everywhere…at the park, on the streets, hiking through the canyons, or strolling on the beach. It’s not a big deal to bend over, pick it up, and toss it into the trash. Who knows? Maybe my neighbors will see me and decide to pitch in too.

In the meantime, my goal is to share some eco-friendly ideas with you. You may be inspired, you may be bored, but I'm hopeful that if we all make a few small changes we can make a big difference in the future of our planet earth.