Challenge 5: Waste

We are on to our next challenge of the book. Today starts our 4 week challenge on "Waste". We thought for a while what we wanted to put on our list. Fortunately, in the large scheme of things, this category comes fairly easy for us. From early on, I remember having a soft heart toward recycling and trying to help the earth. I clung to different statistics you would hear in school or the media about landfills and all the incomprehensible amount of waste that fills them every day. I've always tried to do my part in keeping our planet healthy. So we decided to include on our list, a few things that we have already been doing and will continue to do even after this challenge. We also added a few things that will be a stretch for us, but are hoping to be able to incorporate them going forward. Here's our seven:

1) Recycling
2) One car family
3) Biking/busing
4) Cloth diapering
5) "Buy local"
6) Omit wasteful packaging
7) Turing the water off while brushing my teeth (E)/Turning lights off (J)

I think my mom helped spur my passion for recycling. I remember doing it growing up and since have grown into a recycling Nazi. It's so easy to do. If you are looking to start somewhere, start here. Recycling, I think, is the springboard to starting other "greener" ways of doing things.

It's been almost 11 months that we moved to our new home and really has been quite the lifestyle change we'd been hoping for. We absolutely love our house, but maybe even more so, we love the location of Lincoln it has brought us to. We were so tired of the drive we would both take to and from work 5 days a week. Granted, it's just Lincoln, not like bumper to bumper traffic or anything. But even just 15 minutes of driving when you just want to be home got stressful as the days went on. Shortly before we moved, we decided to try life as a "one-car family". We knew it would be an adaption process, but decided we'd never know if we didn't try. Well, we are surviving! And not "just" surviving. At this point, I'd honestly be annoyed having another car. We love the extra space we have in our garage, we love not having to pay insurance or repairs on two vehicles. It forces us to plan our days strategically if need be. I will add that a factor in deciding to sell a car was that we have a couple family resources close by that if we do need an extra car, there is always one available.

So last year, after selling a car, Justin and I bought brand new, fancy-shmancy bikes. For the past year we've been either biking to work or using the city bus. We both work only about 10-12 blocks from our house. We really only use our car probably 3-4 days out of the week.

I blogged a lot about our cloth diapering experience with Eloise, so I don't think I need to go into much detail on number 4 on our list. I will say that I'm so thankful we decided to do it and I love talking about our experience with it with expecting parents.

We are starting our challenge on the day that the Haymarket Farmer's Market begins. Justin and I actually have a breakfast date this morning at our favorite restaurant, Bread & Cup, which also happens to be local and is a block away from the market. We are planning to shop one of the several farmer's markets that Lincoln offers, each week to be able to create at least 3 dinner meals a week. Once again, our location is perfect for biking to the market as well. In addition, we are going to buy bread, eggs, meat and the produce available for our weekly staples.

I basically hate the idea of using something once and throwing it away. It takes months for me to use an entire roll of paper towels. We use cloth napkins and I cringe when I use a ziplock baggie. We are going to try to incorporate that same idea with items we buy at the store. Cheese sticks will be the biggie. It is so handy to have those on hand. But 1) they are so expense and 2) there is so much packaging wasted! Why not buy a block of cheese and cut it into sticks? Extra time, yes, but money saved and waste lost.

And finally, Justin and I each evaluated one thing we personally would like to challenge ourselves to do. Even with all these "hippy" things we've incorporated into our lives, it's embarrassing to admit that I leave the water running when I brush my teeth. Gasp! I really want to change this and now's the perfect time to do it! And for Justin, he sometimes has a habit of leaving the light on when he leaves a room. Lucky for us, both of these habits annoy the other person, so we've given each other free reign to provide "friendly reminders" for the duration of the challenge.

One final thing I wanted to add is an excerpt from the book. There are times, usually in the middle of washing dirty diapers, when I think, "Why? What's the point in me doing this. One family recycling and trying to reduce waste, what different is that going to make?" The author of the book shared some wisdom:

If God is really at the center of things and God's good future is the most certain reality, then the truly realistic course of action is to buck the dominant consequentialist ethic of our age--which says that we should act only if our action will most likely bring about good consequences--and simply, because we are people who embody the virtue of hope, do the right thing. If we believe it is part of our tasks as earthkeepers to recycle, then we ought to recycle, whether or not it will change the world. Do the right thing. If we think it part and parcel of our ecological obedience to drive less and walk more, then that is what we ought to do. Do the right thing. We should fulfill our calling to be caretakers of the earth regardless of whether global warming is real or there are holes in the ozone layer or three nonhuman species become extinct each day. Our vocation is not contingent on results or the state of the planet. Our calling simply depends on our identity as God's response-able human image-bearers.