I'm proud to say that my/our New Year's resolution is still going strong, even better than ever in a way. We (mostly me) are still actively searching for the best eco-friendly choices for our family. I can't say that I magically lost 10 pounds by rarely eating meat (and I admit, this was something of a motivator as I hear of family and friends who have also undergone vegetarian-esque transformations and have all slimmed down remarkably). And I can't say that I feel wonderful. But, I can say that I feel better about myself in a number of ways: I feel healthier, I feel happy in my choices, and I feel more morally responsible. Through lots of searching and thinking and accidents, I've found out about a lot of stuff that I didn't know before. I know that I've been relying on lists a lot, but humor my tendency once more.
*I've learned that you can buy organic vegetable seeds at Lowes.
*I've learned that my Aldi's doesn't carry organic dairy products. Alas.
*I've learned that I really kind of wish that I live in Carmel just so I could frequent the Whole Foods market down there. It's divine as far as supermarkets go.
*I've learned that Sprout is my favorite organic baby food, partly because it's a company founded by Tyler Florence, my groovy cutie tv chef.
*I've learned that my local Marsh clearanced out all of their Seventh Generation diapers, which happened to all be the exact size that Abby wears. I scored about 200 diapers for $.15/diaper, which is just as cheap if not cheaper than any other diaper.
*I've learned that Meijer is now stocking their shelves with more eco-friendly products from soap to veggies. This pleases me.
*I've realized that it costs a lot of money, not just for organic products but for healthier eating habit products.
*I've realized that I feel really uncomfortable to give Abby toys that are made from cheap plastic or teething rings that are obviously not eco-friendly.
*I've realized that it's virtually impossible to find any eco-friendly clothing in Kokomo without venturing forth in the realms of the internet.
*I've discovered a belief that it's morally irresponsible to know how to act more eco-friendly and then to blatantly choose not to act that way. I want to say that this doesn't apply to everything as how practical or possible is it to sell your car and buy a hybrid? This was something that Ben and I reckoned with as we went through the car buying process a month ago. We didn't buy a hybrid, but we did buy something that works for us and is as earth-hugging as we can afford. I think that I might come across as a hypocrite right here, but I don't think I should be.
We're really trying to live more responsibly. I feel like splitting this year into quarters to re-evaluate as I go. Is the experiment working? I'm pretty sure that I won't be comfortable going back "to the way it was before" when the year is over. I just can't.
Oh yeah, happy Earth week. :-)
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