Simply Sustainable

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Green is the color of freshly cut grass. It’s the color of new leaves on a spring day. It’s the color of fresh, crisp vegetables on our dinner plates. It is also the color of money, which is where the term “going green” originated. “Going green” was a marketing plan to persuade consumers that making their own products wasn’t effective and that they really did need to buy whatever items from whatever company. The term took off in unexpected ways and markerters went with it, cashing in on the initial desire for some people to live more sustainably and later for the fashionable status associated with the plan.

We didn’t set out to live in a greener fashion. True, we are environmentalists at heart, and my scientific background leans toward environmental awareness. However, we just want to live our lives, and doing so in a sustainable way makes the most sense to us.

We don’t buy a lot of stuff. It takes money, which we are rather conservative with. We have a family, kids who need food and clothes and a home, and for whom we want to provide opportunities. Some day, hopefully, we will be at a ripe old age when we want to retire and just spend our remaining days around our loved ones. There are always emergencies that can crop up. Spending all of our money now on unneeded and unwanted stuff doesn’t make sense.

Neither does putting a lot of chemicals into our home or bodies make a lot of sense. There is no need to posion ourselves. We will die soon enough. Growing food and buying from others who grow their own food without chemicals makes us feel good – mentally and physically.

Cutting down on waste makes sense to us. If we have a lot of waste, it means that we aren’t utilizing our resources to the best of our abilities. We would never think it was acceptable to blatantly walk about trashing someone else’s home, and that is what the earth is.

Making our own cleaning supplies, growing food and purchasing sustainably grown or raised food, cutting down on purchases and limiting the amount of stuff in our home, or any of the other ways we are living greener was never a fashionable statement for us. We’ve done these things because it makes sense to us as we work to live our lives in the way that most allows us to enjoy our lives.

We live simply because we are simply living.

photo credit: mullica via photopin cc

• Green Renovating: A Lot, A Little, Not So Much – Laura at Authentic Parenting ponders about the many things that have an impact on eco-friendly renovating
• Growing Native in My Flower Beds – Destany at They Are All of Me takes the guilt out of her flower habit by switching from high maintenance flowers to native plants which not only lessens her gardening load, but also benefits the local wild life.
• Baby Steps – Kellie at Our Mindful Life shares how her family became more sustainable, one step at a time.
• A Greener Holiday – Sara from Family Organic discusses the overwhelming amount of “stuff” that comes with every holiday and talks about how to simplify instead.
• Forcibly Green–Obligatory Organic – Survivor at Surviving Mexico talks about her family’s evolution from passive to active green and sustainable living.
• Giving It Away – Juliet Kemp of Twisting Vines writes about the role of Freecycle, the giant karmic lending library, in her simple and green living.
• Simply Sustainable – Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children discusses her family’s attempts to live in harmony with the earth by living simply and more sustainably.
• How Does Your Yarden Grow – Alisha at Cinnamon&Sassafras writes about an ongoing permaculture project, converting her grass lawn into a mower-free paradise.
• Green? – Is it about ticking the boxes?  sustainablemum shares her thoughts on what being green means in her life.
• Using Cloth Products To Reduce Household Waste – Angela from Earth Mama’s World shares how her family replaced many disposable household products with cloth to reduce their household waste.
• Going Green in Baby Steps – Joella of Fine and Fair shares some small, easy steps to gradually reduce your environmental impact.
• Are You Ready To Play Outside?! – Alex from AN Portraits writes about gardening, and playing in the dirt, and how it’s O.K. to get dirty, play in the dirt, play with worms, for both adults and kids.
• Lavender and Tea Tree Oil Laundry Booster – At Natural Parents Network, Megan from The Boho Mama shares an all natural way to freshen laundry.