I set a goal today to try and live as eco friendly as possible. I live in MN where the weather varies a lot, so it is quite often that you will be running both the A/C and the heater on the same day to maintain a constant temp. Yesterday I turned off all heating/cooling systems in the house and decided it was spring and fairly nice out so I would see how it went. In the morning, it was rather cool, about 68 degrees inside. I dressed the kids in long sleeved pants/shirts and their cloth diapers and made sure they had blankets for nap time. By midday, the temp in the house was right where we like it 72 degrees, and by nightfall it was 75. I realized with just this one day experiment how much we take our modern conveniences for granted. Why must we keep the house at a constant 72 degrees? It wastes electricity. It's as simple as throwing on a cardigan in the morning, and taking it off at night. I realize towards the summer when it's 90-100 out it won't be this simple, but in reality I think it's good to think about sacrificing a little to reduce the amount of electricity we use!
Secondly, for the first time - ever- I did a full week's worth of groceries without using a single plastic OR paper bag! I used my handy envirosax and they were awesome. One of them was so fully loaded I know it would have been considered a "double bagger" had I gone the other route. I also decided to shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's instead of the normal chain grocers that I had been using. I may have ended up spending a few dollars more, but the produce was all organic, as was the soy milk (for my son), and I got an incredible pizza from Whole Foods as a special treat. After making it and putting away the leftovers, I realized that the mat the pizza was on was compostable! It feels nice to support stores that are of like mind, that take the extra time (and money) to try to live sustainably. Something just feels *right* when you are trying to do your part and live responsibly. There is a totally different vibe in these sorts of stores over your basic chain (esp. super walmart/targets).
Finally, I've discovered the joys of hanging clothes on a line. When I was a little girl, my grandma used to do laundry and hang them to dry outside. Since I cloth diaper, I have always wanted a picture of the cute diapers hanging to dry in the sun, but that was not realized until yesterday, after my mom and I installed a new laundry line. It took four blunders (and diapers dropping in the dirt) for me to get the knots right, but after it was done I was amazed at how nice everything was. Today was the first time I dried actual clothing, and was a little hesitant as I typically have a LOT of laundry and knew I didn't have that much line available. I could do about 3/4 load on the line, but on a hot day like today it took only about an hour to dry! This was great, and I know it really will help the laundry smell fresher and last longer. Above is an image of my son and daughters diapers on the line. =)
