Living Green and being mainstream
April 20, 2008This post is in honor of Earth Day 
One of the most common things I hear as I’m starting to tell people about my desires to live a life more focused on using natural and/or organic products is “You aren’t going to become some weird hippie, are you?” along with “But won’t it cost a lot more?”
On the first question, nope, not a chance of me becoming a weird hippie naturalist. Some things in my life won’t change: I believe in modern medicine, considering that it saved my life, so I won’t be going the homeopathy route in taking care of myself or my family. I have a few indulgences that I probably won’t give up either: Edy’s ice cream and I usually have a coke or can of mountain dew a day. I will probably end up driving a minivan down the road, though I will be sure to research and find the most environmentally responsible version when the time comes.
As for the expense, some things will be more expensive, yes. But I can still buy them within my budget. It might mean buying less overall but isn’t that part of the point? Reducing our family’s consumption of goods to lessen the impact on the earth? My plan is to gradually replace what I use with a more earth-friendly product. When I buy groceries, I’m buying the organic versions. When I need new sheets or towels, I’ll buy organic or earth-friendly. When I need more paper towel, I’ll buy the recycled brands. When we need new furniture, I’m going to look into buying furniture from a sustainable living source. I’m planning to cloth diaper when we adopt again, so that will be a greater expense up front but when I reflect on how much money we spent and how many disposable diapers we used with WIdget, in the end, it will be cheaper.
You don’t have to change everything at once. But making gradual changes towards living a healthier, more earth-friendly life benefits not only you but those around you.
Taking responsibility for the impact our lives have on this earth means preserving this planet for the future.
Living green doesn’t make you weird.
Think about it.
I totally agree, it can’t be done in a day, a week or even a month. I believe its a life-long commitment that takes time to integrate into your everyday lifestyle. If you can make a small change everyday, within a month you will notice a monumental change. Its the little things that really matter to me anyways. If we could encourage others to stop requesting an ATM receipt, to use one reusable bag, to switch to energy efficient light bulbs or recyled paper products, if we could accomplish that the results would be astounding.
I agree we all need to start somewhere to help. my biggest think right now is my bottled water.