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Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of speaking about “Green Living” to about 30 moms. I never realized how big of a topic green living is.  Let me tell you, it’s huge. And slightly overwhelming. For the two days leading up to the speech, I started to get a little nervous. The night before Jonathan reassured me that 1) this isn’t a test, 2) people really just want to be entertained, 3) just talk like you’re talking to friends. I took these things to heart and feel like the presentation went really well.

They recorded the audio for the speech and the entire session (also featuring my friend, Leah – it happens to be her birthday so go say hi) will be available online in a couple of weeks. However, I thought I’d do a blog “series” on the three ways our family has gone green.

Why is our family striving to become green? Green living to me is a way to reveal to this world just one more aspect of Christ. Romans 1:19-20 (NLT) says “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” God has revealed Himself to this world through His creation. I want to do my part to ensure that His creation stays healthy and vibrate so that generations from now, people will still be able to see God’s hand through His creation.

One of the first steps we incorporated in becoming green was effectively using cloth.

The first step we’ve taken is using cloth bags instead of plastic bags. I keep cloth bags in my purse, my car and by my backdoor. I do this, so that they are easily accessible when I am going grocery shopping, running errands or even cleaning toys out of my car. I admit, it did take a little time to get use to using cloth bags when grocery shopping. I would forget them at home (still do sometimes!) or not bring enough along for all the grocery items. But, once I started having one on hand in my purse and keeping several in my car, I found it to be much easier.

The second step we’ve taken is using cloth napkins instead of paper towels. Jonathan would go through a roll of paper towels in a week if I didn’t watch out. So, when I purchased a 24 set of wash clothes and banished the paper towels, it was an adjustment to say the least. I love using wash clothes over paper towels: they are so much more absorbent, obviously reusable, and sturdy. I will say this, not all of our guests have been as easy going about using a wash cloth as a napkin. Most people don’t have a problem with it, especially since we’ve been doing it for a while, but in the beginning we did get some weird looks.

The third step we’ve taken is using cloth diapers instead of disposables. I’ve blogged about this topic a lot. I will say 3 things I’ve learned about in the last 18+ months of cloth diapering is: delay solids as long as possible; invest in a diaper sprayer – even if you don’t think you’ll use it you really will; and encourage early potty training. While it took Julia longer to catch on to peeing in the potty, she loved pooping from the first time we gave it a shot at 11 months. And she’s been pooping in the potty exclusively since 20 months. A-mazing.

The fourth step we’ve I’ve taken is using cloth pads instead of plastic pads. If you really want to read up on my “adventure” go here or here. Enjoy! 😉