My first ever question comes from Patti. P.:
Q: What does green living look like in daily life?
A: This is a big topic, so I'll break it down into smaller sections. My family's daily care for creation takes shape in a few areas: food, waste, cleaning, and energy/transportation.
FOOD:
Food in our house is mostly vegetarian. I'm the cook, I'm a vegetarian, therefore I cook vegetarian. My vegetarianism comes from a desire to decrease my carbon footprint and improve my health (and
the health of my family) by eating a plant-based diet.
Image taken from: https://www.bustle.com/articles/149271-the-single-biggest-thing-you-can-do-for-the-environment |
Last year we purchased a share in a local CSA First Fruits Homestead, which yielded us fresh, local produce and the ability to form a relationship with the people who grow our food.
WASTE:
We compost our food scraps and use it to fertilize our garden in the spring. We recycle all paper, cardboard, and plastic that we can locally. We try not to buy overly packaged products. We use our own grocery bags instead of plastic ones. We pack lunches in reusable containers and baggies. We use stainless steel straws instead of plastic and steer clear of other single-use plastic items. We're working on remembering to keep reusable mugs and take out containers in our cars so we can avoid styrofoam cups and take out containers.
CLEANING:
I subscribe to two eco-friendly products services: Grove Collaborative and Mighty Nest. Both of these services help me find non-toxic and eco-friendly cleaning products as well as personal care products and home goods. I'm a big fan of Method products, which are eco-friendly but also meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Using eco-friendly and non-toxic products is good for the environment and good for my family, reducing the amount of chemicals in our bodies and watersheds.
ENERGY/TRANSPORTATION:
We drive a plug-in hybrid car. We try to fit as many errands as we can into one trip into town. We use a programmable thermostat, close unused air vents, use LED light bulbs, unplug items like cell phone chargers when not in use, and do all our wash with cold water.
Green living is more than fancy products or a holier-than-thou attitude: it's a way we show love for our creator and care for our neighbors.
What are your best green living tips? Post them in the comments below.
Want to submit a question? Email me at christina.krost@gmail.com.
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