Nov 15: three things I do to consume less

Paul and I are not really green. We have friends who are hard core, but we are just really scratching the surface. The main things we do are:
- cloth diapers
- recycle paper, glass and plastics
- reuse items

If we had land we would grow things, but since my summer tomato plant was an abysmal failure, lets stick to the options above.

Cloth Diapers
What is it: I use bum genius one size diapers, washing them in our washing machine. We use rice paper liners to capture the poo, which we flush. We do this load usually every 3 days.
Whose to blame: Oh, I think there is an even level of blame on Tara J and on Wendy W.
Why I do it: The main reason I use cloth diapers is the idea of 18 billion disposable diapers a year breaking down over 450 years into our ground water is unnerving. It means that your kids diapers will be around longer than your kids' kids. It's not a legacy I want to leave. Leave literature, not plastic wrapped poo for archaeologists to pick over.
Price-wise, it is about the same as doing disposables, at least for the first kid. You start saving money as your family grows.
What I could change: Frankly, I'm willing to pay for pocket diapers instead of doing prefolds. Prefolds are so much cheaper but its worth it to me to not have to think about how to get wiggly boy into a prefold with a snappis and cover.

Recycling
What is it:Separating glass, cans, and paper out from our trash and placing it in the recycling bin instead of the trash compactor.
Whose to blame: Emily S got me started when we were roommates in college. I recently got a shot in the arm about it by Robin K and Peter Sh when we were visiting this summer. Good examples people!
Why I do it:It's so blinking easy. When you throw things away they either go in A bin or B bin. I like the idea that some of this stuff can be made into other things. I think about how families use to store things in tins and wood boxes (and tupperware and plastic.) the idea of disposable wrappers is fairly new.
What I could change: I have a confession to make: I don't reuse zip lock bags. And anything that involves a drive to a recycling center is pretty much off my radar. We are guilty of hoarding computers in particular because we know of no good place to recycle them.

Reused items (new to us)
What is it: We don't buy new if we can find it used.
Whose to blame: Oh, this completely falls on Wendy's plate again.
Why I do it: A, its cheaper. B. Most items on craiglist and ebay and even at goodwill are hardly used at all. The community I live in is a consumer community which means a lot of this stuff gets used once and then is passed on. It I buy/get it used, that means one less thing needed to be created out of the limited amount of resources. We only have used cars, used couch, used plates, used toys, used books, etc. I have been liberated of the "ick factor" by using cloth diapers. I now know what it takes to really clean something, so I'm not worried about getting used stuff. We just wash it before we use it.
What I could change:There are still a number of things we buy new for safety and hygene. Occasionally we can't find it used, so I break down and buy it new.

I just kind of hit a wall this afternoon. As paul said, I must not be well because I did what he said and went to bed instead of work. After some sleep and dinner I'm feeling better. It's been a long couple of days without a break, Friday to today, since Paul has stuff on Monday nights. I forget to stop sometimes.

In the mean time Tobo has been learning all sorts of things. I found him like this after a nap yesterday and today:

From Baby Grows Up

Fish got to swim, birds got to fly, I got to chew, Mom.

From Baby Grows Up

We think he's teething again. /obvious> I see the value of bumpers, not just to keep his head from getting bonked, but to keep the dum from being thrown out of the crib, the baby can't explore the environs of the crib by sticking his hand out to grab everything, and of course not chewing on the bars.

The next surprise is when I turned around and found him here:

From Baby Grows Up

He's officially a scooter now, not really crawling but definitely showing up in places you don't expect. I never should have taught him to sit down instead of falling over from standing. He's unstoppable now. If you notice, there's a pillow up blocking his direct approach to the chair, so he obviously routed around it to get underneath there.

From Baby Grows Up

Where shall I go from here...

I don't have a photo of it, but Tobo also started waving back to folks this week. This was kind of surprise because it wasn't one of those life skills we had really been working on. He just think its the most awesome thing that he does something and everyone else reacts.

I'm tempted to offer to lead?instruct?explore? cloth diapers for ladies at our church. We have 15 new little ones this year and that's likely to keep happening next year. Maybe I could invite wmw as a guest speaker. ;D I don't want to be pushy about it, but at the same time, it could be a lot of fun. Especially since everyone can save money these days, it's not like I'd get a commission. Any suggestions about how to approach folks who don't know the wonder of cloth diapers?

Well, off to compound my sleep catch up today by going to bed early. Nite all.