For the past 3 ½ years, or so, my family and I have been on a journey toward living green and living frugally, learning to be a good steward of all of the resources that God has provided us with.
I wanted to take the opportunity to share my story with you over the next few weeks, because I think that telling our stories is so important, and so that you can learn a little about where I came from, and how I came to the place I am today.
I want to start out by emphasizing that this is a journey and not something that just happened overnight for us. God has been really teaching and growing me in this area, and there is so much that I still have to learn, please don’t think at all that I’ve arrived or have this all figured out – I am still on the journey and probably always will be.
Where We Started
Four years ago my husband and I lived what to us was a very comfortable lifestyle. He had a good job where he made good money and we were trying to get pregnant for the first time. We didn’t think too much about being a good steward, either of our money, or of the earthly resources that God had provided us with.
We were living a very consumerist and materialistic lifestyle, we liked our stuff a lot, and always wanted more and new stuff. We lived a disposable lifestyle, choosing convenience over conservation. Actually, we really didn’t give any thought to the impact that our decisions had on other people or on the world as a whole. In fact, I thought that the whole environmental movement was a little overboard and not really necessary.
How It All Began
I became pregnant with our first child in January of 2007, and as often happens when children enter the picture, I started to think about my baby and how things in her environment and things in the world would affect her. It wasn’t just all about me anymore, I had a baby to nurture and protect, and thinking about her changed everything.
My cousin encouraged me to try using cloth diapers, so I started reading and researching about them. From there, I started learning about the harmful chemicals that I was using to clean my home. I decided that I wanted to be more mindful for her sake and protect her as much as I could from things in her environment that might harm her.
So, while I was still pregnant, I switched to using green and natural cleaning products, and that was probably the very first baby step that I took on this journey. And then, when my daughter was born, we started using cloth diapers on her.
Other than that, I was pretty content with the way things were and didn’t worry too much about our other lifestyle choices. I had no idea the path that I had started down would lead me to where I am today.
What kind of life did you live before you started your green journey? Were you frugal, but not really green? Or did you live a materialistic, disposable lifestyle the way we did?
Coming next week: My hubby loses his job, and our comfortable lifestyle is not so comfortable anymore. Read Part 2 here!
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Hi there!
First of all, you looked beautiful pregnant! I really like your blog! For me, it started with natural cosmetics, I started taking care of my skin more a few years ago and then I started thinking of all the chemicals I was using on my face. I did a little research and was horrified, thinking it could cause cancer and other issues. Slowly, I started thinking of the effects of other products on my health and on the health of the environment.
I think my journey has just begun. I’m excited to read your story. Thanks for sharing!
It’s funny how having a baby changes you in so many ways! We started with cloth diapers too, and then got rid of paper goods in the kitchen when I was washing so many bibs a few more wash cloths and cloth napkins wouldn’t be much more laundry!