I signed up in December to embark upon four months of small changes to help preserve our environment. What a journey it has been. It was stressful, rewarding, burdensome, uplifting, and enlightening. We accomplished quite a lot as a family endeavoring to live green.
Inspired by Hip Mountain Mama’s One Small Change Challenge, in January we stopped using paper towels. In February we battled out ziploc elimination. In March, I wrote 20 blog posts about less consumer packaging, and in April, we have been focused on getting the plastics out of our home.
:: We discovered that old-habits die hard. But we can develop new more eco-friendly habits like reaching for a dish rag before a paper towel.
:: We discovered green living can be expensive. Small stainless steel snack containers cost $6 each! Reusable produce bags put us back $2.20 each! Disposable plastic baggies are near free. We also discovered a new perspective: invest our health, and invest in the health of our planet. When we don’t buy the disposable, cheap plastic, and wasteful, we have more money in our budget to buy the eco-friendly investment.
:: We discovered there are many lifestyle considerations. Not every greener practice and product is for everyone. We all have limitations and need certain conveniences to simply keep our household together. We aren’t very self-sufficient any more. Specialized production has truly created an interdependence among us. Most of us simply cannot produce all that we need. We need the products and services others produce. So we need to pick and choose. What do we consume? How much do we consume? How can we consume responsibly and not degrade our planet and our personal health.
:: And we discovered we are blessed with choice. The choice to live green is in every purchase we make, every gift we give, and how we accomplish the tasks of life. There are so many on our earth who have no choice. Perhaps our choosing sustainability will help create choices for others.
And there are so many things we can still do. Thank you Hip Mountain Mama for organizing this challenge. Head over to the One Small Change blog to read about how other bloggers are choosing to live green. Happy Earth Day! One small change can make a difference.
For some reason, Koreans in Korea have been using stainless steel lunch containers for generations…but we here in America think that plastics are better. Perhaps just more economical to manufacture. We actually received a few stainless food-storage containers from a relative who traveled to Korea and they are perfect for toddler lunches. Here in the US, they are sooo very expensive. BUT, they are virtually indestructible. My 2 year old has tried smashing them on the floor and they don’t dent…thank-goodness.
And thank you so much for your kind words…I appreciate it so much. I can’t wait to share with you all some of the other projects I have been working on…aromatherapy, shopping for organics, and a bit of summer sewing anyone?
learning never seems to end…there is always something else around the corner..I guess that is what makes learning so exciting. Thanks for your compliments…they mean so much.
thank YOU! you are such an inspiration to us all trying to live a little greener!
I loved reading about all the discoveries you’ve made over the past few months. It’s hard to swallow the cost of some reusable options, but I try to think of how much better of a choice it will be in the long run! I keep eyeing stainless steel lunch containers, too, and haven’t quite brought myself to do it yet (:
Thanks for the great wrap up! I am so glad you were a part of the challenge!
Congratulations on all your changes!
We are keeping the blog active year round, so stop by for blog posts offering support for those who wish to continue the challenge, ideas, inspiration, and guest blog posts. If you would like to be a guest blogger, we would love to have you…again! (email me at suzy@hipmountainmama.com)
Thanks and congrats on all your efforts!
~Suzy
When we look at going green as an investment,it makes sense to make that choice. There are just too many risks following the conventional path these days.
I have really enjoyed your series and watching the changes your family has made. We have learned so much and are making lots of the same changes – except for freezer bags. Must have freezer bags