Going Green

Okay, so any of you that know me AT ALL are no doubt laughing your heads off at the title of this post. Is it, after all, possible for me to go MORE green? I am more "hippie" than any of my close friends, and most of my family (with the noted occasional exception of my sister, Sarah; cousin, Susan; and Aunt Cherie). But I have recently pondered ways that even I can improve upon my tree-hugging:

1 Waste less. Based on my favorite old adage, "Use it up; Wear it out; Make it do, or do without" (now, you KNOW you're a hippie when you have a "favorite" old adage...), I have renewed my determination to throw less away. Now, I don't want to have a pile of junk lying around at all times forever-after, so for me, it just means to stop mindlessly chucking something in the trash because it's "broken". Or even just because I no longer have a use for it. Want a few examples? Check out these links on my etsy site, and I think you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about: http://www.etsy.com/listing/55396063/natural-quill-beads-set-of-20; http://www.etsy.com/listing/55917701/bundle-of-dried-lavender-stalks; and http://www.etsy.com/listing/54890153/big-ball-of-stripped-sheet-yarn-in-sage Just because I don't have a use for it, doesn't make it useless.

2 Buy responsibly. This does not mean that I will only buy things that are in tan and green packaging and that have big labels proclaiming them to be "green," "eco-," or "natural." Again, for me, it's just become a matter of taking a moment to think it through. For example, I no longer intend to shop at WalMart or Motherhood Maternity. Not because they are horrible "big" corporations, or have not taken pains enough to save the earth. Because I simply HATE shopping there. Why support a business I hate? It just seems silly. Now, Target and Macey's (the local grocery store), on the other hand, are two businesses that I enjoy. I actually ENJOY spending time in their stores! Their employees are helpful, their layout makes sense, they have good prices, AND I ACTUALLY LIKE BEING THERE! Why wouldn't I put my money toward supporting businesses I actually like? To take a product example, Ivan and I recently discussed bar soap. I am not cool enough to make my own soap, and while I really like the homemade soap that other people have given me, it is just not practical for me to buy handmade soap! It's too expensive. So I buy Ivory. It's free of a lot of extra chemicals, and it's cheap. Ivan laughed at me for putting so much thought into a bar of soap, but I pointed out to him that I really don't buy THAT many products, and so I figure it's worth a little brain-power to support those products that are both "earth friendly", and also practical for a cheapskate, like me. :D Why waste time and money on products that I don't even like or that simply don't work for my family situation? It's a no-brainer, really.

3 Slow down. Living at a frenetic pace makes absolutely no one happy. I'm not talking about being in that positive, busy zone, where you seem to get a miraculous amount of stuff done in record time. I'm talking about the rushing around senselessly, accomplishing nothing worthwhile, because your every movement is hindered by the gigantic mental pile of the other things you are NOT getting done. (And I know you all know what I'm talking about here.) If I'm spending so much of my time taking care of all the "stuff" in my life, it is past time to get rid of some of that stuff. So I am determined to do so. And spend more time playing with my kids and dating my husband.

And there you have a very long rant, summing up the majority of a stay-at-home-Mom's thoughts from the last couple of weeks. Woah.