Our family’s efforts to go green coincided with my discovery of the famous Fly Lady, an on-line personal assistant who works day and night to guide folks living in CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome) to a life of order, organization, routine, and an environment that is clutter free. As I’ve mentioned time and time again to you, readers, greening my life and decluttering our home emerged while I was pregnant and nesting. Luckily, I became well acquainted with eco-friendly ways to dispose of our clutter, selling and giving away our belongings on Craig’s List and Freecycle. I decluttered with such enthusiasm that my husband once dreamed that I had freecycled pictures of our newborn! (No, I never freecyled pictures of my own daughter, but apparently I was getting rid of so much stuff that my husband worried that I might freecyle him and our daughter).
What I have noticed since decluttering our home and implementing a routine (even loosely followed) is that I manage to accomplish more–much more than I ever imagined possible. Creativity flows for me when my sink isn’t full of dishes, toys aren’t scattered all over the floor, and the laundry is tended to daily. I am (prepare yourselves for a confession) one of those people that thrives on external order, and it is my feeling that when my home and world are (or seem to be) in order, I am better prepared to manage the inner workings of my life.
Greater still, than being able to manage one’s personal life, I think, is having the energy to do something about chaos in the greater world. Over the years, being the do-gooder that I aspired to be, I have learned that there are many, many causes out there that need attention. Many people want to contribute, on some level, to making a difference, and one way or another, folks usually find a purpose or cause that they live for. Focusing on a single cause or two, though, makes it more likely that one’s efforts can be channeled towards real change that means something for the world.
My present causes include working (and writing) to protect and care for the earth’s environment, and to be a domestic do-gooder who raises a family that is mindful of the planet’s health, as well as the well-being of people all over the world. Regarding my first cause, the environment, my hope is that my children’s generation will be able to walk outside and not have to pick up garbage off the side of the road. Littering, pollution, and all things contributing to global warming will be in decline; our children will revere the earth and each other. Yes, I have a dream.
Getting the earth’s climate in order is no small dream. It is tempting to be pessimistic and list all of the ways our environment is going to h*** in a handbag. But I belong more to the school of “the glass is half full,” and so instead, here are a few thoughts on order and harmony as I see it manifest in our environment:
I notice order and harmony when I see. . .
a cloth diapered baby
yard composts
high heeled ladies and oxford soled men cycling to work
stay-cationers
vegetable gardens
groceries in cloth bags
used book stores
the Goodwill
clean roads
farmers’ markets
stream and water monitoring
recycling centers
green blogs, growing, growing, growing with crunchy, practical green thoughts
A small victory for me, as an environmentalist, was noticing that our local YMCA implemented a recycling program by simply taping “RECYCLE” signs to several former trashcans. Over the past few months, each time I visited the Y, I left a comment about there not being a recycling effort in place and how I would love to participate in setting it up. While no one ever contacted me to help with set-up, I can’t tell you how happy I was to walk past the new recycling program that is underway at the Y.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
August 12th, 2008 at 11:11 am
It’s awesome that you devote so much time to helping people become aware of the changes they can make (even in small ways) to help protect and clean up the environment! I remember how hard we worked to get a (government mandated) recycling program going while I went to college in Arkansas. Our small, and short lived, victory was accomplished in a student run recycling program, but I’m told it collapsed shortly after I left :(.
Hopefully someone else has picked up the reigns and is working on it again.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I hope someone else picked up the recycling program you helped put in place, Melody. It really saddens me in this day and age to know that universities (some of the most idealistic places, in my opinion) would not have a few environmentally minded folks who would encourage others to pick up after themselves.
Fortunately, I plan to remain a member at the YMCA for a while now, so I will have to keep an eye on the recycling program and make sure it stays strong.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
It all starts with baby steps and one person doing something right, Green Mamma! I also aspire to the “half full” or “nearly full” positive mentality. Thanks so much for all you do to get the word out there about living green, responsibly, and parenting naturally. It’s a message that needs to be spread, from one person to another. You ARE making a difference!
August 13th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Ruth, you definitely live life as though the glass was nearly full! Thank you for the encouragement. And yes, I believe that raising loving and thoughtful children is a wonderful contribution to the world, a major reason why my husband and I want one of us to be always be available to our children.
My hope is that my children grow up and want more (generosity, peace, justice) for our world too.