We've made some positive changes like planting the garden (talk about local produce), composting full force and bringing our own bags to the grocery store. I am 100% completely sold on using reusable bags. It's hard enough getting Rush and all the groceries into the house while the cats hover by the front door trying to escape, so I love that it cuts down on the back and forth trips from the car. And I have the greenest bags ever because they are not in the least bit hip. Instead of buying the cute bags that you can get at almost any store, I'm using bags that Trent got for free from his subcontractors at work. My bags may have huge logos that say things like COMMERCIAL JANITORIAL, but at least I didn't buy something I didn't need. I mean in this specific example I didn't buy something I didn't need. I actually buy things I don't need constantly. Sigh.
We actually ate salad that we grew! Rush approved; he's a tree hugger. Literally. He loves trees.
Back to our environmental evaluation, there are a million more things we could be doing better. I've been too cheap to buy any green cleaning products, but hopefully that will change. Also, I know that it would be soooo easy to use cloth diapers when we're at home. Even if I only used one cloth diaper a day when I knew we weren't going to leave the house, it would really help lessen the incredible amount of diapers we throw out. Unfortunately I just haven't been able to bring myself to buy any cloth diapers. The disposables are just so easy. And the cloth diapers I want are fancy and cost $25 each. So. I know a lot of people who use cloth diapers at least part of the time, maybe if they just put on the pressure maybe I'll invest in at least one or two. Pearland recycles almost everything, so we really have almost no trash...except diapers.
Our goal is to be more and more gentle on the earth and to enjoy God's creation as much as possible. I'm just going to try to live more like Gran and Pop, who used a small bathroom trash can in their kitchen. They had a huge garden, reused everything, and didn't buy a lot of extra crap that they didn't need. Rush's newest word is "outside" and he reaches for the backdoor saying "outside!" That's our motivation to live green.
"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." -John Muir
This was awesome! If everybody could take little steps like that think of the change we could make! Way to go!
ReplyDeletelook on craigslist in houston for lots cloth diapers. it might be more common in austin, but there are always people who just spent $600 on top of the line all-in-one diapers and then decided they don't really want to do it. or call the local diaper service, we got a great deal on their bleached extras- prefolds do the job too, and they are so cheap. you don't even need a cover if you're at home!
ReplyDeletein other news, you guys are awesome. and every time i recycle a can it's because i remember you talking about bringing your diet coke can home in your purse everyday because your office didn't recycle. you are a real life greenzo!
LOVE IT.
ReplyDeleteWe bought our cloth diapers on ebay and paid about $20 for each. Gotta have a cotton & hemp insert.
Two things on my to do list-get a good reusable bottle and compost!