I just caught the tail end of a recent Oprah show on my XM radio, where Jenny McCarthy was visiting San Luis Obispo in CA, and dubbed it, “the happiest city in America.” Apparently, the reason why everyone is so happy is because they all know each other! Hearing the residents talk, reminded me of the little English village where I grew up where everyone looked out for one and another. Granted – the downside was that there were quite a few nosey- parkers not minding their own business, peeking over garden fences, but for the 
most part, it felt cozy and secure being part of that community.
It has to be said, that aside from the close-knit community aspect of San Luis Obispo, it’s a city in the most glorious setting imaginable. It has a beautiful climate, is near the beach and has lush mountains in the distance – a far cry from a smelly coal-mining town, and enough to turn even an old curmudgeon into a happy/clappy hippie,
Fast forward a few years, actually a few decades, and here I am living in glorious Los Angeles, where you barely see a pedestrian on the street, never mind have a daily chat with your neighbors. I was in NYC this week and it was a total culture shock to actually be around crowds of people, to be sandwiched between Puffa jackets,over-stuffed backpacks & weird odors on the subway. It felt great to have contact, albeit a little too much physical contact with total strangers.
When my mom visits me in LA, she’s appalled by my lack of connectedness with my neighbors. “Have you asked them over for tea yet?” she asked accusingly when she last visited, knowing I hadn’t. I told her that they’re not the kind of people that drink afternoon tea, and besides I didn’t think I had that much in common with them. That didn’t deter her in the slightest – “well ask them for a drink or a BBQ then!” It was an anathema to her that I wouldn’t want to intimately get to know the people who lived on all sides of me. She couldn’t bear the fact that I drove my car into my garage and down came the mechanical door, shutting out the rest of the world.
That being said, I have got to know quite a few people in my immediate vicinity, by virtue of being green! Green living encourages you to go beyond the boundaries of your insulated little world and reach out to people because so much of green living is about community. Okay mom, besides my immediate neighbors, here’s how I got to be more connected and thus happier living in my pocket of Los Angeles.
(On a side note, I actually did try to get to know my neighbors on one side, however, they turned out to be really strange. They keep animals in their backyard, and I’m not talking cats or dogs. There have been chickens, a rooster – which thankfully was short lived and rabbits. The rabbits were clearly NOT kept as pets – I realized this one day when my dog, Phoebe, dragged something nasty from under our adjoining fence. It was a rabbit pelt! I’m not sure, dear mom, that this family are the type who’d enjoy finger sandwiches and Earl Grey Tea.)
I digress – here are my 6 Steps, which apparently are very popular in San Luis Obispo too.
1. Become the Your community, building or block “Green Team Leader”: Get hold of an email list of as many people as you can who live in your community and send them a blast telling them that you’ve decided to green the community and to that end, have assigned yourself as “Green Team Leader”. Ask them to reply if they’re interested in becoming involved. Once you get a list of replies, you can start the following initiatives:
a) Ask someone to volunteer a run to your nearest hazardous waste drop-off (if no one offers, you can do it). You can find out where it actually is by visiting Earth 911. You can also copy a list from this website of the items that are considered “hazardous waste”, and paste it in to the email. One you have a volunteer, you can let everyone know the date/deadline that they need to drop off their paint,paint thinner, pesticides etc at the volunteer’s home. This is a great action to take, as it always sparks some good conversations and raises awareness about an issue that many know little about.
b) Suggest that everyone buy The Green Garmento Bag.green garmento
your dry-cleaning. They also double as a convenient laundry bag. I encouraged everyone in my community to get one – so much so that our local dry cleaner, who used to be very bad tempered, lights up with amusement when anyone comes in with their Green Garmento Bag.
c) If you are going to a big box store like Costco, send out an email to a couple of neighbors asking is they need anything. You’ll save them a trip and they’ll hopefully return the favor next time.
d) Throw a Gorgeously Green party for the women in your community. Similar to a book club, you can take yourselves through the 8 steps for 8 weeks. Many women have tried this and have reported that they absolutely loved it, as they encouraged each other with fantastically creative ideas. When a group of women get together, there’s no stopping them!
2. Bartering: In San Luis Obispo they apparently barter. This goes back to the most ancient exchange of our energy, talents and services and is truly the 
most satisfying way of living. Don’t be embarrassed to barter what you have to offer for something you want. You never know what talents and skills may be hiding away in your community. One you open the door by sending out an email blast, you’ll find painters, carpenters, bakers, writers, teenage babysitters, dressmakers – the list goes on. You could even make up some skin care recipes from Do It Gorgeously and barter them for babysitting or something you really need.
3. Share: To cut the cost of expensive energy-saving improvements that you may want to make to your home, find out if the vendor will provide a group discount if you get a bunch of your neighbors to buy too. Someone on my block wanted to purchase some shade trees and got an amazing deal because he emailed everyone on the block and asked if they’d be interested in a group purchase. We got our trees for a third of the price that they normally would have cost. So try calling a solar panel company, a landscaper, a local nursery, even an insulating company and try to set up a great deal for you and your friends.
4. Rescue a Dog: This might sound a bit silly, but I’ve made so many friends in my community, while walking my dog. A rescue dog is always a great 
conversation-starter, because if your dog is a mutt (which most rescue’s are,) the inevitable question will center around what breed it is. This will then lead to a longer conversation about how you found him/her, his behavioral habits etc. When I started using my bark box on my Chihuahua, Lucky, people would cross the street to ask what it was. From these doggie conversations, I’ve learned about people’s yards, irrigation habits, intention to buy solar panels, and more!
5. Wash You Car: If you have a car, get outside every now and again and make the waterless Car Wash from Do It Gorgeously. You’ll be out there for a while getting some great exercise and if anyone walks past, they’re more than likely to stop and chat, whereby you can tell them how amazing it is to wash your car with no water!
6. Get Baking: Even if you are a terrible baker, you can always grab an organic brownie mix and whip up a try of them. If you want to get to know some neighbors and can’t think of a good ice-breaker, wrap up a few cupcakes, brownies, or even better, a home baked loaf of bread. Walk over to them saying you baked extra and thought they might like to have a taste!
