Step up to green, Part 1
I’m sure there are people who wake up one morning and decide to completely upend their lives and “go green.”
I’m not one of them.
For me, living more sustainably has been an ongoing journey which has happily become much, much easier as time has gone on.
Becoming aware that in every single aspect of my life, I can find a way to do better in terms of taking a sustainable action, actually didn’t seem overwhelming to me at all. Rather, once I shifted my attitude, the majority of changes fell into place easily.
When I became educated about alternatives to what I’d always done and the reasons to do things differently, I was able to start asking myself questions about my actions, seek out advice and ideas, and incorporate “sustainable thinking” into my life.
For me, all this started when Corey was pregnant with her second child and informed me that I was not to purchase anything plastic and if I wanted to give her clothes or bedding, it would have to be organic.
I admit I was taken aback and though I was perfectly willing to do whatever she was asking (even though I didn’t completely understand, and the little I did, I was far from convinced about), I found it hard to stop looking at all the adorable, colorful things and move into a world of beige. At the time, if you wanted to buy for baby, you were buying unbleached, undyed blah beige.
But over time, Corey opened my eyes to the why’s behind her requests and as I began to read, question and digest the substantial research she’d done, it all started to make sense to me.
By the time we started Green Halloween®, I was totally on board with the general concepts around healthy people/healthy planet, but had just begun to put my toe in the waters of making different choices.
What has happened since then is that instead of living mindlessly when it comes to what I choose to do, consume and buy, my brain kicks into gear and I tend to ask myself questions like, “Is there a way to do this without using chemicals? Without buying something new? Without creating waste?” These questions now form the basis for my actions.
Know that I’m far from perfect, but I think one thing that helps me is that I’ve never had an “all or nothing” attitude around this issue. I see the way I’m living as I always have—as a choice, not a mandate. I honestly don’t care what others think of my decisions and I work very hard at not being judgmental of others’ choices. I try to inspire by actions rather than pushing my ideas on others (though I admit that my enthusiasm and concern sometimes overcomes my good intentions when it comes to this.)
My approach to life like my approach to cleaning, is the concept of “good enough.”
Not being a perfectionist helps.
At the same time, I try not to use my good enough approach to get out of making changes just because they seemed daunting.
Instead, I break everything down to its simplest component, take baby steps and as a result I believe, have succeeded more than I’ve failed.
Tomorrow I’m going to share some of the areas that were easy for me and some that are more of a challenge when it comes to going green. Hopefully, whether you’re just starting out or in the middle of your own journey, you’ll get some ideas and inspiration.
Meantime, if you’re interested in taking some steps yourself and aren’t sure about what to do next, check out Practically Green to find out where you stand now and where to go from here.
Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.
