Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Hand In Hand

I have mentioned before that my journey into a green lifestyle started more out of concern for my family's health than a genuine concern for the Earth. Though I'm sure some would say that these things are independent of each other, I believe they go hand in hand.

Most of the things that I have changed in our home that are considered "green" have major health benefits for our family. Switching to organic foods when possible, cutting out/back on chemicals used in our home and being cautious about the amount and type of plastics we use are some examples.

Another thing I realized while talking to my husband the other day is that this is the way things used to be. The things I'm trying to change in my home and family are things that my Grandmothers did regularly. Things that are now trendy and celebrities get paid big bucks to talk about were commonplace in their lives. My husband grew up on a large farm. For reasons of frugality, his family practiced (and still does to some degree) growing their own food, composting, using cloth diapers, using natural methods of cleaning and rarely eating over processed foods.

Though my Grandmothers lived this way as well, I can look back and see when it all started to change in my Mom's generation. We gave up what was good for what was easy. I read so much about how so many diseases are more prevalent now than 20 years ago. It's not difficult to draw a connection here.

So, on this blog and on this journey, you'll find that I'm not always going to post about things that seem to be obviously linked to cleaning up the Earth and making it last for our children. Sometimes, I want to focus on things that lead to good health and even frugality. I really believe they all can go hand in hand. I also believe that all of these things combined will make our families (and our Earth) happier and healthier.

If you have suggestions about things to discuss here, please feel free to share them with me and I'll do what I can to share them with everyone!

5 comments:

wfbdoglover said...

Funny you should mention about the "old school", I have thought of that often.

I can't think of anything at the moment, but I am glad I found your blog.

Mrs. Gray's Class said...

This post is spot on. Our parent's generation seems to have really bought into the convenience factor - so much so that it is hard for them to see a need to make changes in their habits now. My parents and in-laws struggle with some of the things we consider priorities - especially organic food and plastic bags. Great post.

Anonymous said...

Love the new design!

I'm still trying to figure out household cleaners and laundry detergent...make my own? Buy all natural and organic? What do you do?

Heather said...

Christy,
I'm working on a post about household cleaners. I have found a couple of good ones that are free of crazy chemicals. As for the laundry soap, I'm struggling. More to come soon!

Andrea@Sgt and Mrs Hub said...

I agree, it does all go hand in hand. And it's not always the most obvious stuff that makes the biggest difference in our lives. I'm loving what you are doing over here!

(You are in my bloglines now!! Bloglines is my memory... :))

-Andrea