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Eco-Friendly Family
I'm falling off the EF horse, I feel.
Help me. I've already admitted that I have started to "like" disposable diapers for a number of reasons (and there are a number of reasons I love my cloth, too!).
I was >>thisclose<< to buying paper plates this weekend (our compost is dead, so it's not like they would have gone anywhere but the trash).
I've given up on mama cloth.
I bleached my son's bath toys. (I was out of vinegar; but why did I have BLEACH?!)
I've occasionally put recyclables in the trash if I don't feel like rinsing them.
It's funny, I thought becoming a SAHM would make these changes easier but I'm finding it's more of a hassle in some cases to be EF. I hate giving up on something just b/c it's an inconvenience. What's next for me? Paper towels? Plastic cutlery? Lysol spray?
Do you feel like it takes more effort to be EF?
My Little Tree Hugger
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Re: I'm falling off the EF horse, I feel.
It absolutely does take more effort. Dishes need washing, diapers need washing, recyclables need rinsing. It's much easier to just "waste" and toss things in the trash for sure.
Lysol spray is gross by the by... LOL DH use to buy it and the smell makes me wanna vomit. I hate most cleaning chemical smells so that is why we use mostly EF stuff anyway. Though the one thing I can't seem to give up is Windex. LOL I have no bleach in the house though anymore.
We all have some rough patches, Soyager. Don't beat yourself up! ((HUGS))
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Mama cloth is a little too much work for me, I only use it as a backup to my Diva. I still have paper towels, but I keep them up high in a cabinet so I don't reach for them first. I use vinegar on almost everything but keep Lysol for cleanup when somebody is sick.
I'm all about balance.Gotta do what works. Too little time on earth to feel guilty about little crap.
I do try not to use disposable plates/napkins/flatware, though, unless I'm at someone else's house.
preach it, sister! I am HORRIBLE at putting laundry away. I have baskets and piles in my laundry room as I type. The worst part is lately because I'm nesting it is driving me nuts, but I just hate doing it so much that I just walk past and scowl at it. LOL I really wish that room had a door I could close....
Being EF is a lifestyle change that takes effort in some cases until it becomes a habit. We all fall off the wagon sometimes, but don't beat yourself up over an occasional slump. Maybe we need more eco challenges for a boost (hello CABunny!)
For me it helps simply not to buy the things that are not EF. If I don't have disposable items in the house, then I'll use what I have. Out of sight out of mind. Also for us the financial factor is a big motivator. But it seems that since we switched to all natural cleaners and soap that I need to clean more often. The tub needs a scrub twice a week now...sigh. I wash mama cloth (liners to back up the cup) with CDs so there's no extra effort.
@CeltiCutie: You need this instead of Windex.
oooo do you have these? they work well? I am considering! Thanks!
Dh has this saying about how us eating 80% healthy foods is still better than eating no healthy foods at all. I think the same applies here. Being a Mom is a lot of work. Once you get acclimated to staying at home and as your kids get older, I think you may find ways to get a good schedule going with things and get your kids involved. For us, having DD involved in cooking is a major incentive for making it ourselves. Now every night at dinner our almost-three year old says, "Mommy. Did we make this from scratch?". Last night she asked if I made the grape tomatoes from scratch.
I love this sentiment. My DH gets down on us because we aren't running an organic farm or something, and I have to keep reminding him of everything we DO do.
For all of us out there with the CDs and the unpaper towels, etc., may I just recommend one of my favorite traditions: laundry night. DH and I let the clean laundry pile up, then about every 2-3 nights, we pop in a movie after the kids go to bed and fold the laundry all at once on our bed. It's actually turned into a nice, relaxing ritual. It's easy to put the stacks away all at once the next day. I think we both actually look forward to laundry night, maybe also because we don't watch TV at all, so "connecting" the laundry and movie makes it a treat for us.
So let me get this straight... I'm supposed to put laundry somewhere after it's been folded??? Somewhere other than the basket??
*cries*
I'm so confused!
2011 Reading Challenge
WHAT?????!!!!
12 lashes with a wet white flour/bleached noodle!!!
Rated "L" For Life Blog
This seriously made me LOL. ::stares at 3 baskets of clean folded clothes::
I know I fell off the horse too. Calvin has CF and we have never had a health issue until recently. We used cloth diapers, unpaper towels and vinegar. Now we have tons of lysol wipes, paper towels and bleach. Apparently vinegar is not strong enough to kill the bacteria in his lungs so everything needs to be disinfected with bleach solution so he doesn't get re-infected. Also, his nebulizer has to dry on lint free paper towels.
We still cloth diaper, garden and recycle...so there's that.
I find being EF to be so much easier and convenient and cheaper. I have a basket of wipes made from old tshirts in the kitchen and bathroom for easy grab cleaning and another basket for when thy are dirty. no different than paper towels in my mind. i just throw them in the was when it s full. i don't always recycle which is my ef fail. i miss the convenience of disposables but not the cost.
every little bit helps. even if it is a little bit of recycling and the use of cloth something over disposables.