Yes. Another not-forgotten post from my list. And, since today is Earth Day... it seemed like the perfect time to finally find a few minutes to write it.
I would assume most of you have heard to the term "crunchy" when referring to lifestyle. It's used regularly on the internet bulletin boards I frequent so surely I'm not the only one aware of it. For those who don't know, "crunchy" refers to what some would stereotype as the tree hugging, granola eating hippie crowd. Granted, none of the crunchy people I know are actually like that, but you get the idea. As it turns out, as a parent I'm fairly crunchy. Not a true, all crunch granola. More of a trailmix--- some granola crunch, but still some soft and chewy dried fruits mixed in. And I'm finding more and more ways to be crunchier. And I feel good about it.
We practice "attachment" or "natural" parenting. I breastfeed. We both babywear. We cosleep. We never leave the kiddo to cry. All parts of being AP. What I didn't realize though, is that doing this would lead to more ways to be crunchy and leave me ever looking for more we can do.
Maybe it just comes with being a parent. Why wouldn't I want to do what I can to protect the earth? The environment? The very place my child has to grow up in and one day live in on his own. He deserves a clean, healthy environment. As do his children. And their children.
In the past several months, I've learned that being crunchy really doesn't take any more time or effort. Interestingly enough, many of the things we're currently doing or have a plan to implement not only are helping to save the environment, but they're also saving us money. So, in honor of Earth Day, here are some of the things we're already doing. And a few, simple things we plan to start doing. If you aren't already, consider working one or two of these things into your life. Every little bit helps!
~ We cloth diaper and use cloth wipes. Something that will save about a ton of landfill waste by the time the kiddo potty learns. And will save us an estimated $1200 over that time as well. (and because I can't resist, a picture of our environmentally friendly diaper stash:)
~ I breastfeed. No formula cans going into the trash. (ok. so that's not something anyone can do, or may choose to do. And certainly not a decision to make simply based on the environmental aspect. But, let's face it. Helping the environment is another benefit of it)
~ We got rid of all chemical cleaning products. I clean with vinegar and baking soda. The two toughest things to clean in our house are the textured surface of the bathtub and the ceramic top on the stove. Since I made the switch, these two items sparkle like they never have before! The kiddo can be in the room with me while I clean and I don't have to worry about the fumes he's breathing in. And, since he's becoming more and more mobile, I don't have to worry about him getting into and ingesting a potentially deadly household cleaner. It's much easier on my asthma, too.
~ We only run the dishwasher when it is full. And only run it overnight.
~ The hubby rides his bicycle to work about 8 months of the year. The other 4 months he rides the bus (cold and snow).
~ Turn of lights when not in the room. I still struggle with this one sometimes, but I'm getting better!
~ We get paper sacks at the grocery store checkout and then donate them to the soup kitchen at our church.
And some things we're working on implementing:
~ Switch to energy efficient light bulbs, as ours burn out and we have to buy more.
~ Skip the plastic bag at the checkout. Take our own cloth bags to use. The plastic ones we do have, we save and donate to the daycare I worked at so they are at least getting reused.
~ Recycle. I think we can pay to have it picked up with our regular trash. If not, since I'm home now, I just can't find an excuse to continue to not do it.
~ Use more cloth around the house, for cleaning, etc., rather than always reaching for the paper towels.
~ Do full loads of laundry in cold water. Well, except for the diapers. Those will always be washed on hot.
~ Did you see the "Go Green" episode of Oprah this week? According to that, if we all use just one less napkin a day, we can keep a billion pounds of waste out of the landfills each year.
Use one less napkin and change a light bulb. See. It really isn't that hard. Join me. How "crunchy" are you? Do feel free to share your ideas.
3 comments:
What's kind of funny is that I don't consider myself to be all that crunchy, even though I've always aspired to be (I used to be a lot crunchier, but married a not-so-crunchy one) BUT I do a lot of things on these lists -- at least half of 'em, so I guess I've retained a little bit of my crunch. :) I could definitely be a lot better in terms of paper product use. I feel guilty on that one.
I'm not so cruncy... but we semi co-sleep... the little stinker comes to bed with us at some point. It makes me feel better that we all get that much more time together.
I don't let her cry either... at least I try not too.
So we are semi AP too.
Sounds like life is good at Kat's place. :O)
I'm late on commenting, but I'm happy to see this post! I remember that you were looking at cloth dipes before you gave birth, and you asked me before about the Beco baby carrier (which I now do have one!!) but I had no idea of your crunchiness, LOL! :) It's been a learning experience for us, eternal growth since Maggie was born. Some things have stayed (like we haven't used paper towels in about 5 months now... all cloth! And we'll be co-sleeping with Sprout whenever s/he is born...) other things I had to give up for my sanity (cloth diapering and breastfeeding, unfortunately... though I am planning on making breastfeeding work this time!). It's just nice to see others who are like-minded, though!
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