Green & Simple {Hot Belly Mama}

I started my "green and simple" journey about a decade ago. I didn't know what I was doing or what was the right thing to do. Ten years later, I know more but I still don't really know what I should be doing. I can tell you that this will be a lifelong process and it gets more interesting as time goes one. Three years ago, I became much more serious: My husband and I were living in a suburban apartment and I was determined to live as green as possible. I recycled, reused grocery bags, switched to all CFLs, starting buying consignment, bought food at the local farmers market and more. I had no idea at the time that this decision would eventually take us out to 8 acres in the middle of the country. I went from being a sophisticated city girl with cute clothes and shoes to a barefoot pregnant mama chasing chickens in a matter of a few years. And I love every moment of it.

What does living simple mean to me? There are several components. I think the first one and it's the biggest is: buying less stuff. By buying less, you are bringing less waste and packaging into your home. You are also saving money and finding ways to use the items you already have. It is far too easy to stop at the store every night on your way home and buy things you really don't need. I should know, I still do this. One area I struggled in for a long time was jeans. I would find the perfect pair of jeans and they would fit great for about a month. Then they would get too loose in the waist and I'd throw them in the dryer hoping they would magically shrink just the right way. That, of course never happened. But I discovered a better way. Instead of shrinking my jeans and buying more out of frustration, I started taking them in to the seamstress. Frankly, I can't believe I didn't discover this sooner! For less than $12 (far cheaper than a new pair of jeans), I could now have them taken in to custom fit my waist and they never fit better! Really, why didn't someone tell me about this sooner?

The second component: is buying locally. When I lived in suburbia, almost every weekend, my best friend Claire and I would take our reusable bags to the farmers market and give money locally while buying the freshest foods available. Plus, the time we spent together talking about more ways to save money and living simple was invaluable. During the winter months, I tried to only buy produce grown in the U.S.A. and switch to eating more nuts and locally grown beef, eggs and milk. Now, my husband and I are raising chickens and plan to have a garden by next summer. We also hope to eventually raise our own beef. I can't even begin to summarize the importance of buying locally. So, I recommend a great book that can you read for inspiration on the subject: Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

The last component and the most important: is to always challenge yourself. There are thousands of ways to live more simple. The trick is finding them and being willing to try them. Not everything will always work for you, but never give up. Move on and try something else. It is important that you never think that you must live in a certain place or make a certain amount of money to live more green and simple. It also important that you give yourself allowances. My husband will always buy coffee from overseas and I will always buy rich pure chocolate without a care as to where it came from. These are our small sins of indulgences and we enjoy them thoroughly.

My own personal challenge for April. When we lived in our apartment, we somehow managed to take a 32 gallon bag down to the dumpster every five days. Clearly, we were producing far too much waste for two people. Since moving to the country, we recycle, reuse and compost as much as possible. I give almost all of our food scraps to the chickens as we don't have a sink incinerator. Because of this, we produce less waste. Our challenge for the month of April and for the rest of the year is to stick with using garbage service only one time a month with one can. *Gasp* I get the feeling that when our first baby is born in June or July - this will become much more challenging. Up to this point, we've made one trip to the dump with our waste and recyclables but starting next Monday - we will be setting out our trash can for the first time. We will not have another pick up again until May.

I'd like to challenge others with this. If you currently get garbage pickup once a week with two cans - change it to one can. Or maybe change your garbage pickup schedule to twice a month. This will challenge you to think twice before buying and bringing waste into your home. It will also challenge you to think about what else you can do with waste. Recycle, reuse, compost or maybe even give it away. But don't send it to the landfill anymore. I'd love to hear feedback on this and ways that you discovered to throw away less waste. I could use all the tricks available!

I am really exicted to be writing for this blog. I am more excited about meeting the other women that live within 25 miles of me that will be writing as well. I can't wait to hear about their own journeys and learn from them. Most of them have babies and children (I have one on the way) and I know the insight they provide will be most valuable. Thank you Amy for inviting me to be a part of this experience!

For more on my own personal blog on simple living in the country: check out my blog at: Hot Belly Mama.

Sincerely, Janelle