Alright y’all, here’s the thing. We’ve already established that I’m a crunchy-kinda mama. Part of that crunchy-ness, if you will, means caring about the environment is important to me! There are secular/scientific reasons it’s important, but it’s also spiritual. When God put humankind in charge of stewarding the planet we were given the freedom to use the Earth how we see fit. Just like we use our homes and our cars, the earth is an investment. It’s our responsibility to take care of this wonderful, strange, beautiful planet. As mamas, let’s join together to take care of Mother Earth.
- Don’t throw away all the plastic in your house. Take a brief survey of what plastics you have. Use them, repurpose them, and use them again until they’re really trashed, then find a way to recycle them. When it’s time to replace the plastics, opt for glass and/or metal containers. You know how you giggle to yourself about your mama’s fridge when you go home, and all the country crock containers that aren’t butter and the mystery surprise in the cool whip container? See, your mama got it right. That’s saving the planet, babe.
- Use your dishes and dishwasher. One paper plate takes 8 gallons of water to manufacture. Running the dishwasher takes an average of 6-10 gallons of water. Dishes are my least favorite chore. I hate old spit. Gives me the heebie jeebies. But a load or two a day can save lots of water, so many resources, and lots of junk in a landfill. If breaking dishes is a big concern, buy something sturdy like corelle. Just be aware: those cutesy melamine dishes aren’t microwave safe. I dunno bout y’all, but I don’t have time for that.
- Be intentional about paper towel use. I’m not saying ditch them entirely; I still use them for very greasy things, squashing bugs, and cat vomit. Other than that, use towels and washcloths. No need to get fancy, specific “unpaper” towels unless that’s what you want to do. I keep 4 kitchen towels and 8 wash cloths out and available. Make them just as easy (or easier) to access as your paper towels, and it’ll make a huge difference. This change didn’t happen in our house for the sake of Mother Earth, it happened for the sake of our budget. We go through one ROLL of paper towels in about 4 months. I buy a Sam's size pack of paper towels every OTHER year. Y’all, this is the easiest and cheapest swap you can make. What about the wet, messy towels and wash cloths? Chuck them in the washing machine throughout the day as you use them, then wash them with that evening’s load of laundry. While you’re at it, swap out paper napkins for cloth. Get a decent 12-pack of cotton napkins like this one, and wash the used ones with your evening load of laundry. I haven’t bought paper napkins in … years. I don’t even remember the last time I bought them. Once you get into the groove of it, I promise you won’t look back.
- Evaluate what’s the best choice for your family right now. Maybe using real plates isn’t the best choice for the rushed breakfasts before school. That’s fine. Start with real plates for supper. Maybe cloth napkins aren’t the best choice for your family right now. That’s ok. But can you put your wash cloths someplace more easily accessible and use them instead of paper towels just sometimes? Let’s start there, and take it one step at a time.
Throughout your journey to be kinder to Mother Earth, remember to be kind to yourself. There will be seasons when you can be super into eco-friendly-everything. (Remember how I cloth diapered Davis, and I loved it?) Then there will be seasons that are just so busy that the best thing for your family is to take a step back. (Remember how I’m disposable diapering Walker?) And y’all, don’t feel guilty about it. We’ll all do the best we can with the time & resources we have.
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