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.

new shoe wants

it's almost spring, which means 2 things: 1) winter shoes are on sale and 2) spring shoes are coming out!

so, here are my winter shoes i want - not really on sale yet though


and here are my spring/summer shoes i want. and they're on clearance!

one small change month 2: reusable bags

month one is done and the non paper towels have a permanent place in the kitchen. and the cloth napkins are still out to use instead of paper. i have them out for guests. i've been better about asking places out to hold the disposable items (napkins, utensils). although, my husband did ask me last night where he can keep emergency paper towels for 'emergencies.' i tried to have him explain a potential situation, and suggested a dark rag instead. i think he just needs them as a safety still at this point, but i'm hoping he is able to fully transition as well.

so for month 2. what to do? i want to do the family cloth, but not sure if i'm set up to do something like that. (i just had my wisdom teeth out friday and february snuck up on me). it might have to wait for march. i could do reusable bags for shopping and snacking. (the amish friendship bread was really hurting my bag usage). or i could do some homemade green cleaners. i have till the end of today to decide.

ps. happy candlemas today! more light is on its way!

one small change month 1:week 1

my first week through the challenge and let me pull out some situations i didn't count on.

1) chicken tortilla soup - the recipe card calls for spreading tortillas on paper towels to absorb oil. it was my first time with the recipe on a week night. just me and alex. and i didn't have time to think of plan b. so, i know for next time, i need alternate grease soakers or i could use this version of the same recipe.

2) making pancakes this morning, we ran out of the spray oil and alan needed to use the regular oil. i hear him say, "i need paper towels." i told him where our stash is (packed in the basement) and i think he opted for one random restaurant napkin we had in a drawer.

other than that, i've realized this is a fairly conquerable challenge in my house. i use rags to clean and wipe spills. have my roll of 'unpaper towels' on the roll next to the sink. i think this has helped the household paper towel usage. my husband is adjusting to using the unpaper towels instead of 1-2 paper towels to wipe his fingers while eating. i've also added cloth napkins to our repertoire to help with this.

it's when i'm out and about that it gets complicated - work especially. i'm not sure it's avoidable being that i'm in a nursing home. i don't know that i want to use something reusable. although, now that i think about it, i could probably fit a wash cloth in my pocket and just throw it in the laundry and replace it. i might try it and report back.

one small change - january

if it wasn't extremely obvious, i've got lots going on in my head and big hopes lately for revamping my way of life. and of course a new year is always good motivation to renew our intentions and spirit. i had been moving towards this anyways. a baby seems to do the same sorts of inspiring and motivating. anyways, i have decided that in addition to my new year 50 (im already halfway there), i am going to do this as well. i hope i'm not taking on too much. but i think all these things are ideally what i want to do with my life. so it doesn't hurt to try and pick up where i leave off if things get crazy.

so, i have lots of ideas to fit into a few months. things i've been meaning to do anyways. here are my ideas:

1) use unpaper towels and rags for cleaning and household messes/chores

2) try alex with cloth diapers

3) attempt the family cloth

4) bring bags/containers for shopping

5) change billing statements to online

6) freecycle/donate household excess

7) turn lights/appliances off

8) plan errands

9) make household cleaners

10) do some green crafting (sandwich/snack bags, cloth napkins, pillow cases, duvet, gift bags)

2010 - motivate me

we recently started a 'weekend list' in our house to put down tasks to be done on weekends. this came out of our sunday discussions coming up with all the things we should have done and needed to do.

my next plan is to make a weekend family jar filled with ideas of activities to do as a family. this way we dont have to come up with something every weekend or feel stuck without ideas or in a rut. i think my contributions will have a lot of outdoor and free ideas!

and of course, a new years resolution. to make a to do list and cross things off of it. this is something i've already been trying to do. but the new year just adds a little motivation and energy to it all.

first things: learn to knit, finish reading some books, print out alex's first year pictures (literally thousands)

new year - clean slate

i've been doing my share of catching up on some fabulous blogs and came across this idea - oh but it's already the first of the year. so. alan and i aim to complete this by the start of february. i haven't decided if i want to have us each do 50 (100 total). looking around, i think it'd be doable. i'm making prenumbered lists to go on the fridge for us to keep track and will try to transfer them over here at some point. so goal #1- clear the house of unnecessary excess etc and goal #2- add the least amount to landfills in the process.

wish me luck!