Lately, I have not been living up to my blog title. In fact, I'm thinking of changing my blog altogether, but that's a post for another day.
In my perfect world, we recycle everything, exclusively cloth diaper, compost, garden, eat only whole foods, use only chemical free or homemade home/body care products, and live a life of simplicity.
In reality, my kids ate chic-fil-a for lunch, we are taking a break from cloth diapers, we only recycle what fits in our recycle bin, I would destroy any plants before we could eat them, and we have waaaay too much shit. The only "green" thing I feel like I am successful with is the home/body care products. We make our own all purpose cleaner, laundry powder, deodorant, and chapstick; we use vinegar and baking soda often, and my kids use mainly California Baby products. That's something.
I want to be clear, I'm not saying I want to go all eco-friendly because it's trendy or because I'm a mommy martyr. In my heart of hearts, I just feel like it's the best way for us to live. It's also cheaper, if done with budget in mind. And that's something to consider right now.
I have spent all this time saying, "I want to eat healthier, but I don't want to go crazy about it" or "I want to recycle more, but I don't want to go overboard"; well, maybe it's time I go overboard. Maybe I need to set some more strict guidelines about what we eat and what we throw away.
Trying to figure out what we are going to do first is daunting. Soon, our cloth diaper break will be over (we are taking a break because my son's poop is so effing gross we really just can't stand to deal with it), so that will be something. I'm researching other things we can do to be more environmentally friendly, and I will start with one thing at a time, so I don't get overwhelmed and say, "Screw it, I'm eating McDonalds."
I like that..."Maybe its time to go overboard"! I agree completely :-)
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteI have no words of advice because I am somewhere in between too... so all I can say is.... just take it one step at a time! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, girl. I am the type who wants to do ALL the things, and I just can't. And that has to be okay.
DeleteI think the first step to being more green is recognizing that we're not green. You're doing a great job just by wanting to do more. As soon as we lose the passion to make the world better for the next generation and become 'comfortable' is when we stop teaching our children the importance of light footsteps. Keep plugging away and you'll find your way. At the end of the day, it's all for the kids so even just the act of teaching them to be greener is so important. Those who can't do, teach. Right?
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes, my 4 year old loves to put things in the recycle bin and often asks "is this healthy?" before she eats something- though, that doesn't stop her from wanting ice cream, haha.
DeleteThe food thing is really hard for me. I am such a picky eater. I am determined to grow a garden with my kiddos this summer so we remember to eat more good stuff!
ReplyDeleteMy grandpa has a garden, and he lives right next store. We get a lot of home grown stuff, but I really want to learn how to grow it myself. I wish I had a personal chef who could grow and prepare my non-gmo, whole food and delicious meals!
DeleteWe think going green is best done step by step. For food, check out the EWG Dirty Dozen. Here are a few of our tips for being greener http://www.greenlifestyleconsulting.com/search/label/easy#uds-search-results
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteA great first step to anything is admitting that there's something to fix/room for improvement. Way to be honest & maybe motivate some others to make the same move.
ReplyDeleteThanks. :)
DeleteI think tackling one thing at a time is important because you can become so very overwhelmed. Recognize as much as we would like to do it all, sometimes that isn't practical and be proud of what you can do at the moment!
ReplyDeleteThanks, that's encouraging.
DeleteTry to pick one meal a week to make from scratch and build from there. That way it's not too much, but it is a step. Plus, see if your municipality will let you buy an additional bin for recycling. We did that a few years back and it helped us to keep moving forward.
ReplyDeleteThanks. We were cooking ALL our meals from (mostly) scratch, and just have been overwhelmed lately. We cooked one last night though. I will definitely see about that. And ours doesn't recycle glass, so I want to find a place nearby that does.
DeleteI've just accepted that I am never going to be ALL green. I'm just doing what I can when I can and living one day at a time!
ReplyDeletePS I've got a CD giveaway right now :)
I love the honesty of this post. It's hard to be an all-or-nothing, and it pretty much sets us up for failure when we have that mindset. I've always figured if I whittle away at my "go green" list, one thing at a time, I'll be all the better for it. Sometimes my husband and I joke about how we used to eat and what we once deemed healthy. Or the time he microwaved me hotdogs and served it with a Coke for a special breakfast. Someday, too, I'm sure we'll look back at our lifestyle today and cringe. But I hope we just laugh instead. Thanks again for your honesty! I'm sure everyone's nodding, even if they hope no one else knows.
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