My new project has been going great. It is giving me an outlet for my environmental education passion, giving Sam, Avery and I some great things to do during the days and I am learning a ton of new tricks that I am sure I can use someday once I get back into my field full time. I am also connecting with a lot of new moms, educators and other people interested in green living. This last one though has presented me with a whole new challenge.
I consider myself to be a pretty knowledgeable person when it comes to the environment, environmental issues, sustainability and the green movement. I have also worked hard throughout my life to spread that education, help environmental education and participate in the push to educate the next generation. What I haven't been doing so good at is practicing what I preach!
As I have been connecting with all these new bloggers out there writing about their green living adventures, their journeys in striving to get back to nature and their simple lives I have realized just how LARGE my carbon footprint really is. But becoming a responsible environmental citizen is such a daunting task; where do I begin? And it isn't cheap either! It is just not in our budget right now to add solar panels or get more energy efficient appliances or buy a hybrid for our next car. But I knew I needed to start doing something, start being the example for my girls and start making this more of a priority in my life.
Then I found this blog called One Small Change. They present their readers with the challenge of making one small change every month to lower their carbon footprint, to be kinder to the earth and to live more green. Wow! A new thing every month? My goodness. These were my initial reactions. But then I started reading about some of the changes that the people participating in this challenge were making. Things like making their own laundry soap, making their own shampoo, not using paper towels or paper napkins, growing their own food, buying second hand, etc. When I saw some of these ideas I got really excited and thought WE CAN DO THIS!
So, we are going to try. This matters a lot to me. I want to set the right example for my girls. I want to teach them habits now about living in a sustainable way so that when they are older those things will just come naturally to them and they will take them with them to the home that they create later in life.
Our first change is going to be a pretty tough one. We are attempting to make the switch to cloth diapers! Chris is not so thrilled about this one (I mean really who wants to have to wash out poop!). But I want to try. I hate the thought of all those diapers going to a landfill and if we can get on a system of cloth diapers and do it for long enough in the end we will actually save ourselves money too.
I was also so excited about the homemade laundry soap that I went ahead and made that too! It is working out great. It was easy to make, cleans the clothes just fine, has a nice faint smell and is SUPER cheap.
I know in the grand scheme of things these changes don't make that big of a difference to the environment but if each one of you out there ALSO did they changes that would make a HUGE difference. And maybe if I can save enough money by washing out my daughters poop, washing my clothes in soap I have grated up myself and some other ideas THEN we can afford to put solar panels on our roof and really lower our carbon footprint!
3 comments:
I am so excited about this!
But, honestly, as you begin your cloth diapering adventure - I have to warn you that most will quit. When I went to Wisc last summer my family insisted I switch to disposables and it was so freakin' difficult to switch back after a month of just throwing diapers away.
Here's my take on how to not give up.
1) cloth diapering is like breastfeeding. You just have to believe its the right thing for you. The easiest way to do this is to commit yourself body & mind for a certain period of time (6 weeks will usually do the trick) and just do it no matter what.
2) Since everyone complains about the energy costs, I recommend line drying diapers. If you find that they are too stiff afterward, throw them in the dryer on fluff for like 5 minutes. Not only will that save energy - the sun will also sterilize them and bleach out most stains.
3) I never ever use bleach on my diapers (and, to be perfectly honest, I wash them in cold water, too - my grandma would have a heart attack if she knew). I use an environmentally friendly germicide once in awhile. My kid has never had a rash so I'm assuming that means his diapers are clean!
4) get that kid on a potty! If you get a little potty that fits Avery and just sit her on it whenever Sam goes - you might be surprised at what you catch and you might end up saving some diapers! This is all speculation, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to try.
5) Get thee some snappis. http://www.snappibaby.com/products/snappidiaperfastener.html
6) You have to change cloth diapers waaaaay more often than regular diapers. It will shock you how often your kid pees. But that's good because then we aren't letting our kids hang out in sort of wet diapers because we feel guilty about the cost and/or throwing them in the landfill :)
Anyway, I could go on and on about this. Good luck!!! I can't wait to hear how it goes!!!
I am so in love with your new blog and this post. Brad and I are on the band wagon and we have two sets of solar panels now powering all of our lights in our garage - one small step (with a big bill), but we are in total love of the idea! My next step - the laundry detergent - because I do all the laundry myself and love the idea and hanging them outside (I need to get out of my lazy phase). Can you post the laundry detergent recipe? ~Tracy
Yay..I am so glad you joined One Small Change! I hope you enjoy the journey and I look forward to hearing how it goes!
You have such an adorable family!!
Suzy
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