waste/wāst/
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Wendell Berry wrote: “The ecological teaching of the Bible is simply inescapable: God made the world because He wanted it made. He thinks the world is good, and He loves it. It is His world; He has never relinquished title to it. And He has never revoked the conditions, bearing on His gift to us of the use of it, that obliges us to take excellent care of it. If God loves the world, then how might any person of faith be excused for not loving it or justified in destroying it?”
--Hatmaker, Jen (2011-12-19). 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess (p. 118). B&H Publishing Group.
I would not label myself a "green" person in the least. However, I dabble here and there in the "organic" world. I am intrigued by it but find myself a bit uncommited to really committing. Now that was clear as mud right? I did grow up on a farm however and definitely appreciate home grown. Some of the things that Jen covered in her month against waste included: gardening, composting, conserving energy and water, recycling, driving only one car, shopping thrift and second-hand, buying only local.
So we are already stream lining through July and I am still trying to figure out how this challenge will work for me.
• We do have a garden. I normally help more with the garden but this year it has been more of Craig's baby. I have just watched it grow. We only have small space for our garden due to the mass amount of our independent sewer system that runs through our backyard. We do mainly tomatoes and make our own salsa/spaghetti sauce. This year Craig built a small green house and grew his own tomato plants from seed.
• We also have a compost. It has really helped our soil over the past few years in our garden.
• Conserving energy and water -- could probably do more in this area. My kids are already doing a great job at it - they never flush the toilet. I am always walking into a surprise. :-) I am hand washing my dishes but did you know a dishwasher can actually use less water then hand washing?! That is good to know. I am only hand washing because my dishwasher is not working properly.
• Recycling -- I recycle my cans. I don't really recycle much else. We have a recycling place here in town -- maybe I need to figure out how I can recycle more.
• Driving only one car - Not possible for us with Craig working out of town.
• I already do a lot of shopping at thrift stores and second hand.
So thinking about all of this I wanted 7 feasible things I can do this month to be a bit more green and waste less. So here are a few things...
1. Actually go to the Farmer's Market to buy some produce
2. Do crafts with kids that recycle some of our containers
3. Find one more item that I can recycle on a regular basis instead of just my cans
4. Do not purchase processed/packaged snacks for the kids - make my own
5. No baths, only showers to conserve water - (I have a luxury garden style air jet tub that I love but the truth of it is - it is a bit of a water hog)
6. This seems kind of earthy crunchy but I might try the BYOB - Bring your own bags - I currently use plastic bags but I do recycle my plastic bags for trash bags in the bathroom and for sorting clothes etc...
7. Be more aware of purchasing items (even if they cost more) that are Fair Trade products. First
switch will be my coffee.
So readers, what are some ways that you do green at your house? I'd love any tips you'd like to pass along.
More thoughts on media challenge at: http://bibledude.net/the-7-project-media/
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