Be the change, my journey to zero waste with 5 kids
I think when my first daughter was born is when something sparked inside of me to better the earth and the beings on it. It was a small spark back then so it's infancy didn't show much change in my life, maybe a few food choices that were different. I remember removing partially hydrogenated oils at first and making sure my daughter had at least "one green a day" but that was all.
I guess subconsciously I realized that how I left the earth was what she would have to deal with and I certainly didn't want to leave her a mess. I also think my growing understanding of what you put out is what you get pushed me to want to put out good so I could get good.
So I can safely say this journey really started 16 years ago when she arrived but the effort is just beginning now. You see going zero waste and being eco-friendly isn't easy. We actually used to have to do physical labor before all these desks jobs arrived. An effort is necessary since the earth puts out effort every second of the day for us.
The motivation for me was a daily reminder of the fact that this isn't going to be easy but it's going to be worth it. With that, I began my true journey to zero waste, and with 5 children later, it's not gotten any easier but certainly more rewarding.
I am going to try to document this journey so other families can, ideally, feel motivated to do the same. It's easy to say "well I have 5 kids, I work, I don't have time but I'll recycle!" Unfortunately, just recycling is not enough. I'm going to try to keep all my post brief because I know we are all busy and I will add videos since they're a bit easier to watch but I hope you learn that ease and comfort have no place in what we owe in terms of effort and thanks to this earth.
What have I done so far? Let me start with a background; I have 5 children, 2 of which are on the spectrum. I think I can safely say learning how my oldest autistic behaviors could improve by diet changes really flung me on this path. My husband has bad genes and in turn is diagnosed with Pancreatitis, and Hypertriglyceridemia which we learned with about 1-2 pancreatic attacks every year from 1996-2003. Yes, that was really fun. I recall him being rushed to the hospital when my second was just 5 days old. Fond memories life gives you. To summarize my mind was amazed at how simple food changes could really improve the lives of others. It really activated an area of my brain that had been sleeping for awhile. We have an active role in everything. We can make changes. We can improve anything if we just do it.
Now, fast forward years ahead where life turned lights on in small areas of my brain and completely changed the person I have become. What am I doing so far?
Vegetarians: It started off with me becoming a vegetarian. I saw a documentary of how meat packaging companies treated animals just so they could feed the masses and it literally made me sick. Like I don't need a piece of chicken that bad dude, give the chick a chance. This documentary also encouraged my husband to reevaluate his eating. Granted, he likely is sticking with it because of his health issues but he won't realize the benefits of all the choice has made until later.
The children used to tell us that they'll "never eat like you guys do, we love meat". We let them choose. I didn't buy it for them but my mother did (sweet yiayia, she has lots of love) and so they ate it. It was hard for us because my husband and I love meat, the taste and all. We just knew that for health reasons, humane reasons, and we discovered later earth-friendly reasons, we needed to stick to it. A year later, the children requested to become vegetarians too and our journey began.
We still, on the occasion, eat fish, cheese, and eggs (however our eggs typically come from our own chickens we take care of in our backyard) but that is purchased rarely.
Cloth Diapers/Menstrual Cups: My twins are going to be 12 and that is when the cloth diaper journey began for me. I was impressed by the idea of saving money in the long run, saving their butts from chemicals and artificial materials and saving the earth. Amazingly, we did well with this journey and, although we also incorporated earth friendly diapers when traveling, it led me to continue when the next one arrived.
I also began to change my pads to earth friendly pads and my children still use those to this day. However, when I traveled to Hawaii once I got my period the day of the trip. I remember thinking, I am NOT going to let this ruin my first time in Hawaii! A fellow Midwife told me about the Diva Cup and I will NEVER use anything else. It's like you don't even have a period, seriously an awesome device.
Cleaning products: I've enjoyed learning natural ways to heal with vitamins, herbs, and oils. With the knowledge and resources of the internet, I was able to get some spray bottles and make my own cleaning products. This DIY morphed into just about everything including laundry care. We do not use store bleach, I have made my own and it's amazing.
I would like to add a side note: My mother does not support all that I do simply because she likes to see me have some ease in my life and like I said doing this is a bit more work not less. My husband, although very supportive, can have a moment of screw this earth-friendly stuff depending on his mood. So there are days when this falls completely on me to stay motivated enough to do it and to show my kids to continue on.
Composting: This is the most challenging so far. I will say, having chickens helps A LOT when it comes to composting. They really help keep the heap at a minimal level and break it down into soil that much faster. We still have to remember to not put foods in the trash but to put it back into the earth. I remember when my husband and I first started dating my mother-in-law in Brooklyn used to compost and I thought "what the heck is she doing??". She was the first person to buy me a compost tin and I LOVED it but it got ruined because, well, I have 5 kids and most things do. I now use my paper bags from the grocery store since they're actually good for the compost as well!
Gardening: This is still a work in progress because I'm not a farmer and farming takes amazing skill. We do NOT give our farmers enough credit. They should be earning doctor incomes considering, they too, keep us alive! I do attempt to garden in my yard and will continue to try, in the meantime, I have joined co-ops with local organic farmers. Supporting local farms (and anything local) is a GREAT way to help give back to the earth and the mom and pops of the world.
-We hate big chains and do our very best to avoid them ESPECIALLY ones that don't use real food products, or stores that buy from countries that treat their employees abusively with minimal pay
-We buy reusable bags and/or reuse our plastic ones we have
-We try to avoid buying any products outside of the US since shipment is bad for the environment and we want to support home first but then areas that treat their employees correctly.
We have found that by following these rules it tends to cost a bit more due to large corporations minimizing prices with crap products. We are then happily forced to buy less, really review what we "need" and make sure it's worth the impact not only on our wallet but on our earth.
Here's my video: *trouble uploading video, will post as soon as I figure it out! In the meantime enjoy a pic of the crew:
I guess subconsciously I realized that how I left the earth was what she would have to deal with and I certainly didn't want to leave her a mess. I also think my growing understanding of what you put out is what you get pushed me to want to put out good so I could get good.
So I can safely say this journey really started 16 years ago when she arrived but the effort is just beginning now. You see going zero waste and being eco-friendly isn't easy. We actually used to have to do physical labor before all these desks jobs arrived. An effort is necessary since the earth puts out effort every second of the day for us.
The motivation for me was a daily reminder of the fact that this isn't going to be easy but it's going to be worth it. With that, I began my true journey to zero waste, and with 5 children later, it's not gotten any easier but certainly more rewarding.
I am going to try to document this journey so other families can, ideally, feel motivated to do the same. It's easy to say "well I have 5 kids, I work, I don't have time but I'll recycle!" Unfortunately, just recycling is not enough. I'm going to try to keep all my post brief because I know we are all busy and I will add videos since they're a bit easier to watch but I hope you learn that ease and comfort have no place in what we owe in terms of effort and thanks to this earth.
What have I done so far? Let me start with a background; I have 5 children, 2 of which are on the spectrum. I think I can safely say learning how my oldest autistic behaviors could improve by diet changes really flung me on this path. My husband has bad genes and in turn is diagnosed with Pancreatitis, and Hypertriglyceridemia which we learned with about 1-2 pancreatic attacks every year from 1996-2003. Yes, that was really fun. I recall him being rushed to the hospital when my second was just 5 days old. Fond memories life gives you. To summarize my mind was amazed at how simple food changes could really improve the lives of others. It really activated an area of my brain that had been sleeping for awhile. We have an active role in everything. We can make changes. We can improve anything if we just do it.
Now, fast forward years ahead where life turned lights on in small areas of my brain and completely changed the person I have become. What am I doing so far?
Vegetarians: It started off with me becoming a vegetarian. I saw a documentary of how meat packaging companies treated animals just so they could feed the masses and it literally made me sick. Like I don't need a piece of chicken that bad dude, give the chick a chance. This documentary also encouraged my husband to reevaluate his eating. Granted, he likely is sticking with it because of his health issues but he won't realize the benefits of all the choice has made until later.
The children used to tell us that they'll "never eat like you guys do, we love meat". We let them choose. I didn't buy it for them but my mother did (sweet yiayia, she has lots of love) and so they ate it. It was hard for us because my husband and I love meat, the taste and all. We just knew that for health reasons, humane reasons, and we discovered later earth-friendly reasons, we needed to stick to it. A year later, the children requested to become vegetarians too and our journey began.
We still, on the occasion, eat fish, cheese, and eggs (however our eggs typically come from our own chickens we take care of in our backyard) but that is purchased rarely.
Cloth Diapers/Menstrual Cups: My twins are going to be 12 and that is when the cloth diaper journey began for me. I was impressed by the idea of saving money in the long run, saving their butts from chemicals and artificial materials and saving the earth. Amazingly, we did well with this journey and, although we also incorporated earth friendly diapers when traveling, it led me to continue when the next one arrived.
I also began to change my pads to earth friendly pads and my children still use those to this day. However, when I traveled to Hawaii once I got my period the day of the trip. I remember thinking, I am NOT going to let this ruin my first time in Hawaii! A fellow Midwife told me about the Diva Cup and I will NEVER use anything else. It's like you don't even have a period, seriously an awesome device.
Cleaning products: I've enjoyed learning natural ways to heal with vitamins, herbs, and oils. With the knowledge and resources of the internet, I was able to get some spray bottles and make my own cleaning products. This DIY morphed into just about everything including laundry care. We do not use store bleach, I have made my own and it's amazing.
I would like to add a side note: My mother does not support all that I do simply because she likes to see me have some ease in my life and like I said doing this is a bit more work not less. My husband, although very supportive, can have a moment of screw this earth-friendly stuff depending on his mood. So there are days when this falls completely on me to stay motivated enough to do it and to show my kids to continue on.
Composting: This is the most challenging so far. I will say, having chickens helps A LOT when it comes to composting. They really help keep the heap at a minimal level and break it down into soil that much faster. We still have to remember to not put foods in the trash but to put it back into the earth. I remember when my husband and I first started dating my mother-in-law in Brooklyn used to compost and I thought "what the heck is she doing??". She was the first person to buy me a compost tin and I LOVED it but it got ruined because, well, I have 5 kids and most things do. I now use my paper bags from the grocery store since they're actually good for the compost as well!
Gardening: This is still a work in progress because I'm not a farmer and farming takes amazing skill. We do NOT give our farmers enough credit. They should be earning doctor incomes considering, they too, keep us alive! I do attempt to garden in my yard and will continue to try, in the meantime, I have joined co-ops with local organic farmers. Supporting local farms (and anything local) is a GREAT way to help give back to the earth and the mom and pops of the world.
-We hate big chains and do our very best to avoid them ESPECIALLY ones that don't use real food products, or stores that buy from countries that treat their employees abusively with minimal pay
-We buy reusable bags and/or reuse our plastic ones we have
-We try to avoid buying any products outside of the US since shipment is bad for the environment and we want to support home first but then areas that treat their employees correctly.
We have found that by following these rules it tends to cost a bit more due to large corporations minimizing prices with crap products. We are then happily forced to buy less, really review what we "need" and make sure it's worth the impact not only on our wallet but on our earth.
Here's my video: *trouble uploading video, will post as soon as I figure it out! In the meantime enjoy a pic of the crew:
Comments
Post a Comment