Creation Care (also know as environmental protection)

Creation care is the idea that God expects his people to take care of the earth that he created for them to enjoy.  This topic is near to my heart possibly because until about three years ago it had no place in my life.  I grew up thinking that environmentalism was for those liberal, tree-hugging fanatics.  I realize now how judgmental and short-sighted that was.  The same God who cares for me also cares for the lilies of the field, and He expects me to care as well.

The case for creation care can be found in many places in the Bible:

Genesis 1.31 says, “God saw everything He had made and behold it was very good.”  All of creation was deemed ‘very good’ by its creator.  Man might be the height of God’s work, but the land, the water, and the animals are all valuable to him.

Genesis 2.15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”  This was the first job given to mankind – to take care of the garden.  God could have made the earth self-sustaining, but as in many things, He chose to include humanity in the process.  It is our responsibility to be caretakers of the environment where we live. 

There are so many more examples of how important creation is in scripture, but I will only highlight one more.  This one is a warning.  Revelations 11.18 “The nations raged, but your wrath came, the time for the dead to be judged…and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”  That is pretty intense.  God’s final judgments will include punishing those who have participated in the destruction of the earth.  I would venture to say that includes all of us to some extent.

Although these scriptures resonate with my spirit now, my road to creation care did not start with the Bible.  It started with stewardship and decluttering.  A few years ago, I was cleaning out and organizing my daughters’ craft room.  I had a bag for supplies they did not need that we could give away.  I also had a bag for trash.  The trash bag filled up quickly over and over again.  It had never bothered me to throw out a little paper here and there, but suddenly those bags full of paper bothered me.  I knew that paper could be recycled into new material if I only took the time to sort it and take it to the local drop off.  I began to compare throwing that usable resource away to throwing away money.  If I put it in the trash, then companies would cut more trees, process more paper and sell it.  I was feeding a machine that was wasting natural resources as well.  I was not stewarding all that God had put in my hands.  That day I labeled a box for paper recycling and put it in our kitchen.  It took many hours of research and phone calls to find out what our small town could recycle and where the drop offs were, but soon I had four labeled trash cans in my kitchen for glass, tin, plastic, and paper.  I had joined the green team.

Recycling was a very small beginning, but it got me started.  During my research, I began to read about the problems with trash in general.  I knew that certain things, especially plastic, did not degrade well.  What I didn’t know is that nothing degrades well in a landfill.  It does not break down and return to the earth as I had imagined.  It actually gets entombed with no oxygen to help the disintegration process.  One archeological type dig done in a landfill found a 50-year-old newspaper that could still be read. The material in a landfill also mixes together and forms a toxic sludge called leachate.  Modern landfills have a plastic liner to keep this liquid out of the water supply, but they do crack and leak sometimes.  Landfills also cause Methane gas.  So, everything we do to reduce our contribution to landfill trash protects the earth.  This realization led me to analyze my trash creation.  Before recycling, we were putting out two large bags of trash every week.  Recycling cut that back, but I wanted to do more.  The next step was eliminating disposable items.  Bye-bye paper plates and napkins.  Hello, pretty cloth napkins, reusable water bottles, and cloth face wipes.  I also looked for ways to buy products with less packaging.  Thrift stores and bulk grocery items are great for this. 

The next realization my research brought me to was the misuse of plastic.  How can it be ok to take a limited natural resource like oil, create a flimsy item like a plastic bag or cup that is used for a very short time and then thrown away to possibly never degrade or even worse end up in the ocean where plastic molecules now outnumber plankton?  Talk about waste and destruction!  So, the next step was to reduce plastic usage.  I gradually replaced my plastic containers with glass ones.  I didn’t want those toxins leaching into my food anymore anyway.  I bought a glass water bottle, and of course, started using reusable bags when shopping.  I’ve explored alternatives to Ziploc bags with limited success.  Yes, you can freeze food in glass containers, but those bags fit so much nicer and in the long-term glass storage promotes freezer burns sooner.  Sometimes I wash and reuse my plastic bags and sometimes I’m lazy and throw them away.  I console my guilt with the knowledge that I’m doing so much better than I was before.

My environmental journey also brought me back to food.  In my life, it seems that all roads lead back to food.  I began to explore the idea that processed food was bad for the environment and bad for my body.  The extra packaging and the chemicals had to go.  I began to learn to cook with real ingredients.  I increased the amount of fresh vegetables in my diet.  I started cooking and freezing my own meals so I did not have to rely on fish sticks and Lean Cuisine.  Then I started learning about meat.  Between Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma and the movie Food Inc, I knew I no longer wanted to eat industrially produced meat.  I didn’t want to contribute to animals living tortured lives even before they were killed for my plate.  I didn’t trust all the chemicals, antibiotics, bacteria, and disease running rampant in this system.  However, I was not ready to go vegetarian.  This was a problem.  I looked for alternatives.  For me, the answer was respectfully raised, grass-fed, free-range, organically fed meat.  I found resources online and my local health food store had options.  Then I was blessed to find three local ranchers who were selling meat.  I could visit the farm, ask questions about their philosophy and eat their products guilt-free.  I may go vegetarian/vegan someday, but for now, this fits my values.

There are many other steps I’ve taken and so many others I still need to explore.  I imagine I still do many things that would qualify as destroying the earth, but I also know I am treading much lighter on the earth than I used to.  I am also more aware of my actions and looking for ways to care for this beautiful gift God has given us all.

What a ride!

Just over a year ago I made some serious changes in my life including joining a 12-step program for compulsive overeaters.  Little did I know that working this program would reshape not just my body but my mind as well.  I have experienced spiritual and physical healing.  Then the changes started to expand into other areas of my life.   I became willing and able to tackle my messy house.  Then I started looking at reducing my belongings.  Recently I've even delved into recycling and reducing waste not to mention living frugally and ministering to the poor.  I have no idea where this roller coaster is taking me, but I'm enjoying the ride.

How to Shop at the Farmer's Market

   I've been shopping at my local farmer's market for a couple years now.  I started this habit for several reasons.  I wanted to add more vegetables to my diet and eat healthier. Also, I wanted to support the local economy and the local farmers.  In addition, I don't want herbicides and insecticides in my food and I believe these things pollute our environment.  Most of the farmers at the market use very little or none of these chemicals so it's the type of food I'm looking for.  Lastly, their food tastes amazing!!

I have learned that shopping at the farmer's market is very different than shopping at a grocery store.  Through experience, experimentation, and much research I have figured out how to maximize this resource for my family. I've decided to list some tips here.  I wish someone had given me a list like this when I first started exploring the market.

First - Don't make a list before shopping. 
I know this is so counter-intuitive especially for those of us who love lists.  However, if you make your meal plan first and  then go to the farmer's market, you are going to be disappointed.  Unlike a grocery store which has every product every time you enter, the market only has what was harvested that week.  This is actually a benefit because their food is fresh and nutrient rich unlike the stuff we ship all over the country/world before it reaches the store.  So, to maximize your enjoyment of the market, I suggest you go there first and get whatever fruits and vegetables you like.  Then take them home and plan your meals around those items.  The food you buy at the farmer's market will make all your favorite recipes even better.

Second - If you like it - buy it now!
I learned this lesson by making mistakes.  My first summer I was so excited to see a local farmer selling chickens that he had raised and butchered himself.  I knew this meant the animals had been treated with respect and lived a good life.  Not only is this better for the animal, but it is healthier for the eater as well.  I bought one and took it home to cook.  The flavor was amazing!  I hurried back the next week to buy another one and he was sold out.  There would be no more that season.  I was crushed.  That is when I learned that if I see something I like, I need to grab it right away.  This applies to vegetables and fruits as well.  If the zucchini looks good, grab it today, it might not be there next week.  Local food is seasonal and limited.  I had to adjust to that if I wanted all the benefits that come with it.  This year chickens were available again and I bought three right away.  I only wish I could fit more in my freezer.

Third - Buy more than you need and preserve the extra.
This grows out of rule number two.  If you buy something you are not going to use right away, then you need a way to make sure it does not get wasted.  I know people who do canning and freeze-drying.  I have not learned either of those skills yet, so my main preservation system is the freezer.  I do batch cooking, doubling and tripling my favorite recipes and freezing them to have fast meals later.  Also, I have learned which fruits and vegetables can be flash-frozen and which ones need to be blanched first. (This involves boiling the vegetable for a short time and then submerging them in a cold water bath before freezing.)  I have made many mistakes and lost some food, but these mistakes teach me how to do it better the next time.  I'm hoping to have enough vegetables in the freezer this year so I don't have to buy any at the store this winter.

Fourth - Try not to compare the prices with supermarket prices. 
It is very tempting at first to look at the prices of the food at the farmer's market and turn away because it is cheaper at the local big-box store.  However, please remember, this is not the same food.  Those tomatoes may look similar to the ones at your grocery store, but they are, in fact, very different.  They have measurably more nutrients.  They have not been bred for tough skins to allow cross-country transport.  They are fresh and they were picked already ripe.  They are not covered in harmful chemicals.  They were planted and raised by someone in your own community.  They are delicious!!  They are, indeed, worth the cost.

Fifth - Talk to the vendors and try something new.
At the farmer's market you have the opportunity to talk to the people who raised your food.  You can ask them any questions you have.  You can thank them for taking the effort to keep this food system alive.  Then you can pick up an unfamiliar vegetable and ask them what it's called and how to cook it.  You won't get that at the grocery store.

As you can tell, I love the farmer's market! 

Can we really change the world?

I grew up in the generation where we were told we could accomplish anything we set our minds to.  Of course sooner or later we figured out that life was not that simple, but I guess the positive thinking mentality still sticks with me.  I would rather believe that my actions matter than just coast along letting life happen to me. 

The book I've been reading lately, Hope's Effect, describes various people all over the world who are changing their destinies and influencing the world around them.  The premise is to believe that what exists around us now is not inevitable and it can be changed.  We can create what does not exist.  We can help create the world we want to live in. 

I believe that.  I may not be able to create utopia, but I can do something to improve my corner of the world.  I can maximize the resources I have around me and look for new ways to do things.  I can live in alignment with my values.

Unfortunately I see so many people who believe the solution is outside themselves and they are powerless to change anything.  A friend of mine told me how frustrated she was that our town does not recycle.  I was confused and started to tell her where the local drop off spots are and what materials they take.  She interrupted and explained that she meant curb-side recycling.  So, because we didn't have this convenience, she did not recycle at all and she blamed the system.  Now, it is a hassle to sort my trash and collect bags at home and take them across town to the drop off and sometimes I chose not to do it.  Most of the time, though, I make the effort because I believe in not wasting resources and limiting how much trash goes to landfills and I hope that our town council will see that this is important to the public and they might pursue curb-side.  I don't actually mind that my friend did not recycle - that is a personal choice based on values.  What bothered me was that she was blaming 'the system' for not making it convenient.  She relying on 'them' to solve the problem instead of maximizing her own abilities.

I see the same problem when people say healthy food is too expensive and/or they do not have time to cook at home.  See, I can relate to this.  I was that person.  I actually bought those pre-cooked meats and side-dishes at the store.  I used paper plates because I did not have time to wash dishes. I know what it's like to work long hours and come home to take care of children and not have energy to deal with dinner.  However, I started learning about the dangers of our highly processed diet.  I began to realize that the way I was eating was making me fat and sick.  The convenience foods I was buying were solving one problem but creating others.  I could complain about how the gov't and the food system were not taking care of us.  I could bemoan the cost of organic vegetables and grass-fed meat.  Or, I could make as many changes as my circumstances would allow.  I started making more home-made dishes.  I learned to cook extra and freeze it so I had easy meals to warm up on those busy nights.  I looked for alternatives to some of our favorite processed foods.  I experimented with vegetable dishes and bought organic when the food budget allowed.  I visit both local farmer's markets even though they are small.  I talked to the farmers and got leads on local ranchers who raise cows, pigs, and chickens and sell the butchered meat.  It wasn't easy, and it surely wasn't convenient, but I changed how my family eats and improved our health.  I'm not saying everyone can or even should do what I did.  Some can do more and some can do less, but we can all do something.

I'm certainly not perfect, and I do my share of complaining about the systems around me that seem unfair or unreasonable.  However, more and more I am choosing not to just accept my plight but to "do what I can with what I have where I am." 

Let's all create the world we want to live in.

Does it Really Matter

The school where I teach did several project-based learning units this year.  We took a central theme and applied it to all the various subjects students were taking.  One of the themes was Environmental Responsibility.  We looked at several big areas of environmental problems as well as how these problems could be turned around.

I was very surprised by my students' reactions.  Unlike me these kids grew up with 'reduce, reuse, recycle' and they were pretty familiar with the Garbage Patch and the ocean dead zones.  It was not a new topic so I understood that they were not always spell-bound.  What surprised me was their lack of personal action and their fatalism.  They willingly wrote essays about how industrial farming methods are bad for animals and increase disease in our food supply while finishing up their fast-food hamburger from lunch.  They drew recycling posters and threw their scraps in the trash. It seemed like there was no connection between what they knew and their personal action choices.   One day we were discussing an extreme ecological experiment called No Impact where Colin Beaven worked for one year to reduce his negative environmental impact to zero,  He figured out how to not create trash, he walked or biked everywhere, he and his family ate local food and even turned off the electricity for part of the year.  Eventually, one of my student asked the question, "But did any of that really matter?"  This and other comments made me realize that many of them felt that their own personal actions did nothing to solve the Earth's problems.  They had decided that our world is doomed and there was nothing they could do about it. 

I found this expounded on in a book called Hope's Edge. "...we don't experience ourselves as creating this world; we don't see ourselves as choosers at all.  Our planet-in-decline is just happening... What we have is all there is."

My first reaction was to feel sad that our youth could have such a doom and gloom outlook.  Then I began to wonder if they were right.  Did the bags of paper I dragged out of school to take to the local drop off really matter?  Was my paying extra to get local vegetables from the farmer's market really helping carbon emissions and putting a dent in the industrial food system?  Did my local action even matter?

Here is my answer - I chose to buy vegetables and even meat from my local farmers and ranchers because I don't want food riddled with antibiotics, pesticides, and herbicides.  So, first of all it makes a difference to me and hopefully to my family's health.  My money helps support small farmers who are creating a food system that I believe in.  Along with other 'shoppers' we allow these farmers to keep doing what they believe in and not quit or convert to industrial methods.  I think it makes a difference to them.  I like knowing that the meat I eat comes from animals that had a good life.  They got to play and frolic and eat the things they were meant to eat.  Yes, they ended up on my plate, but they did not live a life of torture and disease first.  I think it makes  a difference to those animals.  So, my food choices may not change the world (although the food movement is growing and seeing an influence), but it is influencing my corner of the world, and I think it does matter.

Although this post has centered around environmental issues, it really touches on my whole worldview.  I believe in local action, I believe in people influencing and helping people.  I believe in living out what you say you believe.  I believe that God works through each one of us to make this world a better place.  We are each the little boy in the poem who keeps throwing starfish back into the ocean because, "it makes a difference to that one".  Go save some starfish.

Journey of 100 bags - the last chapter but not the end of the journey

Epilogue – The Journey Continues

            I have now made a first pass through most of the rooms and corners of my house and I have begun to realize that this was only the beginning.  I have only given away my excess.  I have not really made any sacrifices.  I think of the Biblical story of the widow’ mite and I know I am no were near her level of giving.  This summer I plan to start over, move forward, and dig deeper. 

            This spiritual, mental, and physical journey I’m on has morphed into other areas of my life as well.  For instance, I have embraced the recycling movement.  Most of my life I did not really see the need for this.  I tossed my cans in a bin if it was convenient and that was about it.  I was fairly ignorant and unconcerned about how much trash I created.  The week I tackled the art room I began to feel guilty as the bags of trash, mostly paper, piled up.  I guess it was the amount that got me.  A little trash here and there didn’t seem to matter, but four bags of mostly paper that could have been recycled seemed like such a waste.  I decided that day that it was worth the inconvenience of sorting and delivering recyclables in order to make my trash reusable instead of just adding to a landfill.  Now I collect plastic bottles, paper, tin cans, glass, cardboard, and aluminum cans.  In addition I use cloth bags when I shop.  It’s a start.

            Another area of growth has been financial.  Now that I am rid of so much excess stuff I certainly don’t want to refill my house.  I find myself buying less.  I look at items critically before I purchase them to decide if they will be useful and/or bring me joy.  I try to decide if this purchase will only end up filling a thrift store bag later.  I’m especially skeptical of giveaways.  All too often those are the items that morph into clutter. 

            An extension of these two areas has led me to want to purchase used items whenever possible.  It seems that there is so much stuff in the world, it is a little wasteful to buy new.  I recently lost some weight and needed new clothes.  It would have been so convenient to go to the local department store, spend a couple hundred dollars and get what I needed.  I decided instead to put my new values to work.  I went thrift store shopping.  It certainly wasn’t as easy and it took more time.  I went to several stores the first day.  I discovered which stores in my area had the best selection of plus-size clothing and which ones were organized by size to make shopping easier.  The selection was somewhat limited but when I did find an item that I liked and it fit, I felt a surge of accomplishment.  It was like a treasure hunt and it did not break my budget.  There was an element of faith involved as well.  I was asking God to provide for my needs rather than just relying on my credit card. 

            One other area of growth has been related to poverty.  As I was decluttering my bookshelves I found a book about the spiritual discipline of simplicity.  This concept seemed to encompass the whole journey I’ve been experiencing.  It discussed ownership and finances.  Then it delved into the subject of poverty.  I found out that anyone making $40,000 a year is in the top 1% of the world.  Also, 92% of the world’s population don’t own a car.  In other words, most of us in America are rich by the world’s standards.  We are blessed and we need to decide how to use our resources.  We need to explore the idea of whether our extravagant lifestyle is pleasing to God when so many are starving through no fault of their own.  I know that this is not a simple issue.  It is full of political intrigue.  Personally I have always felt that some social programs where enabling laziness and ensnaring people so that they could not move on to financial independence.  However, I have to admit that the Bible espouses helping the poor.  For example, farmers were to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so that the poor could glean what they needed.  Some theologians have embraces what is called “The theology of enough.”  When manna rained down on the Israelites there was enough for everyone’s needs, but hoarding was not allowed.  Each days needs were provided, just as Jesus told us in the Lord’s Prayer.  Gandhi reiterated this when he said, “The world has enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.”  Right now, I don’t know what this means for me.  I’m still asking the questions and exploring the issues.  I do know that sharing my excess and spending my money responsibly is moving in the right direction. 

            All in all, this has been a journey of less: less stuff, less trash, and less spending.  It has also been a journey of more: more time, more beauty, and more joy.  It has been enlightening, challenging, confusing, and exciting.  I look forward to where this road will lead me next.

Reducing Trash

In the past few months we have reduced our trash from 2 big bags a week to 1/2 a bag a week.  I'd like to do more, but this is still a big improvement. 

Here are some of the ideas I gathered from various sources and implemented in our household:

1) Recycle -
Of course this is an important step.  I don't have curbside pickup but there are bins at the local Walmart parking lot for plastic 1&2, mixed paper (including paperboard - cereal boxes etc...), aluminum cans, tin cans, and cardboard.  I'm there every week so it's easy.  Our local natural food store collects glass.  Sorting out just these things made a big difference.  It made no sense to put this usable stuff in a hole in the ground (landfill.)

However, I learned that it takes energy and money to turn these types of trash into usable items again.  Also, many materials eventually degrade to the point that the can no longer be recycled.  To top it off, some items are putting a lot of carbon in the air traveling around the world to get recycled. 

This brings me to the other parts of the recycle mantra - reduce and reuse - which are even more important in the long run.

2) Reuse -
I now wash plastic bags and containers that I can use again.  Since my area doesn't recycle plastics 3-5,  I reuse those containers to store leftovers.  (However, I put the food on a plate to reheat.  I'm beginning not to trust plastic.)  I also wash and reuse glass bottles and jars.  These items are starting to collect on my shelves now, so I donated some of my old Tupperware type stuff to make room.

3) Reduce (also known as refuse) -
This is really the big one.  It's based on a mindset that we are wasting resources by just throwing them away and the best way to avoid this is not to bring trash into your house in the first place.  How is that possible?  There are three major ways ---

3A) Replace disposable items with reusable ones
     - use cloth bags for shopping (not just groceries)
     - use cloth napkins
     - I found reusable straws in picnic supplies
     - use patches of cloth instead of cotton balls for makeup removal (wash in a mesh bag)

3B) Eliminate single use and disposable items
     - avoid paper plates and plastic silverware
     - no plastic bags
     - find alternatives to Saran Wrap (I use an Abeego wrap made from beeswax)
     - no single serve foods - eg. get a big container of yogurt instead of multiple mini-cups

3C) Reduce packaging
     - purchase from the bulk food isle and reuse bags or bring your own containers
     - use razor with replaceable blade instead of throwing the whole thing away
     - (Ladies) tampons without applicators
     - buy large sizes of food items as long as you will use it before it goes bad.  This way you have one container to deal with instead of multiples
      - Look for glass containers when possible - easier to wash and reuse and they do not degrade when they recycle
     - buy used - my kids love toys from thrift stores and they don't come with tons of useless packaging

Oh - there is one more way, but I have not implemented this myself yet.

4) Rot --
Create a compost pile or worm farm to deal with food scraps.

Why all the green?

I thought I might take a minute to try to explain why I've gone all eco-friendly lately.

Most of my life I was not too concerned with the environment.  I wrapped my babies in plastic diapers and didn't even recycle.  It just was not on my radar.  I thought that was fine for some people but not really necessary.  (In my defense, I lived in an area for 13 years that had no recycling collection available.)

So, what is all this 'green' effort lately? 

Well, it started when I was cleaning and organizing the art room.  I found myself throwing out bags of paper - old projects and ruined supplies.  A little paper here and there had never bothered me, but this seemed like a lot of waste.  It could be recycled and reused.  It was kind of like throwing away money or being ungrateful for my resources.  It took a little research to figure out what can and can't be recycled and what is available in my area, but we now save paper, plastic, glass, tin cans, cardboard, aluminum, and paperboard. 

So, recycling is pretty normal, but what's with all the reducing trash, cloth napkins, and considering a worm farm?

As I was researching and listening to youtube videos, I discovered that the average American produces 3 pounds of trash a day after recycling.  Also, we are 5% of the world's population but we consume 30% of the world's goods.  That is a lot of stuff and tons of it gets trashed way before its usefulness is gone. 

I ran across a group of people called zero-wasters.  There goal is to produce no trash.  They don't use disposable items, avoid overpackaged stuff, buy from bulk bins, and make homemade.  Again the questions of why comes up.  First of all trash is wasted money and resources.  Also, it goes to a landfill.  I used to think that meant all my trash got buried and eventually 'returned to the earth'.  (of course I knew it took forever for plastic to degrade, but I saw that as a necessary evil.)  What I learned is that our degrading trash is so toxic that modern landfills have to have liners to keep the ooey gooey juices out of the ground.  Also, it produces dangerous methane gas which has to be collected and dealt with.  I also learned that these protections do fail and they were not part of many landfills in the past.  So, landfills are problematic and from what  read incinerating is even worse. 

Recycling helps but it is an imperfect solution too.  Some items, like plastic, only downcycle into less complex substances.  Also, much of our trash is sent overseas since we don't have the resources to deal with it here.  (That gives me pause to think too.  America exports trash.  Weird.)  So, it's much more efficient to not make the trash in the first place. 

So, it's really the idea of waste that got me started, but of course global warming, the ozone, the ideas of plastic in our urine; these all factor in too.  Oh, and don't forget the lovely Pacific Garbage Patch.  Just the thought of that has me picking up litter. 

Well, those are the reasons I'm making my own bagels, washing and reusing the plastic bags I have, using cloth grocery bags, and a bunch of other changes.  So far I haven't driven my family over the edge.  It's like one big experiment.  Some things I like and others I write off as failures, but that's ok too.  I like moving in a new direction that just might be better for me, my family, and the planet. 

Meltdown at Walmart

Two weeks ago I had a melt-down at Walmart:

I am a recovering perfectionist. I am also idealistic. In my endeavor to eat better, create less trash, and be frugal I have been trying to eliminate single-serve, individually wrapped items from my grocery list. So, I took my daughter to the cracker isle to see if she could pick a replacement for the cracker sandwiches I had been putting in her lunch.  We compared prices, we looked at flavors, and we debated things that were actually cookies not crackers. Half an hour later I realized the crackers we had been buying were cheaper and the plastic wrapping took up almost no space at all.  If my daughter does not like the crackers we bought, they may end up in the trash anyway. Overall, it was a lose/lose situation. I felt like my goals were at odds with each other and went to bed frustrated. The next morning I came to the conclusion that I can only do the best I can do. I have had many victories in this journey. I don’t have to be perfect. Sometimes it’s best to do what works; sometimes it’s best to buy the chemical-laden, plastic-wrapped, yummy crackers.

I love my new water bottle.

"Only through strictness do you find conversion."

All this eco-friendly stuff is so new and so foreign to me that I stumble along making lots of mistakes.  However, I'm learning that failures can lead to successes.

I went to a health store last weekend and bought an expensive glass water bottle.  I love it.  The water tastes better than it does in plastic.  No leached chemicals and it can be reused and/or recycled forever.  Still, the cost bugged me.  I showed a friend at school and she said, "Why didn't you buy one of those?" pointing to a water bottle with some trendy brand name on it that had been left on the counter days ago.  I checked, and sure enough, it was glass.  I scooped it up to take home. 

Now I have two bottles - one expensive and one free, but I never would have discovered the second one if I had not made the commitment to stop buying plastic, disposable ones in the first place.

My little recyclers

My girls are buying into the whole recycling/make less trash thing way faster than they latched onto the eat less sugar or clean the house ideas.  I guess they were probably ready for this before me even thanks to the American education system. 

The other day Sammi picked up some cardboard on our walk and took it home to recycle.  Yesterday Stephanie asked me how we could reuse a tic-tac container.  (We decided to fill it with red hots.)  We plan to visit the dump and the recycling center this summer. 

Sammi calls our attempts to reduce our trash a contest.  We count how many days it takes to fill up the large garbage container in the kitchen.  Before recycling we filled up 2 in a week.  Now it's 7+ days for one. 

Having buddies makes this adventure more fun. 

Sammi's bagels

So- where to start?  I want to write about the twelve steps of overeater's anonymous.  I want to share the book I'm writing about purging and cleaning the house and adopting minimalist ideals.  I want to explain why I am trying to reduce my trash production.  However, I think the best place to start is with making bagels with Samantha since that was tons of fun and all the pieces of this crazy puzzle seem to rotate around bringing joy into my life.

As part of an effort to eat less chemicals ('clean' eating) and create less trash (plastic bags) I decided to try my hand at making my own bagels.  I found a pretty simple recipe and asked Sammi if she wanted to help me.  She was totally excited.  She likes to cook and she loves to spend time with Mommy.  We combined the ingredients and mixed the dough.  Then it was time to knead it.  I showed Sammi how and she was a little hesitant to get her hands messy, but once she started she was hooked.  She squished, pounded, and pummeled the dough.  At one time she jumped up on the counter and tummy flopped on it.  It was hilarious!  Then we shaped the bagels, let them rise, boiled and baked them.  I might even talk Sammi into eating one.  =)  Who knew cooking could be so much fun?!