may small change

i feel this may be my smallest change yet. and i'm still proud of it. it has required me to be more mindful and conscientious. may's small change was disposing of my chewing gum properly (ie not throwing it outside from the car window etc). as good as i've believed myself to be about not littering and such, i never really gave much thought to tossing a piece of gum onto the ground. i figured it was like food and would disintegrate.

well, at some point over the last few months, i came across a blurb about chewed gum being litter - huh? why didn't i ever make that connection? even worse, it's potentially harmful to wildlife. so now whenever i find myself ready to get that flavorless piece of gum out of my mouth, i have been able to find a more appropriate place than the ground. and while it's small, it makes me feel good every time i catch myself.

april and may small changes- so behind!

well, i may not have been keeping up on the blogging end, but we've been busy on the homestead. april we started our seeds. alan repurposed some wood to make a salad table and i spent easter afternoon planting seeds (marigolds, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce).

i've done another round of planting (herbs, sunflowers, chamomile, cucumbers, zucchini, beans) to keep the lettuce coming and add some more since we're (hopefully) post frost.

follow up to march's small change

here's alex modeling his 'baby shorts' as the neighbor girls call them :)

we did it. we transitioned, still not 100%, to cloth diapers and cloth wipes with spray. my husband is still resistant to the change, but alex is doing well with the switch! and he lOVES to be sprayed ;)

the first time we tried the cloth diapers, we tried a fuzzi bunz all in one pocket diaper. he giggled with how soft the lining was against his bottom. we've had some adjustment issues. alex has sensitive skin and has times where the diapers don't pull enough moisture away from his skin like the disposables. not only that, but alex FOughT hard during diapers changes (which were now more frequent to keep his bottom dry...) for these reasons, for a few days, i was worried the cloth diapers might be a fail. but i kept at it, and alex and his skin has adjusted.

the majority of our cloth diapers are pocket diapers, with some prefolds i rarely use, and some covers and inserts in these. and oh boy, do i love the flushable poo liners! i love how they contain the mess and alex loves to wave bye bye as we flush them down the toilet. so all in all, we've enjoyed the change. and i don't mind a little extra laundry... it's fun laundry.

march- one small change

it's halfway through the month, but i finally decided on my small change (feels big) for march - cloth diapers for alex. finally i was satisfied with my online shopping carts from www.cottonbabies.com and www.nickisdiapers.com and ordered them yesterday after over a week of research and shopping.

and since alan is not gung ho on the whole change over (not a fan of poop) and i'm not sure how well chunky alex will fit in each type of diaper, i got a mix of prefolds and covers for me and an assortment of pocket diapers for alan and the sitters. i also invested in some flushable liners which i've been told are great for managing poo, especially mushy poo like alex tends to have.

i'm very anxious to get started and learn a new 'art' while doing my one small change. i'm hoping i haven't gotten in over my head and am able to fully convert the household to managing cloth diapers. if i have to keep buying disposables for night time, it will have been a much more expensive conversion than i hoped.

next post will include a picture of alex in a cloth diaper!

one small change. month 2 ends. month 3 starts.

february was my month to reduce plastic. the other week i kept track of how many plastic bags i was able to decline during my errands - 14. it would have been 15, if i remembered to send the mother in law with a bag. also, i realized i need to get the husband a reusable bag for his errands (and lunches*).

he's the only one bringing bags into the house anymore. which is a great reversal considering i use to have an overflowing bag keeper under the sink for bagging up dog poo, vacuum contents, bathroom and office trash, etc. he used to have to beg me to clear them out. so, before this challenge even, i started bringing these bags to the grocery store's recycle and gradually, our stockpile of plastic has actually shrunk instead of grown!

i have been doing my best to discourage the use of saran wrap and had to remind the husband that people did not always have plastic to put their bread in and cloth or glass were valid alternatives.

* i just had a quick discussion about this grocery bag for lunches each day. he says he THROWS Them out after lunch!!! ack! i know what to get him for his easter basket - reusable shopping bag and lunch bag. this also reminds me of our conversation the other night. i got chipotle for dinner. Husband: "where's the chipotle bag?" me: i used my own bag. Husband: "what am i supposed to take my lunch in tomorrow? me: use this bag (a small reusable bag like the one at the top). i dont know if this is not manly enough, because he gave me a look and he told me he just stuffed it in his work bag. baby steps.

and now to march. hmm, i had been thinking i would be prepared to do the family cloth by now. but i still havent figured out the logistics. and i'm not sure how our son's sitters that spend the day in the house would think of it. i've been looking for containers to hold the clean and dirty. no luck so far. i think this is going to be the most challenging month yet...

one small change month 2:week 1

i was thinking about this month's challenge while getting ready this morning. earlier this week, i bought myself a 20 piece set of pyrex storage containers (on sale at kohls)this purchase was the highlight of my week! oh the possibilities and less use of plastic wrap and plastic containers.

and then i realized last month was mostly focused on my in home paper use, with growing awareness of my use outside the home. this month, i realized i need to be more conscious not only of grocery bags from retail stores, but packaging of products and perhaps some better bulk buying (eg bringing my own containers for bulk products vs using the bags) this month's challenge is focused more on planning at home to be prepared for our very plastic packaged world.

and it figures, i was at 50% yesterday. i brought my smoothie mug to robeks with me but forgot my shopping bag for the craft store. ugh. one mistake to make the rest of the month better - let's hope.

thinking about spring

yesterday i caught myself thinking about spring and what i'd like to grow in the garden. at first, i was thinking we'd do a csa, but then i remembered we have such a big yard and i'd love to tend to a garden. then alan was quick to remind me that we really should give our seeds a head start indoors to really make the most of our ohio growing season. imagine my excitement when i came across this tutorial tonight. it fits right in with my drive to be more eco friendly and resourceful.

my other diy tutorial i found was via martha stewart. a salad table to keep bentley and other naughty pests from our greens. i'm already starting to plant ideas in alan's head.