Green Mama?

I lay in bed tonight asking myself, what exactly is being Green? Well a quick google search brought me to a few answers like this one; Green-A supporter of a social and political movement that espouses global environmental protection, bioregionalism, social responsibility, and nonviolence. Really?

Being Green to me means being more aware of my actions and how they affect our planet. Whenever I do something I try to think of how my actions will affect our planet and future generations. I have a 16-month-old daughter and I want her to have all the resources that we have. That being said, being Green isn’t always the easiest or cheapest choice but I still try.

When I was about 7 months pregnant with Natalie I came across cloth diapers. At first, I wrinkled my nose at the idea and thought anyone who could do that was er crazy. I couldn’t imagine why you would want to cloth diaper. I did a ton of research; I was addicted to cloth diaper research. I finally got up enough courage to talk to Hubby about it, thinking he would see how much money it would save us, how great it would be for Natalie and the environment at the same time. You see I found this mind-blowing fact: it takes 500 YEARS for disposable diapers to decompose in landfills! 500 YEARS! I couldn’t get that number out of my head; we were sure leaving something behind for Natalie and her great great grandchildren probably.

I approached Hubby with the cloth diaper idea. As expected he wrinkled his nose too. I didn’t want to press the issue because it was a pretty substantial starting cost and we didn’t even have a baby yet. We had no idea how much diapers or anything else would cost once she was actually here. He vetoed my idea, as much as I wanted to CD I let the issue go. I didn’t actually know anybody in real life or online who CD’d so I didn’t have proof that it was easy and cost effective.

Fast forward about 7 months, Nat is now 5 months old. Many of my online friends have had their babies and a few of them even started CDing. I had many questions for them and they were so helpful. I approached Dh once again and he said since I was a SAHM it was up to me. I was nervous but I took the plunge. I went head first into CDs and never looked back. That was one of the greenest decisions I have made and I don’t regret it!

We also recycle and have for a while; we pay $15 a year to recycle. It amazes me how much we save on what we put in the garbage just by simply recycling. I try to use natural household cleaners but when you are raised thinking clean is that “bleachy” smell it’s hard to get away from that. If it doesn’t smell clean then it must not be clean. When I use natural cleaners it doesn’t stink but it doesn’t have that chemical cleaner smell. We also switched out all the light bulbs in our house. It's a work in progress.


Things I would like to try in the future to become Greener:
Reusable Paper Towels
We are remolding our bathroom this summer and I want to use a low flow showerhead and a water saving toilet
Composting for my garden this summer
Add one meatless meal a week
Buy naturally raised meat
Natural makeup (I’m nervous to make this switch!)

While I was writing this I found this link of 10 Ways to Go Green . I hope you find it helpful!

What ways would you like to become Greener?