Tree Hugger

It's a gorgeous day and I'm standing in front of a quaint sea-side/ lake-side/waterfall-side cottage. I'm pinning clean sheets on the clothesline and the smell of freshly baked bread from scratch wafts through out from in between the sprigs of cilantro and mint growing on a windowsill. Poppies  and sunflowers guard the house while my scruffy but gorgeous husband with an adorable accent sneaks up and surprises me with a kiss on the cheek and a dark chocolate candy bar for a present. I'm making pasta by hand with chunks of tomato from the garden and mozzarella cheese for dinner. Oh and did I mention my curls are blowing perfectly in the wind and I sewed my sundress myself from vintage fabric I found at a flea market?

I want to be a gorgeous carefree tree hugger SO BAD people. But at this point in my life I'm less homemaker and more hit the mall. And I don't like it. It makes me feel guilty every time I rip the plastic off some stupid trinket I don't really NEED to have. Whenever I see trash on the ground and realize I have some of those same products in my house just waiting for their turn my heart drops. It's time to make some changes.

So far I've begun composting, try to buy my clothes second-hand as much as possible (I have to give in to the stores though when it comes to pants due to my anti-pants trifecta of freakishly long legs, a large booty and child birthing hips... and I don't count things like you know, UNDERWEAR and stuff. Plus I admit I succumb to the siren call of the clearance rack many a time but I TRY.) and recycle pretty regularly. I'm trying to grow some edible stuff in my backyard this summer and I use a reusable water bottle and tap water whenever humanly possible but it's not enough. Here are some things I've been reading about and am interested in trying:

• Moving away from store bought deodorant/anti-perspirants. I'm looking at this recipe but I always forget to put deodorant on until I'm far far away from my house so I find it necessary to prepare for this by throwing a mini deodorant into every purse I have. So while this crystal sounds crazy face it's at least portable in the hot summer months so I'm considering giving it a try.
• Simplify my beauty products. I've been using tea tree oil shampoo which is awesome because it totally clears my hair of gunk. I usually get dandruff as a result of the sheer amount of crap I put in my locks to make them behave. I haven't had a problem at all since I've started using the tea tree oil. I'm going to move away from using body washes to relying on the yummy and longer lasting bar soaps from The Body Shop.
• Um, that's it. What a sad sad list.

I already know that it's all about less. I'm trying to train myself to ignore that little "BUY MORE" voice and sift NEEDS from WANTS. But I need help with those little switches to transform myself into the full blown tree hugger I want to be. 

Do you have any secrets you can share with me?