Thursday, October 15, 2009

It's Not Easy Being Green...but it's worth it.


I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t want to be greener—including myself. No one wants to be wasteful and I don’t think you’ll hear too many people say they just don’t care. I imagine it’s more along the lines of they just think it’s all too much.
If they can’t take little Moonbeam Starchild to soccer practice in their solar powered car that’s made out of all organic materials and watch the game sitting in organic hemp chairs while eating fresh produce grown in their backyard using compost they’ve collected themselves and carried in fair-trade cotton sacks then why bother, right?


There are hundreds of reasons climate control is a major issue here are a few that may get you on the green bandwagon. I know, no more good wine or avocados? That's reason enough to drive a Prius right there! (Those of you who didn't click on the 'here' above are probably pretty curious to do so now..)

I personally would love to be wading in the deeper end of the green pool. Right now I would shade myself somewhere between that of a of pear and an olive, subjectively speaking of course. On a day to day basis I don’t really feel like I’m doing a lot however, since moving out of the mid-west and into the west I’ve found myself putting forth way more effort for my family to do their part in the environmental battle.


Maybe because folks seem to care more about water conservation here—or it could be that we live in the desert and don’t have a choice… There is also a larger recycling program here, which has caused me to think a little harder about what I throw into the garbage can. With today being Blog Action Day and their focus being on climate control I thought I’d list a few of the ways my family is starting to take action…


  • A few months ago I started using a more Eco-friendly laundry detergent. Jenny’s Simply Clean is a petroleum free gentle cleaner that breaks down better than most store bought laundry soaps and can be scented into over 15 different fragrances! That's better then Tide any day.

  • I also stopped using dryer sheets and made my own scented dryer balls from wool yarn. JSC has dryer balls you can buy as well if you don’t feel crafty enough to make your own--but it's not hard. Also, instead of expensive fabric softeners I started using white vinegar to soften the clothes. Come to think of it, vinegar has so many uses I could write a whole post on just my love for it.

  • I have been using reusable grocery bags for the majority of my shopping trips and shopping late at night when there are few people in the stores, I’m not really sure how that helps but it helps my sanity and that has to be good for the environment….

  • I cook more at home and use the leftovers to make a variety of meals to avoid waste. I look for products that have less packaging to throw away or packages I can at least reuse once.
  • I just recently took a dress that had a broken zipper and cut it up to make my own fabric memo board complete with a pocket for notepaper…I felt very B. Smith like.

  • Our family loves to take picnic dinners to the park and instead of using paper products we have plastic plates, cups and real silverware that we just wash and reuse; we even have cloth napkins. The kids find it to be quite sophisticated as a matter of fact…

  • I’ve recently become aware of the fair-trade practice of such products as coffee, tea and Shea butter and wind powered websites. I am trying to make a conscious effort to use more products from people and companies who care about our world.

Most of the time I feel like so many others who are overwhelmed with all the facts and studies, the charts and diagrams on how the earth is changing and how we won’t have a lot of the renewable resources we take for granted right now. I think all this little stuff that I do won't really matter.
It Does. It Really Does !!!
I know that not only am I keeping cans out of the landfills, I’m also instilling the pride of earth-ownership in my children. They’re more aware and less wasteful than I was as a child. They know that recycling is a necessity not an option.


Yes, I do drive an SUV and use central air conditioning 10 months out of the year and will probably never be quite as crunchy as a lot of the west coast mamas I’ve run across, nevertheless, I feel that if I keep moving in the right direction adding my many small contributions to the cause, I will still be a part of the solution.


What are you doing?

New Stuff


I'm starting a new series on Blissfullydomestic.com talking about how we as women can get that spice back in our marriage. Focusing on the everyday issues we all face but sometimes feel totally alone in. Every Wednesday I will suggest some new ways, fresh ideas maybe even some old tricks of the trade to get a stagnant relationship out of the harbour...