I’m laughing as I write this blog. In a giddy sort of way no less, and I’ll tell you why. (Lexi helped me with the title...can you tell?)

Several weeks ago, I received an email from the SCOTT brand of paper products asking me if I would be willing to join the SCOTT Naturals 4 Week Test Drive, which meant switching my paper products for the entire month of April. By using their hybrid paper products, my family and I would be taking small steps towards being more environmentally friendly.

So at the time I laughed, and I’m still laughing because I am not that trend-setting person. I’m not that person who stands in line at 2am in the morning on Black Friday so I can get whatever new version of technology is out. I’ve never been to a midnight showing of any movie because I usually like to see what other people have to say about it. Then I still don’t go because my practical brain says, “Why not wait until it’s on DVD…or tv. That might be years, but oh well. It’s just not that important to me.”

I have been asked to review beauty products before like soap, body washes, and perfumes. I emphatically refused. Yes, I wear make-up. Yes, I use soap, but I’m not into fru-fru beauty products. I just don’t care enough about them to suggest that others even use them. It would be out of character for me.

I say all that to give you context to why I was so amused by SCOTT’s offer to partner with me. I just kept on thinking, “Is this a trick? Am I on candid camera? How does SCOTT even know who I am?” Even my husband and co-workers laughed at the notion because they know I would never talk about something unless I believed in it.

But here’s the thing. I use paper products every day. SCOTT didn’t ask me to try something out of character. They only asked if I was willing to try the hybrid products as a small way of being “greener.” If you asked me, I would absolutely affir, that I care about the earth, but if you asked me how I show it, I couldn’t tell you. I was somewhat convicted about my cavalier attitude towards taking care of the environment. I don’t recycle. I don’t really think about car emissions polluting the air. I don’t think about being earth friendly on a daily basis.

So I was interested from the beginning and wanted to challenge myself and my family to commit to a new habit that would have a long-lasting impact on the world. I want to show my daughter that I care, and that at age 5, she can impact the world from her home. It’s not even a big switch. I wasn’t that wedded to the paper products I used.

I agreed to partner with SCOTT even before I found out there was any compensation to it! (Is that weird to talk about openly in a blog? Oh well, hopefully you know me by now and know that I will say what’s on my mind.) My husband went out and bought the SCOTT Naturals paper towels over the weekend, and it was funny to see how “suspicious” he was of it. Hmmm…is this paper towel made of recycled materials gonna work? It does. I sorta hate to clean. SCOTT, I don’t think you’re going to give me a love of cleaning, but there is something cool about knowing that we’re using more earth-friendly products while we’re doing it. If you gave me a love of cleaning, well…then my family would be devoted to you for life!

I explained the 4 Week Test Drive to Lexi, and she fully embraced it. She’s so black and white about some things and this is one of them. “Mommy, we need the trees so we can breathe. I didn’t know they cut down trees for paper towels. I want to save some trees….but will the recycled paper be clean? They’ve been used, right?” Now she wants to tour the SCOTT paper plant to see how they “clean” the recycled paper in a way that we can reuse it. That girl…I hope SCOTT is ready for her!

I’m going to be sharing our family’s progress along the way. I have an older dog with issues and am really going to test just how absorbent that paper is! Join me in the SCOTT Naturals™ Test Drive by heading to www.SCOTTBrand.com and then tell me how it’s going. I love how the website gives you eco-friendly facts such as how many trees we could save if everyone in the US with a dog took the test-drive. That would be…umm…31,884 trees saved. The state with the most pledges wins $50,000. I like tangible rewards and knowing the number of trees saved and money invested back to state is a huge plus.

Does anyone know where the SCOTT’s manufacturing plant is? I’m going to need it for future vacation purposes…