Contrary to what some of you may have thought after my previous blog concerning Global Warming, I do care about the environment. I may have no idea what I yet believe about gw, because I have not done enough research, but I do believe that either way I should be committed to taking care of what God has given me. In the last year Jess and I have been making subtle changes to how we live and take care of our home. I’ve always viewed my life as a spiritual journey, growing and changing and developing in my faith as I age. But I’ve often forgotten that I serve a holistic God who desires for the renovation of all of creation, not just my spiritual self. Here is a bit of our journey, and what has changed. It’s a process and I’d love input and challenges. Give me good books to read and ideas to pursue.
- We’ve gone virtually chemical free in our house. Getting rid of all of the cleaning chemicals, the soaps that are filled with poison for our bodies, and the air fresheners that poison our air. Did you know that the air inside your home is extremely more toxic than that outside? We now use cheaper and cleaner Norwex products (check it out online) and lots of vinegar, baking soda, and all that natural crap. It’s been great for our families health and budget.
- We live in an apartment which makes it a bit harder to live green (no solar power, rain catcher things, recycling pickup, etc.) but we visit our local recycling center every other week, we dry most loads on a clothes line, we use cloth diapers and wipes for Jones, we don’t use paper products anymore (napkins, paper towels, etc.), we use rechargeable batteries, and all that fun stuff that helps to reduce waste in our world and even saves us money.
- We’ve been on a journey of simplifying, realizing that we don’t need much of the crap that we own. Craigs list and used clothings stores have been an asset for getting rid of crap and getting money back.
- Riding the bus would be next on our agenda, but because of Jess’ bed rest we’ve been forced to wait until it better fits our life. It’s frustrating because siting on a bus reading a book while someone else drives for me sounds very appealing. Not to mention we get a discount for being poor so it will save us lots of money too (are you starting to notice a trend? Am I obsessed with money? Maybe…hopefully in a good healthy way though…but maybe not)
- We’ve smashed a handful of new plants into our house and balcony. They say that you should have one plant for every 100 square feet to clean your air. The fresh tomatoes will be nice in addition to the herbs and spices. And Jones really enjoys watering them.
- Instead of using air fresheners we’ve gotten a few essential oils to make our house smell better and more soothing. It kind of creeps us out though because there is extreme power in aromatherapy so we’re very careful in this aspect because we still do not know a whole lot.
The list could go on of different subtle changes. We know we still have a huge number of things we’d like to change, and of the changes we’ve made most are probably incomplete. It’s a journey, not a destination. It has been a very enjoyable journey so far, one that has saved us money and brought peace to our home.
We would still like to purchase more local and organic foods, but cannot afford it just yet. We’d also like to change our eating habits. We’re contemplating a vegetarian diet. Who knows, maybe we’ll do a crazy raw food diet for a month and see what we think. (we do have to be careful when it comes to nursing and Jess’ celiac disease-wheat allergy) It’s not like we’re just trying to be weird or like we’re trying to fit in with Portland or something. We are just trying to make as many changes, one at a time, that might make our family more healthy, our world cleaner, and life more peaceful.
Got any input? Any ideas? Have you made any changes? Read any books?
tell me what you mean by, "there is extreme power in aromatherapy". cause that just sounds creepy.but i love this post, we are in the midsts of trying to make alot of these same kinds of lifestyle changes. its kinda exciting to know that youre doing all you can to lead a healthier lifestyle!
Natsource where you can buy offsets. If I understand it right, an offset is something that "offsets" your nature polluting activities. Like, every time you fly cross country, you emit x amount of carbon. Well, an offset would be planting a tree, or cleaning up liter or whatever. Instead of doing that stuff yourself, you can buy offsets from these hippie sites and they'll do it for you. Neato!
Thats a great idea, pay someone else to make up for your killing mother nature! I love it.And Tara, concerning aromatherapy, the more we learn about it the more we find out that you've got to be careful how you use different essential oils. Some are not safe to put directly on your skin, some aren't safe with pregnant mothers, some aren't safe with kids, etc. You've got to be careful with them I guess.
huh…wierd. another thing you are doing to save the earth is jess has dreads…that saves shampoo and saves water from washing the hair and saves money on brushes…but then again your scarf supply may be going up so…
The hair is 3/4 of the way done and let me tell you, it looks sexy. Seriously, it's going to look real good. I expected the first few months to look completely horrible as the dreds grew out and took shape, but they look so much better than I expected (still short and boner like at times though).
what the! Jess has dreads? I did not know this….I think we need pictures!
I want to know …just how does Jones water the plants? huh?
wow, way to go…we try hard to go green around our house, but not hard enough. I do like the whole and organic foods though.Keep it up!
go you.for serious.and i'll look through my lists to narrow down some books.one i can think of right now is:"organic suburbanite"you can check it out from the library even and then just return it. i love it!
I thought about you yesterday as I was spraying Windex on my window to clean dog snot off of it. (Apparently she can't see out the window unless her nose is pressed against it.)My wife brought home some Norwex cloth thingy (after I cleaned the window) that I will have to give at try.javascript:void(0)Publish Your Comment
Norwex is a small investment up front (kind of like cloth diapers) but you save so much money in the end. After you get used to using that cloth you'll never need windex again. In fact, you won't even need to walk down the chemical isle at safeway anymore either.Oh, and oddly enough I've got those same snot marks on my sliding glass door…but I don't have a dog…just a toddler.
* Mr Clean Magic Eraser. Kinda like a sponge, but you don't need any chemicals. Cleans everything: you know how the surface of your pourous plastic things (computer monitor cases, PC tower cases, TV's, ect) are hard to clean with a towel and Windex? Magic Eraser takes care of all that, and you can use it a ton before it's dead.* Used dryer sheets are great computer monitor cleaners. You re-use something you would just throw away, and the anti-static properties work on the screen as well as your clothes.* My Mom can help you set up a rain catcher using recyled items from around your house – plastic pop bottles work great – that is small enough to fit on your balcony but still get you a bunch of water.* Get yourself some canvas bags to use when shopping (net bags work really well too). that way you don't use paper OR plastic at Safeway.*Coffee grounds are great as compost, and they break down so fast you can use them in potted plants. Again my Mom could help you use them wisely to not screw up the Ph of your soil.* Floursent or LED lightbulbs are more costly up front, but use way less energy and last years at a time. With the whole Green Revolution you can find them for any size and shape socket and lamp.* Some blackout or whiteout curtains behind the beautiful red drapes on your sliding door would help keep your house cool in the early evening.* Installing styrofoam blocks in the tank of your toilet reduce the water flow per flush and keep styrofoam out of the landfills.I'll ask Mom about cool "green" books to look for. There are also some killer vegi/vegan cookbooks at Barnes and Noble at Janzen Beach – Gina's sister's boyfriend is vegi and we got him some cool cookbooks for XMas.
i think what that last one says is that you "have to be careful because Jess is still on VagRest and you don't want to knock her up again."yeah. I read BETWEEN the lines.I think your obsession with money is healthy because it's not just saving money for the sake of being cheap. It's saving money while maintaining a happy life because you're dirt poor.that's all.and I think that's perfectly normal and perfectly healthy. plus, your tangerine house makes me horny.haha. not really.but seriously.
thats awkward for all of us.
i have some tidee didee coupons if you want them.