Wrap Up

Today, Earth Day, is the culmination of the One Small Change Challenge. Since January, my family and so many others pledged to make one change each month that would impact the environment in a positive way. Here's a wrap up of the changes we made, and how we've been doing with them since:

In January, we decided to be more conscious about the food in our house. Since then, we have done our best to use up our perishable food before it goes bad. This change was pretty straight forward and we found it to be a matter of organization, and just being more aware of the inventory in the fridge.

For February our change was to try to use only one trash bag a week. We do not succeed in this goal each week, but it has made us more aware of products we bring into the house, and how they relate to the trash that leaves the house. Hopefully, with time, we will have just one bag out there on the curb each and every week.

In March, we did away with paper towels. Easy peasy. With more rags than we know what to do with, we haven't looked back.

Our April change was to use baking soda and vinegar to their fullest potential. We have found so many recipes and have made the switch to natural cleaning products (and volcanoes) seamlessly.

So there it is! Our participation in the first One Small Change challenge was a fun and enlightening, though we still need to work on a few of our changes. We were super impressed with the efforts other families made. Some were things we'll aspire to—like taking greater steps to reduce our water usage. Some others, well, we just aren't ready for—like the family cloth. But what we learned is there is always room for improvement.

I know for sure we are not going to stop here, just because the challenge is over. In fact, I'm already scheming up a few other changes for my family in the coming months.

A big thanks to Suzy and her family for organizing One Small Change.
Happy Earth Day!

A Few Things

The second week of April snuck up on me. I've got lots of updates and news to share today.

Our last "small change" is to put baking soda and vinegar to better use. They serve me well for cookies and salad dressing, but those two ingredients have so many other uses—all purpose cleaner, shampoo substitute (via Angry Chicken), tub and toilet scrub, volcano...
I'm going to realize the full potential of these two chemical-free, all-natural pantry items.

In other news, Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes is hosting a different kind of challenge. This month is Children and Nature Awareness Month, and to celebrate, Lisa is hosting The Great Outdoor Challenge. For the remainder of April, participants will be posting pictures of their kids doing whatever it is they do outside. It's perfect timing, and mother nature is making it really easy for us this week.

Yesterday, my kids did some good ol' fashioned graffiti. Yes, the girls have found a good use for the charred sticks left over from the brush we recently burned. (It's fun, and it washes off with a hose!)

Also! Kristina from Growing a Better Me has passed on a Beautiful Blogger Award to me. Blushing. Don't you just love the name of her blog? It says so much about her and what she writes about. With that honor comes the pleasure of passing it on to someone else. So, with no further ado...I'm giving it to Dana, at Create Share Inspire. I love seeing the behind-the-scenes of her paintings, drawings, studio, and what sparks her creativity.

Lastly, Alison at L is for Latte wrote about me and my work last week. She is a writer/editor/knitter who keeps a blog that is funny, witty, and so well written, it puts people like me to shame. Alison and I had the opportunity to chat on the phone recently, and she asked me lots of interesting questions. You can read her article on AG Ambroult here.

One Small...Bag

I'm a little late with posting our February project for One Small Change, so here it is:

Last month, our "change" was to waste less food. This month, we have challenged ourselves to fill only one "tall kitchen" size trash bag each week.

Two bags every week for a family of four seems like too much. We recycle heavily—all of our paper, tin, plastic and glass go in the bin, so it puzzles me that we can fill up two whole bags of trash. With what, exactly? Well, I couldn't say. So I looked. And took a picture (sorry). Turns out it's mostly food packaging—empty coffee k-cups, butter wrappers, pita bread packaging, bags from frozen produce, and random non-recyclables the girls bring home from school (valentine's candy packages, today).

The number of trash bags we drag to the curb each week is the true measure of how much waste my family creates in seven days. So, by limiting the number of bags we fill, we are sure to be more conscious of the amount of disposable items we bring into the house and, ultimately, haul out of the house.

Please rest assured. This is the last time I write will about, and post pictures of, our trash.