Going green is a family affair at the Dush household

Parents Diana and Greg and children Charlie, 7, and Caitlyn, 5, all pitch in when it comes to living sustainably.

“It is something I think we can all do better at, so we’re always looking for new ways to be green,” said Diana, who took the pledge to Go Green with Hilliard’s Environmental Sustainable Committee because of its mission to inform residents about green practices—although the family already does plenty to preserve the environment.

Avid recyclers, the Dushes take advantage of Hilliard’s curbside recycling program. Inside their home, each family member has a personal recycling bin that they’ve decorated and can fill up with items to be taken away. They also make sure to donate any unused clothing and toys to Goodwill and The Salvation Army instead of throwing them in the trash.

Caitlyn said she learned in preschool that when you don’t recycle, “the earth will get sick,” which is why her parents said they make it such a priority.

Greg and Diana understand the importance of a healthy earth. The family lived in Greg’s hometown of Wooster for nine years before moving to Hilliard in 2011. The small farm town where many of their neighbors relied on their land to make a living taught them that you get out of the earth what you put into it.

“My grandfather always used to say he was green before being green was cool,” Greg remembered of the man that has been an inspiration for the family’s environmentally friendly lifestyle. A soil conservationist, Greg’s grandfather created a nature oasis on his Wooster farm, complete with 1,000 trees and two man-made lakes that sprawled over 47 acres.

When the family moved into their new Hilliard home, they made sure to purchase high-efficiency appliances, including a dryer, dishwasher and toilet. They also installed a programmable thermostat and have placed energy efficient LED light bulbs in all their lamps.

“A lot of people might be hesitant to spend the extra money on these things up front, but they last longer and your electric bill will show how much more efficient they are,” Diana said.

If all that’s not enough, Diana shops local whenever possible and no longer purchases Styrofoam or disposable plates, cups and utensils. She’s also a stickler for opening the windows instead of using the air conditioning and the whole family is conditioned to turning off the lights in rooms they’re not in.

“Being green is tough because you feel like you should always be doing more,” Greg said. “But once you start doing anything at all, it becomes a habit, and doing anything is something.”