The great thing about our old house is that all the old people in our neighborhood can tell us the history of the people who have lived in our house. Our house is almost 100 years old, it was built in 1916 by Scandinavian immigrants, and we keep finding new treasures about it all the time. Just a few days ago the man who lives next door told us that the family used to have their own garbage pit in the back yard where they put all their household trash. At first I thought GROSS! You mean they had a mini-dump back here! But then as I thought about it I realized that families, especially farming families, in the early 20th century didn't produce a lot of household trash. Most families at the time would have had their own trash pits, because there just wasn't enough "trash" to even bother with having the city come pick it up.
This really got me thinking.
Yesterday as I was taking out a bag of trash to our garbage can. I realized that our little family of 3 produces a TON of trash, literally. We don't really realize it because the city comes and picks it up once a week and hauls it off to some place we never have to look at. But what if I did have to look at it everyday? What if for some reason I had to dispose of my own household trash in my own backyard, like the family who lived here 100 years ago did? I realized that we would be swimming in trash! It wouldn't take us very long to fill up our backyard with all the packaging, paper, and diapers we dispose of each day. Ugg. I realized that just because I don't have to see the trash doesn't mean that it doesn't exist and that it isn't polluting my community. Even though the dump is miles away from my house it is still my "backyard" and I have a responsibility to minimize what I throw in it.
Thinking about how little the family who lived here 100 years ago wasted and polluted made me reevaluate my own personal habits. I've decided that I am REALLY going to try and limit the number of packaged or disposal items I use. The more things I can reuse is one more thing that won't get piled up in my "backyard" or won't cost extra money to recycle. I know this is going to be harder than I think, but I really feel that it is important. Besides, I think it is just a smart way to live, and the way the God has been asking his Saints to live for the last 60 years. Prophet after prophet has warned us and counseled us to grow our own gardens, to live providently, to have food storage, and to learn basic living skills. I've decided it is time that I really start listening and making changes in my life. These are some of the ways that I am going to try to be more self-reliant and be a better steward of the earth:
- Cloth diapers. I've gone back and forth on this one because it just seems intimidating to me. But I've been doing a lot of research and talking to a lot of people about them and I am starting to get really excited about the idea! They really don't seem like as much work as I initially thought-- in fact most mom's I've talked to say they are just as easy as disposables. And after taking Asher's 5th dirty diaper out to the trash yesterday I decided that if I had to pile up all his dirty diapers in my backyard I would be SO grossed out. Much better to have something I can wash and reuse. Also, I am going to have 2 babies in diapers soon and cloth diapers just seem to make more sense from a financial standpoint. I'll let you know how it turns out.
- Bottle and preserve my own food. I have over 200 bottles that I got from Jon's grandma that are waiting empty in my basement. My goal this summer is to fill them up with apricot jam, apricots, pears, pear butter, pear sauce, applesauce, salsa, plum syrup, pickles, peaches, and anything else I can get my hands on. Yep-- lots of work, but I actually REALLY enjoy canning. I think food tastes better when you've gone through the work of "putting it up."
- Have chickens. The fact that they lay eggs is just a bonus to me. I think I'd like having them even if they didn't.
- Grow a garden. Check. Started on this one.
- Learn to make homemade foods-- like bread (which I am getting MUCH better at), tortillas, tortillas chips, ketchup, mayonnaise, salad dressing, etc...
I'd love to know what things you and your family do to help save money, live more providently and to care for the earth!
2 comments:
We are frequently astonished by how quickly our recycling piles up in comparison to our household trash (and I know we could do much, much better). I think back to before we recycled (I'm so glad Logan has curbside recycling, btw!), and I shudder to think of the heaps and heaps of landfill rubbish that doesn't need to be there.
Speaking of diapers, John and I decided a couple of years ago that we'd do cloth, and now that we get to start buying them, I've been doing lots of research, too. My favorite "beginners" site so far has been Green Mountain Diapers. There are a lot of styles and options out there, and it takes weeks upon weeks of research to figure out where you might want to start (it's still overwhelming for me). We'll be doing pre-folds with snap covers, and probably Fuzzi-Bunz one-size for daycare (because they're so similar to disposables and easier maintenance than all-in-ones).
Our mommies' group is thinking of having a "cloth diaper" meeting soon! And Jennetta has incorporated the topic into her workshops, too. Very educational!
I'm still jealous of your garden, fruit trees and chickens! ;) (Someday we'll get to graduate from apartment-dwelling.)
Cloth diapers ARE really easy- and there's extra padding when they fall on their butts.
I've used just about every kind of cloth diapers in existence: fitteds, flats, prefolds, pockets if you have any questions.
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