Earth Day and the little changes everyday

So as I mentioned in some previous posts, I've been attempting to implement various earth-friendly changes into my life in recent months via the "One Small Change Challenge". Not to say that I'm not usually doing that, but I was making a particular effort. I discovered a few things along the way.


First, April:


During the month of April I was trying not to buy anything packaged in plastic. I did pretty well but found a few weaknesses - cereal and crackers. Brant likes them, the little Miss C likes them, and yes I like them too. I suppose I could start making my own, but realistically I don't have the time for it. We could stop eating them, but with a daughter who loves crackers and a husband who loves his Grape-nuts, I just don't see that happening anytime soon.


A bit more bad news? Economically speaking, I didn't find my plastic-packaging fast to be all that rewarding. In some cases, it was actually more expensive to buy the bulk items. Never mind the fact that I also needed to haul all my own containers to the store. At my local market which features many bulk bins, the cost of a pound of whole wheat pasta was roughly $3. The cost of a pound of pre-packaged organic whole wheat pasta at Safeways? $1.50. A pound of bulk tofu? $2.89. At Safeways (14 oz) in a convenient plastic tub? Again, $1.50. From that standpoint, it can be hard to justify the bulk purchasing - other than as a way to give myself an earth-friendly pat on the back.


That said, there were some bright moments to this effort. Since I was really thinking about this, I ended up discovering that there are some interesting and creative packaging options being attempted - and it was a pleasure to support them. One of my favorites was the reusable glass bottles of Strauss organic milk. Although this is the most expensive organic milk on the shelf, Strauss is a local dairy and they sell their milk in reusable glass bottles. You make a bottle deposit when your purchase, which is refunded when you bring the bottle back. Good local milk in a reusable container? Yes please. 


While this one involves plastic, another interesting option I discovered was a pizzeria that does reusable pizza boxes. The boxes are made of plastic, but you can purchase one with your order and then get $1 off all future pizza orders when you bring your box. I love hearing about companies that are thinking "out of the box" (haha) in these kinds of ways. And I want to support and encourage them whenever it is possible for me to do so.


I also discovered, while examining my plastic-packaged granola (conveniently abundant at the Grocery Outlet right now), that the company that makes it actually invites you to return the packaging to them! They then recycle it into other cool stuff that you can get as you accumulate "points" by returning your bags. I love these creative approaches!


As for the other part of my plan, that was to not buy anything new for the month of April. In this area I also didn't completely succeed, but shopping was definitely much reduced, and it actually felt good to decide not to go shopping because I made this pledge to myself. So what was our weakness? We made a trip to REI to take advantage of the limited time member discount and got a new bike helmet for Brant and a hat for me. I would love to keep this up as much as possible - not buying anything new unless we really need it and buying used isn't an option.


I'd like to do better with reduced packaging, and it was cool to discover companies that are making a conscious and sincere effort to take this into consideration, but it remains a challenge when the economics and practicality (not every store has bulk bins) don't support making this change easily. I think what I will try to do is identify the products that I feel are really doing a good job (like the Strauss milk) and focus my efforts on supporting them, even if they are a bit more expensive. I'll try to find the savings elsewhere - if we can keep up with an overall reduction of shopping, I think we should even come out ahead!


Now, in general:


I really enjoyed thinking about small changes, and I think the fun thing about this effort is seeing how I have integrated them into my daily life. I like watching aspects of each change roll forward from month to month. In February, my change was to "do more of what matters". I'm still consciously making the choice to get us out and engaged in activities that make us feel like an active part of our community. I think this choice has helped with reducing our consumption of "stuff" and increased our consumption of good, quality living. This past weekend we took part in a fun farm tour to support local farms and Cassidy got some time up close with sweet little baby goats (I'll say more about all that later). 

In March we tried to purchase less plastics. As I really took a critical look at the amount of plastic that we so easily buy, it opened my eyes to just how much of it there is out there. While there is some stuff where plastic still seems like the best option, I'm now trying to gradually replace more and more of it with other, more sustainable options. I think more about what I buy. I am one who can easily be talked into a good deal, but I'm starting to realize that just because plastic is often the cheapest choice, that doesn't mean it is the one I should get. As I think about things we need for the home, I'm putting questions closer to the forefront of my thinking. First "Can I choose another product that is not made from or heavily packaged in plastic?" If that other option is out of my price range, I can simply ask "Can we live without it?" The answer is that, often, we can.


What I'm thinking about as I continue to carry these changes forward is, how can they make me feel good about our lives on this beautiful planet? I don't feel like living in a world of eco-guilt (for all the things I'm not doing) is all that conducive to a healthy and productive life, but I also don't think we can go on blithely consuming as much as we want without thinking about the consequences. What I am loving is the feeling of control over the decisions I make - each small change - the decision to buy the Strauss milk for example - or each small choice - getting up and actively getting out to support our community - make me feel like if I take enough of these little baby steps, eventually they will lead up to a full run. Since I feel I'm fortunate to have these choices available to me, I want to embrace them. I am excited to continue discovering the creative ways we can continue making the changes that will invite a more harmonious relationship with all the other living things on this planet. Happy Earth Day!


(And if you made it this far through my Earth Day/small change musings, my congratulations to you as well!)