Earth Loving Practices

So, while I do not claim to be a perfect Global Citizen, over time, our family has taken steps to be more Earth friendly. I've found that once I became a mother it became even more important to me to preserve M0ther Earth. After all, "We did not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." (Chief Seattle, more than 150 years ago) and "With our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next 7 generations" (Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy) Hopefully, this list of what we've done so far will help anyone looking for ways to help the earth and inspire those who weren't looking. :)

*Most obvious, despite the fact that no one collects recycling in our area, we separate and deliver the recyclables to a recycling station an exit down the road.

*We have a large amount of dish and hand towels to reduce our paper towel use. I've even cut up old towels and serged the edges to make more cleaning towels.

*I am a vegetarian. My husband does not eat red meat or poultry. 

*We are raising our son vegetarian, therefore reducing his carbon footprint.

*We use environmentally friendly cleaning and paper products. (7th Generation all purpose and shower cleaner, toilet paper, paper towels, chlorine free training pants [uses no chorine and recycled paper]; Ecover non-chlorine bleach and dishwashing tablets; Method laundry softener, glass cleaner, biodegradable wipes, Lil' Bowel Blue; Baby-Ganics floor cleaner.

*We increased the amount of insulation on our home and added a heat pump to reduce our energy usage.

* We use high efficiency washers and dryers.

*I re-use food containers to store leftovers

* I re-use glass jars for craft storage and paint water

*I collect bottle caps, wooden fruit crates, receipts, tags, cardboard and other odds n' ends 4 art.

*We drive zero emission cars.

*We give to Goodwill or find a friend who could use something rather than throwing it away. May seem like a no-brainer, but some people throw away useful things and I don't know why.

*We buy a share in our local CSA farm (community supported agriculture). Reduces shipping/fuel usage.

*We take plastic bags to the co-op so they can re-use them.

*We support local businesses whenever possible. (reduces shipping/fuel usage)

*Collect clothing I no longer wear but like for recycling as costuming, toys, etc.

*We use all natural, environmentally friendly toys for our son. I am also making some out of organic, naturally dyed material, organic cotton batting and stuffing. 

I have not figured out why I cannot cut and paste things in this blog. :P otherwise, I'd give you more reasons why what we're doing is important in the words of other journalists, etc. 

I hope you are inspired by this list to make some changes and keep the earth viable for generations to come. or maybe you can pass it on to others who may want some ideas.  there is also a short video clip on howdini.com on how to reduce your carbon footprint.   

I also plan on starting to cook more from scratch, even it is only once or twice more a week or month. Baby steps do make a difference. This will be a theme throughout this blog. :)