Everyday Sustainability and Being Eco-Friendly in Our Daily Lives

Welcome back to the part 2 of my everyday sustainability mini-series! Check out the first part here and be sure to check back in for the final part. As a mother, I want to raise my children with an awareness of their impact on the earth. I certainly don’t want to pass on my occasional eco anxiety, but I do want them to understand the importance of stewarding our planet. Not only for themselves, but for their continued generations. My goal is to have keeping the earth in mind as a part of habit and a second nature to them. I’m not sure if that made sense but that’s how I can best explain it.

Onward we go! I would also like to preface by saying apart from all these (potentially obvious) tips, there are so many other ways to be less wasteful and conserve resources. Everything from conserving water, unplugging unnecessary appliances, hybrid vehicles. The list could go on. These are what our family is able to do in this season of our life. Wherever you are on your sustainability path, journey on my friend. Small changes can make a huge difference!

Quality, plastic free products (to not contribute to the problem (when we can)) – Toys, clothes, plants, Cook ware, tea bags for goodness sakes! Everything has plastic in it! Why? You know, I don’t know, I just don’t know. Although..I do know. I think we all do. It’s cheap, makes us sick and lives FOREVER. Therefore, when we do purchase something brand new, we work very hard to find a quality product, made somewhere responsibly, that can last through the children we plan to have and even be passed on after that. Or we’ll simply buy secondhand for economical purposes. There’s just too much consumerism in every aspect of this world, the easiest thing to do is just go without. Refuse the freebie. Reject the ads. Resist the urge to buy the cuteness. 

Reusable towels and napkins– An easy way to reduce paper waste in the kitchen. I’ve got a huge stash of towels, napkins, hand towels, and other rags because they go through a rotation. Once one has holes and is really past its life, it’ll turn into a shop rag for mechanical stuff. My husband and father-in-law both work on their own trucks so they always need rags. Plus, now we have chickens so rags a great to wipe boots, feeders, waterers, etc.

Everyday Sustainability

Composting and food waste- Homesteading has become a huge part of our sustainability journey, and occasionally there are mistakes made. Wasting food may not be in my day-to-day vocabulary but it does poke its head in here and there. There are very few things I can’t compost, citrus peels, avocado pits, the stuff that just takes way too long. Now, that we are keeping backyard chickens there’s even less food waste. Between 8 chickens and 3 dogs, food doesn’t often go to waste. The major cases of mold go into the trash can to further surrender to the spores of nature.

If you don’t compost already, you could definite start! There are very easy and accessible ways to compost even in an apartment with no yard. That also doesn’t cost $500. Checking in with your local recycling center is a great option as well because most of them have green waste/composting facilities! 

Laundry late night – Over the course of the last month I’ve been doing laundry later in the evening. It seems to be a really helpful chore switch because we go downstairs, the kids run the last of their energy out and I get work done. Laundry is cheaper at night too. Less people are running water, so delivery fees are less. My grandmother always used to do laundry LATE at night, I’m talking 10pm, and she told me it was because it was cheaper. I took that from her book, and it’s been so beneficial! 

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We’ve recently found some secondhand bikes so my husband will be biking to work now and once I find a tow behind trailer for the kids (gently used and in our price range) then I’ll be taking that to our playgroup and the nearest grocery store.

Sustainability is something I’ve made a part of every aspect of my life. From clothes to food to transportation, I try my best to keep our lives as eco-friendly as possible.

We aren’t perfect, and I don’t expect us to be. Plastic seems so difficult to be rid of, but we’re working on that via hunting and foraging skills. We are still familiarizing ourselves with our new state so in time we can drastically reduce our plastic waste from store bought meat.

Anyway, there are still changes being made and I am doing the best that I can. Just as everyone should be! No pressure, lots of grace; small steps toward big changes.

In gratitude,

Tayler