For The Earth

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I know this is a more hippie post than what I usually write. But lately I’ve been really inspired to try to improve my daily habits, to be a more considerate citizen of our world. Part of it is because now I have kids, part of it because I’m older and also live in an area that is more eco-conscious and is also being ravaged by fires and also because I have some friends who are inspiring to me, in that they have dedicated their lives to try to make the earth more beautiful and clean. This isn’t meant to be a lecturing post (and if it was, I’m the one who should be being lectured) but I just wanted to share some of what I’ve started to do, to try to be less wasteful and more considerate of our Earth. And I really, really want to hear what you do too, to be more eco-conscious. so I can learn from you! Here goes!

Being considerate of water usage. This goes from everything from turning off the shower while I soap/shampoo to having a bucket on the sink, to catch water as I’m washing fruits/vegetables. I know this sounds a little crazy and I basically have to take the bucket outside multiple times a day but I water some of my existing trees and plants this way! Also, when I cook veggies, I also reuse the water and dump it on my plants (after it cools). I read that this actually gives the soil great nutrients so it’s a double win. I know this doesn’t save much water in the grand scheme but it’s also really important to me that my kids see me doing things like this – I explain to them why I’m doing it, and how lucky we are to have clean running water to begin with!

Composting: We compost! Well, kind of. I recently started and I love it. I have to admit that I am a BEGINNER and because we’re still landscaping our backyard, we don’t have our own compost pile yet. Instead, I compost in our green bin, which the collectors take away each week. I use a small bucket to hold my daily compost, lined with a compostable bag to make it easier. Here’s an example of compostable bags you can buy. Be aware that they are QUITE flimsy so that’s also why I throw out daily (or at most, every two days). But it makes composting so much easier and also your regular trash stinks way less because all your food products are going in the compost bag.

Since we started doing this, we have lessened our garbage volumes so much. For our family of four, we have now downgraded into the smallest size garbage container with room to spare! My kids love it because it’s like a little dwarf can which they push around easily (it’s their height).

Once we have our backyard I really want to do my own composting as well! If any of you do it yourselves – I’d love to hear tips. My backyard is currently mostly a dirt patch because we recently filled in our pool (yessssssss) and my plan is to have some trees and a vegetable garden.

Lessening my use of heating/cooling: This is the big one where people can help their environment with their energy consumption! In fact, I know all my tree growing means nil without trying to be more conscious of my heating/cooling use (read more via this Wired article). So I try to be conscientious and not blast either the heating or cooling. I have a head start here growing up in an immigrant household where the heater/AC was only used super sparingly and I’ve kept the same habits for our own home. In the winter – put on an extra sweater, in the summer, open the windows and allow a breeze. I’m lucky in that my husband also likes similar temperatures (he likes it even colder than me) so we don’t have big fights over the thermostat. In the winter for our kids rooms, we do use a little space heater while they sleep, but the adults don’t. I will caveat that I have had guests who are used to constantly blaring the AC/heat make comments (“it’s December and I want to wear a t-shirt”) so if you do try this, be aware that others may not like it. But now I can thank Greta Thunberg for the resolve! I personally dislike a really warm house AND it’s bad for the earth.

Also, a few final notes – there are some wonderful climate related charities out there (my favorite is Cool Earth) and I would love to hear yours….I kind of hesitated on this post in general because I really didn’t want it to seem as lecturing because I’m really in no position, and we all make our choices for how we interact with our environment. I personally do SO many wasteful things including having things delivered for convenience, not always bringing my own reusable water bottle, etcetera. But I really want to try to improve, and learn to live without certain conveniences. We went to a wedding this weekend in Sonoma County…it was a rare night without the kids and my husband and I were planning on sleeping in, in the morning. Only to be woken at 5:30 AM by the hotel frantically evacuating…because of the fires. It was a crazy sensation to see those huge plumes in the air…with the knowledge that due to our own reckless behavior, that such events are only going to become more common, and worse in scale, and that it’ll be even worse for our kids. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to do anything, right? In fact I think it means we should be doing something. I would also really love to hear some of the little things you might be doing for the planet…this post is all love, for the earth and all the wonderful things she provides us.