Se7en Takes One More Tiny Step to Living Greener…

This is the season when everyone is making new year’s resolutions… and as one of my kids says, “New Year’s Revolutions.” Revolution works for me… I would love a green revolution to sweep through our home. We do some greening, but we could do so much more and what started as little incremental changes in our home have become so much bigger. Turns out lifestyle changes to support the environment, need to be cost effective and aesthetically pleasing. When you add those two factors to the fact that we have to change our lifestyles, then green living becomes the easier option.

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We are raising eco-warriors and this is the year we are determined to put our words into action… I really want us to make one easy change and embrace it, then another, and again and again and again. Because we all know we could be living greener, but we don’t necessarily do so. Last year we did a home audit, to see where we could be living greener, how we could be using less of the bad stuff, and embrace more of the green. Turns out it isn’t enough to talk about it around the table, you actually have to do something. And we started changing some of the things that had been bothering us… things we changed and then stopped, tried again and stopped… really change things forever. One little change a month has got to ultimately make a difference.

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So for example, for the longest time we had wanted to get rid of plastic shopping bags… the longest time. We were pretty good, 95% of the time, but not perfect. It was one change that we just couldn’t get right all of the time. One day, at the beginning of last year, we just said no more and that was it. We have fabric shopping bags, but we would forget to take them with us to the store. It took just one or two trips to the store where I refused to buy plastic bags and we all had to carry individual things home from the store and suddenly we were all able to remember the bags. That’s what it took and we broke the habit… ta da… no more plastic shopping bags required… like ever. None, we are done with them. Somehow that last little 5% of we will never ever use plastic shopping bags again, not even occasionally was a huge leap of green for us and I am so glad it is over.

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I recently discovered that I am an appalling under-buyer… I loathe and detest shopping and if I never had to shop for anything again that wouldn’t be soon enough. That sounds brilliant on the surface, less clutter, less chaos, a life of less has to be better. Right? Actually wrong… we need to replace our non-green lifestyle items with greener ones. This year I have determined to shop online once a month… and buy something that we need for greener living. I know it sounds weird… more stuff is definitely not greener.

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But for instance, we decided during Plastic Free July that it was finally time for us to let go of cling wrap… so I stopped buying it. The roll eventually ran out and then… Boom… first hike without it and nobody wanted to carry their lunch in a plastic container. Yes, the anti-plastic aversion is strong in our home. So then what. Everyone stopped taking lunch up the mountain and our hikes became… well hunger strikes, which are never good for morale. Apples are good and so are oranges, they come in their own skin and require no plastic. But they don’t feed a crowd of hungry teenagers to the full… just saying. So… when I got to December and we still hadn’t resolved this issue I decided that we would get our kids a green gift for Christmas. Did you see that… Green gifting – it’s a thing.

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And it worked so well… they loved their wraps and have used them ever since. These are fabric wraps, that have been coated in bees wax that protect your food and snacks in your backpack or cover your salad bowl, just as plastic wrap would. I no longer have to prepare anything for any hike… ever. I say we are hiking and the gang says they are packing… Just like that. They are making their own snacks or sandwiches to go in their wraps, for every adventure, with enthusiasm. It is only two weeks into the year and these Supa-Wraps have been used on more than a few hikes and beach adventures… I have to say I thought they would seal better than they do… but the kids quickly found a solution and are happy to tie them closed with a piece of string. Truth is I should have bought these years ago, if not months ago.

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So happy kids with green packaging on a daily basis… that’s a win. It is time to give greener gifts, throw out much less garbage and generally stop doing what we know we shouldn’t be doing. Watch away, we will be showing you our green shopping from month to month through out the year.

This is totally not a sponsored post, and we are just sharing a product we thought you might love as well… you can buy wax coated wraps at quite a few green markets, we got ours from Faithful to Nature. We love shopping there, they always add a little treat or a sample product to their packages for you to try. Not to mention, excellent overnight delivery… no matter when in the night you order!!!

3 Replies to “Se7en Takes One More Tiny Step to Living Greener…”

  1. Hay Debbie, Don’t you love them… and yes of course, there is always room for some bling. Some folk just have too!!!

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