In 2019, I kept doing what I was already doing in 2018. This includes cloth diapering my youngest daughter, walking to church, eating vegetarian meals 4 nights a week (or more), using a straight razor and bar soaps. I also ditched my plastic bottled face wash and switched to a bar face wash. My beat-up pink Nalgene went everywhere with me in 2019 and now I think I am in love with it. Its been a good year for being green.
Getting Greener
I doubled down on walking in 2019. I am fortunate to live in a great place for walking; its less than a mile from many of the places my family visits regularly without requiring us to cross too many major roads. I have always walked to church on Sundays, and I would sometimes walk to the grocery store if I was going alone, but this year we put many miles on our strollers, wagon, and sneakers taking the kids to the playground, the library, daycare, and the grocery store. Walking is green in so many ways; it is good for the environment, for my health, saves on gas and car maintenance, and gets me and my family outside.
We took three major trips in 2019 and drove for two of them. Driving to Nebraska from Florida, 1,570 miles or 23 hours and 50 minutes without factoring in stops, was a daunting task with 2 kids under 4 years old but we did it. This trip made driving to North Carolina, only 688 miles or 11 hours and 5 minutes non-stop, seem like a breeze.
Now I know there is controversy over if and when flying is greener than driving, but most everything agrees that driving has a smaller carbon-footprint per person than flying when there are more people is said car. My van was nearly full for both trips, 4 adults and 2 kids going to Nebraska and 3 adults and 2 kids going to North Carolina. Meaning we saved carbon-emissions and money by driving.
Once we arrived at the one destination we flew to, Washington DC, we used the Metro to get around town. Again reducing our carbon-footprint and saving money.
Into the Green
My battle cry of “into the green” was easily the most successful part of my green year. Everyone in my family enjoyed time in green spaces in 2019. We explored local state parks, spent countless hours at neighborhood playgrounds, and spent most of our North Carolina trip hiking. Countless hours were spent picking flowers, watching clouds drift past, and just playing in our front yard.
I can’t tell you how many miles were hiked, or how many hours were spent outdoors. I can tell you at not quiet two, my youngest climbed a hill no one thought she could, my three year old learned about plants and animals in a hands-on way. Our time outdoors was the highlight of my year!
In 2020 I hope to do better.
There is always room for improvement and I have no intentions of stopping any of the changes I made in the past year. I am a healthier and happier person spending more time outside and working to lessen my family’s impact on the beautiful world we live in.
Eating at theme parks and zoos stands out to me as where our biggest waste is. Every time my family gets food it comes on paper plates or in plastic containers, then we need to forks and spoons and knives to divide and share. I have already invested in the park-specific plastic cups and a popcorn bucket for my family’s favorite snack but I always feel guilty dumping the tray after a theme-park meal and I would like to figure out a way not to.
I need to sit down at my sewing machine and make a carry pouch for utensils so we can pack them into the parks and store them between meals. Another option is to completely pack in meals when we go; saving money and reducing waste…and now I feel guilty for not thinking this through earlier. Well, I am not perfect and this is a journey. Right?
My big goal in 2019 was to ditch the straw which did not happen. My kids still get excited about straws and I am still terrible about asking for no straw. The only reusable straws in my house as the ones in the theme park cups and my kids’ travel bottles. I knew this would be a difficult goal to meet from the start. I failed to be serious about it but it is improvement that counts.
Reflecting
In the end, it is the sum of all these little changes that make the difference. Each time I remembered to say “No straw, please”, each mile walked, each plastic cup not used because my trusty pink water bottle was by my side lessened my impact and had a positive effect for our world.
When I first sat down to write this post I was super critical of myself. I could have done this better, that differently, skipped those all together; but at the end of the year I am happy I tried. Together we can try to change and that is how Earth will see a difference.
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