This year Nate and I have begun pursuing “living green” in a really purposeful way. While we have always been fans of recycling, not littering, and nature in general, we started to learn more about the impact we have on the environment, ways that we can lessen that impact, and we began to think and pray about way that God calls us to live. In January, we both read a book called Serve God, Save the Planet (thanks, Aunt Mary Beth!) and it really challenged us to think about all the ways we can help our global neighbors and our environment.

Most people share what they are passionate about and what is valuable to them, so I am sharing our new knowledge and new experiences this year with you. We were overwhelmed at first - but now that we’ve begun to make changes, I know we’ll never go back. 

The benefit of most of these endeavors is that they are cost-saving solutions. Also, we have begun to live more simply and a little more unburdened, especially with less chemical junk in our home, in our food, and in our water. 

RE-USE/RECYCLE

• Obviously - we recycle everything we can. We’re blessed to live in Boston which has a healthy recycling program. If your city/town doesn’t - get out there and advocate!
• Using reusable cloths instead of paper towels, and cloth napkins instead of paper ones. 
• Washing and reusing plastic “disposable” wares like cups, plates, and utensils (this way - we can have “green” BBQs all summer and not have to buy any new ones). 
• Using household water to water plants. Whether it’s collecting water from the shower as we wait for the hot water or draining out our pasta water, reusing water for plants is great and often even better than regular tap water (in the case of cooking water).
• Bringing our own tupperware to restaurants - This can get a little awkward and sometimes people might be surprised, but when I think about all the un-recyclable styrofoam that goes to waste, it’s worth it. The tough part is to remember to bring some along. 
• Bringing our own utensils and cloth napkins on road trips
• Using scrap paper/junk mail to the utmost - it’s either reprinted on using the other side, becomes a notepad, or goes in the compost. 

BUY BETTER/BUY LESS

• Using dish detergent, dish soap, and laundry detergent without phosphates
• Buying in bulk when we can to save on packaging. For example, we’ll buy a few small yogurts to take to work with us, but we buy a big one for yogurt we eat at home. 
• Buying paper products (paper towels and toilet paper) made from recycled materials. 
• Making our own non-toxic cleaning products. My new “Windex” recipe works better than the blue stuff I think. (BlessedEarth.org has some amazing recipes and tip sheets). 
• Buying organic. It usually costs more, but in most cases it’s worth it, especially for vegetables you don’t peel like peppers and tomatoes. Organic farming does not use pesticides or chemicals and utilizes the earth in an sustainable way. Bonus - lots of local farms grow organic, too!…
• Buying local. Passionate Localvores agree - buying local cuts transportation costs and pollution. As Americans, we’re blessed to have produce from all over the world at our fingertips - let’s not take advantage of it. 
• Though Boston can be a nightmare for about 6 weeks in the summer, we’ve chosen not to have an air conditioner. We’ll sweat it through those months with some fans and open doors to catch the breeze, but it’s worth the money we’ll save in electricity and our peace of mind. Also, it’s nice not to have to lug an AC unit around the next time we move. 

COMPOST

All our organic waste and lots of paper now goes in our homemade compost bin. We turn it over every few days so we can feel like farmers tilling the earth on our little plot of a porch. For those non-believers who think this photo might look like a pile of trash…

…it smells like heaven. It smells like childhood - like growing up on the farm, penning up the chickens before dinner, and jumping into piles of hay in the barn. And…now our trash always smells nice, too! It’s a lot of work and sometimes it feels like a science experiment gone wrong, but it’s been a great experience. We’re learning the right combination of oxygen, water, high-carbon materials like paper, and organic material to keep the flies away. Next spring we’ll be able to plant our garden using it, negating the need to even drive and buy potting soil. 

OTHER

• Using the clothes dryer only when necessary - plus, clothes last over twice as long when they’re not subjected the to heat and stress of dryers. 
• Biking, walking, or using public transit when we can. My new commute is a 30 min walk and it is endlessly more stress-free and enjoyable than driving, even when caught in a summer thunderstorm. 
• Garden! We’re growing our own herbs and veggies (tomatoes and zucchini) in planters on our porch. (Yummy cilantro, below):

I know there are many arguments against doing all these things. Some people think they won’t make a difference, some think the world’s going to end anyway - so why bother, some think it’s just our right to use up whatever we want. But most importantly for us, every environmental impact also has an impact on our global neighbors. If everyone began committing to changing the way they live to help the environment, it would mean less children with asthma, less Appalachian communities being destroyed to mine coal (have you heard about this atrocity? Mountaintop Removal), less babies born with birth defects because of the chemicals their mothers are forced to be exposed to while harvesting, and less polluted drinking water. Yes, we are a middle-class family in Boston and we have little exposure to most of those problems. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be striving to do something about them. And we’ve been loving every step of the way so far.