Over the last several years, I've been moving through a gradual process of looking at how I use and consume things. Many of you have watched me go through multiple purges in our home as I try to determine what we need and what we're hoarding, for no other reason than a general lack of thoughtfulness. The first couple of times I did this, it was because of life changes (kids moving out, ending our homeschooling season, etc) and a lot of stuff was simply no longer needed. But as I did, I began to notice how much STUFF we had. Things we hadn't needed for a long time, yet still had; things that were outdated or broken, yet here they still were; and honestly, so much that we never should have wasted our time or money on. Out. It. Went. To friends that needed it, to second hand stores, to the dump.
The trips to the landfill were eye-opening. What became abundantly apparent, guys, is that we're outta control. It's so easy to throw our crap into our individual family trash bins and drag it to the curb once a week and never think about it again. But when you back your truck up at the landfill and see our collective crap all at once? And multiply that hundreds and thousands of times around our country every week? (Because honestly, we're the worst - I won't bore you, but look up the stats.) It's terrifying.
Here's a confession: I've always been an adamant "don't litter" person, but I vividly remember thinking as a teenager and young adult that it didn't matter that much what we threw into landfills or how much of our natural resources we consumed because Jesus would come back and make all things new before it could really get out of hand anyway. Bless. my. heart.
Thankfully, my mindset slowly began to shift. I began to look at all of our purchases in a much different light. Do I need this? How many times would I use it? (i.e., could I borrow, share the purchase or rent instead?) Was this humanely made? (Were people abused so I could get it super cheap?) Do I really need a new outfit or could I mix and match what I have? Would a second-hand purchase take care of this need just as well? You get it.
After this became more or less a habit, I began to look at how much consumable stuff we were throwing away every day/week/month and how we could cut that down. I started recycling regularly. (This got much easier when Pauls Valley established a recycling center and then when we moved to a community that picked up recycling from our curb). In the midst of this stage, I read an article about how most of our country's recycling was being shipped to China on huge barges/ships, where it was processed for reuse. And guys? They don't want our recycling anymore because it's so disgusting! Apparently, too many of us don't wash out our cans or bottles, we throw in dirty unusable cardboard, etc. and they're tired of messing with us. So now America must deal with what we're going do with all of it. This started me thinking about what I even put in recycling that, with some thought, could be cut down/out.
This has been a slower process, because honestly, it's a little more expensive to get started moving toward sustainable buying/living. I'm still actively living in this stage, still consider myself to be a little tiny baby here, and this is more the point of my post.
I wanted to share a few of the things I've found and I would really love to hear from y'all - what you've found to be ways to cut down on how much you're throwing away, to live a little healthier, to "need" a little less, to take care of the gift of this Earth and each other - to hopefully leave it better for our grandbabies and their babies.
So. Here are a few things I've started or tried to become more consistent with:
I'm focusing right now on cutting down on non-reusable plastics.
- I use reusable water bottles and thermos cups.
- I use reusable shopping bags (and I'm working on getting better at putting them back in the car after I use them so they'll be there the next time! (*all the eye rolls here*).
- I bought lightweight, mesh bags to use anywhere, but specifically instead of the plastic bags in the produce department.
- I use soap and shampoo that come in bar form, wrapped in paper (no plastic at all is used). They're awesome. I'm not giving up anything to use them. You can find them anywhere on the internet, but I buy them locally made (hit me up if you're interested).
- I buy a body scrub and body lotion from the same source that comes in reusable glass jars. Also awesome.
- I'm gradually transitioning in the kitchen, using glass instead of plastic for my left overs/taking lunches to work. I'm working toward cutting out plastic wrap and ziploc bags - not quite there yet, though I've cut way down.
- I'm using microfiber cloths instead of paper towels as often as it's practical (I still keep paper towels, but don't use often). I'm also planning to transition to cloth napkins instead of paper, use my own real dishes instead of paper and plastic when we have company.
- We're using bamboo toothbrushes now instead of plastic (I'll admit, I got some looks from Brian on this one, but I won him over). They were a little different feel the first few times, but I'm used to it now and it's no big - and they're cheaper than most of the plastic brushes.
I've just recently gotten wool dryer balls to use instead of fabric softener (plastic again) or dryer sheets (lots of chemicals). As an aside, I got these through a fun subscription I just started. For a pretty small subscription price ($11/mo.), they're sending me a surprise new whatever each month - something to help either cut down on waste, or live healthier, use less chemicals, etc. It's a surprise each month, but this month was my first time and it was the dryer balls (something that's been sitting in my Amazon cart for quite a while trying to decide if I was ready to spend the money, and the subscription price was cheaper than what I had in my cart - yay!).
I realize that for some of you, this is really easy, baby stuff, but for me, it's taken a new way of thinking about how I move through my days - slowing down enough to think about where I'm being wasteful. I also realize some of you (like my mother), are probably thinking that this is the way much of it was done in prior generations before we got so consumed with convenience. And she's right. Honestly though, it just feels like being a responsible human being to me. Like caring for the Earth God left us to care for. Like caring what we leave for future generations. Like being a grown up. Jumping back to my earlier confession, not trying to transition to practical ways to care for the Earth and each other feels a lot like watching kids say that they don't need to take care of that toy or clothes or car because their parents will get them a new one if they ruin or lose it. It's spoiled brat mentality and I'm pretty sure God is not a fan.
I'd honestly love for this to be an interactive post - I really want to know your ideas - especially ideas that are not expensive and we can quickly transition into our everyday, grown up lives. Sometimes what people try to sell us as sustainable living is super-expensive and just not attainable for us everyday working folks, so I'd love to hear what you're doing that didn't break the bank. I firmly believe that everyone can make simple, everyday changes that can impact our environment in positive ways. What are you doing that seems like a no-brainer, but maybe the rest of us haven't thought about? What are you doing that is having a positive impact for the Earth? For our kids' Earth, as we'll one day leave it for them?
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Side note: There have been a few books/sites/podcasts that have helped me as I've moved through this process, so thought I'd share them as well.
- Jen Hatmaker's book, "7" -- it kicked my butt, but it got my brain moving in healthier/wiser living patterns.
- The Minimalists - they have a podcast as well as a documentary on Netflix. I don't come anywhere close to living at the minimalist level they do and occasionally their suggestions are just a little bit too far out there for me, but they give lots of good food for thought.
- Becoming Minimalist. They have a Facebook page that offers loads of helpful information.
- Zero Waste Cartel. I follow them on Instagram, but I'm guessing you could find them on other social media platforms. They give some great ideas for moving toward sustainability.
Do you have others you've found to share with us?
