'disposable'

Have you read about the Pacific garbage patch, or the wonders of BPA, the estrogen mimicking plastic additive found is 93% of Americans ?

After reading Farmamas Blog about how she stopped using and buying plastic items “cold turkey” it really got me thinking. I find it fascinating, but as I look around I wonder *how*? We rarely fill our small trash can but pretty much always fill our large ‘recycling” can. So much of what we buy comes in containers we throw away. These “disposable” containers took energy, resources, markets... they were transported to the warehouse where they were filled so they could be transported again to a distributor, then to the market, then to me…

It’s much easier to not think of these things and comfortably go on with life. I am finding more and more that everything has it’s price and it’s not often reflected on the price tag. Convenience especially has a price and it really is something that should be weighed. There are some wonderful convinces that I do not want to live without, that I am grateful for…like a refrigerator!

I am noticing all the almond/rice milk containers, hummus and yogurt tubs, coffee containers, plastic wrap, cardboard, etc that fills our recycling can & it makes me wonder if its worth it. What a complete waste. There are things I can and should make myself….almond milk, crackers, granola to name a few. I found a local woman who has milk goats (for 4-H) and in July I am going to get fresh goat milk a try, mainly to make yogurt and cheese for my children. But what about everything else??

All I know is I am going to make baby steps in the right direction. There is a better way, a path I can see and I am ready to start hiking!!! So let me come clean... I used cloth diapers the first year with Everest and then switched to disposable, no, not even the "eco" disposable, but the crap from Costco. That's right!?! Trying to live within our budget, I have done a few things I am not happy about and it stops now. I have bought my last box of Huggies (sorry Huggies, even though I won a $250 gift card from you), so I need to figure out the best options in many areas of life. It's hard to find a balance at times!

I love this quote-
"Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself....to harm the earth is to heap contempt upon the creator.....contaminate your bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste."

Chief Seattle, 1854, responding to a U.S. government offer to buy "Indian" land.
　
I also have enjoyed reading heirloom seasons blog and the changes she has made, as well as the other participants of the ‘one small step project’.

*blessings*