I’m No Longer Jealous, Just Green.

So I’m into week three of working from home. Thankfully I had a couple projects that Elijah sent my way. He’s been keeping me busy. This is the best way to live. Yesterday, because we finally had a nice day in Toronto, Eli and I bought some sandwiches and sat in a park to eat lunch. Then we went on a walk to explore the neighbourhood that I’ve never seen, because that’s what I wanted to do. I started thinking about the past three weeks and the things I didn’t have to do anymore; I don’t have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning anymore, I don’t have to travel for ridiculous amounts of time anymore and I don’t have to spend so much money on food anymore. Now I can do these things when I want to.

On that note, I’ve also realized that all these things that I don’t have to do anymore shrink my personal carbon footprint dramatically. (Well, except waking up so early, more sleep=more energy and that just makes me happy.) The more and more I think about, working from home is such an eco friendly way to live my life, and all I had to do was quit my job.

Eli and I have always talked about being greener and how we are going to live greener in the future. We have plans to build our own home completely off the grid. We’ve done things like only eat organic food, and local and organic fruits and vegetables. We’ve even cut meat and dairy out of our diets for the most part. We deal with Toronto’s horrible transit system, in order to hold off buying a car until we REALLY need one. We compost in our tiny apartment, even though we end up with fruit flies. We are definitely not martyrs, we don’t take part in protests or parades, but we definitely try to do our part.
Now that I’m working from home, I’m not contributing to the wasteful use of paper on a daily basis, or emissions from the bus that I took twice a day, not to mention the time I’ve saved myself. My commute now is from the bedroom to the office. And most importantly I save energy. Because I work by a big window, I have the luxury of beautiful natural light. I control the temperature. If it’s too cold, I just put on a big fat sweater. It’s an awesome feeling to have choice.

I’m still in awe of this new life. Every day I seem to be learning something, and I have always craved that. Living a greener work lifestyle is the perfect complement to the way we are living now, and it’s only going to get better. It makes me wonder, are people who work from home generally more eco friendly than their commuting counterparts? I’ve always been jealous of people who worked from home, little did I know that being green was such a big part of it.

9 thoughts on “I’m No Longer Jealous, Just Green.”

  1. wow., its really an out-of-the-box perspective to work at home living. I have only read people talking about how you be your own boss and things like that.

    Veronica, can you also follow this article up with what you now miss having to work from home? Afternoon walks down your office building gossiping or after-work chit chat and snacks. You don’t miss things like that? I know Eli is with you, but you should also now be missing the social group that you were part of at office..
    .-= Anand´s last blog ..List of Countries Where Most Spam Originate From =-.

  2. That’s awesome, Veronica! I’ve been thinking about that a lot for the past few years. Granted, it wouldn’t save us on gas since hubs and I work together and he doesn’t want to work from home (so the same gas traveling to and from work), but how much we could save on our grocery bills, and how much healthier we could eat. (Work is 2 miles away, so he could come home to a fresh cooked lunch)

    And that’s part of my dream too. To be able to get up from the computer and take a walk outside when it’s lovely. Or drive down to visit my parents, or my niece and nephews who I rarely ever see, since I work 2nd shift. Not to mention the ability to actually *gasp* go to the bank and post office when they’re open!

    I really need to get cracking- I want to be at home too!
    .-= WordVixen´s last blog ..How To Get Paid To Blog =-.

  3. @Anand – I can tell you first hand, that was one of the hardest parts of Veronica leaving her job. She made so many good friends over her three years there and it was very emotional for her to leave all of the gossip, drama and inside scoop! The bonus is that one of her best friends from work lives a 30 second walk from our apartment – so that’s really great for her.

    I, on the other hand, never got close with people I worked with. I was always very cautious about blending my personal and work life, and personally didn’t care enough about building relationships because I always walked into a job with the mindset of leaving for a better one in x-amount of months. Every job I’ve ever had has been temporary in my mind.

    @WV – You can do it girl! Another bonus to working from home is that you often avoid the “flus” and “colds” that circulate around the office and public in general! Eating and staying healthier from home is sooo much easier!
    .-= Elijah´s last blog ..I’m No Longer Jealous, Just Green. =-.

  4. Congrats to the At Home Couple cause that is what y’all are on for real now. Never really thought the green opportunity from working from home, but I guess you are right. My wife and I work from home and have done so for years now, but I was an appraiser and had to leave a lot. Now, I dumped my appraisal business and am full time at home. Not making enough money yet, but I watched you two do it, so I know my days of not making enough are numbered.

    We are semi-green, but that would be awesome to live in a home that is completely off the grid. Once you guys get it completed, then I have to come for a visit….and some beer. Hahaha.

    Keep it going!!!
    .-= Freddie Taylor´s last blog ..Balance: If Not Now, Then When? =-.

  5. That is so nice to read…and know. I always wanted to work from home. Sad the internet work is not yet tame enough to embrace me. The idea of living green is awesome. Now i am the one who is jealous.

  6. @Anand-That’s a great idea. I think I’m really enjoying my time at home. I do miss out on one big thing, my friends. I miss being part of that social environment. Definitely look for a follow up …

    @WordVixen-There are so many beautiful little things about working from home, and you just reminded me of yet another. Conducting business during business hours. The doctor, banks and making those customer services calls. They all take so much less time. Another perk … because we wear sweat pants a lot, we’ve drastically cut down on laundry.

    @Freddie-The green aspect was definitely not in the forefront when Eli and I did all our talking and discussing and debating. It wasn’t until I started doing some research for an Eco project we were working on that I put the two and two together. When we build our house, I will be so proud, that I will invite EVERYONE over. 🙂

    @Ian-It’s a shame that it costs so much more just to be healthy. The whole consumer industry is a huge machine that is going to take so much time and effort to change, but it’s necessary to re-evaluate the way we have been living. I really appreciate that praise, but not until we can kill the nicotine monster can we be considered awesome.

    @Mike-It’s definitely not easy, but it is very rewarding knowing that I’m able to take it on. Let me carve out my space in society and I’m happy. I think it’s a great goal to work towards, for your personal benefit and your impact on the world.

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