One Small Change

We're going to join Hip Mountain Mama and people everywhere who want to make a difference by making One Small Change.

The idea is to make one small change each month leading up to Earth Day (April 22, 2010). Each change should be something focusing on sustainability, conservation of natural resources...taking care of Mother Earth. At the beginning of each month (we're starting 11 days late this month...) I'll blog about what our change will be and we'll make a solid effort to stick with it.
At the beginning of next month, I'll write about how things went with our new change and what we'll change for that month, and so on and so forth.

Being aware of our impact on our planet can be really overwhelming. I remember when I first had Emma and felt like it was me against the world. It's funny how having that first child opens your eyes to things you'd never given thought to, isn't it?

Looking back, I know I've made loads of changes, things that seem like second nature to me now. We've been using cloth bags for about seven years now and it just kills me to see people leaving the grocery store with literally dozens of plastic bags in their carts, most of which will just end up in a landfill.

At this point, it's difficult to even think of what we've changed because it feels so "normal" now. Organic foods, local when possible, CSA, cloth bags, natural (and local!) cleaning products, limiting showers/baths, cloth diapering back when we used diapers (I admit, I slacked a lot..), buying safer furniture, cloth shower curtain liner, mama cloth, reusing jars/containers, recycling everything possible, buying meats from local farmers whose animals are always at pasture, raising our own chickens, buying clothing - books - supplies, etc. from consignment sales and thrift shops, fermenting vegetables, Klean Kanteens for water, Thermoses for hot meals on the go, native gardening, crafting with recycled materials, buying natural toys, giving handmade gifts, carpooling when possible....

I know there must be many, many more that I'm missing but the point is: We can ALWAYS do better.

For this month, we're going to stick with something we've already done in the last few days. We're not going to buy any new crafting supplies. We'll repurpose things around the house and we'll search our local thrift stores. We'll make a conscious effort this month which will hopefully continue throughout the years.

Gosh, I have such a list of ideas in my mind already!!

Thanks Hip Mountain Mama!