Better Late Than Never

When I was in high school I was very involved in S.E.A.T, Student Environmental Awareness Team. I was the president my senior year in fact. I had always considered myself green and respectful of the earth. But as I have gotten older and have had more children I stopped being green.

Just a few weeks ago I was thinking about all the things I wanted to do with my life. One of them was not trash the environment. I have always used the kids as an excuse or its expensive to be "green". Well, no more excuses.

Last week I volunteered at the summer camp where my husband, Jason, and I met. Camp Ondessonk. My daughter was spending her first week there. It made me realize that I can't take back the damage that I have done but I can start again.

So I have decided that each week my family will implement a new step towards being a green family.

First step; trying to get my 20 month old son into cloth diapers. I am not sure how this will go. We actually tried this when my oldest was first born. Obviously it didn't take. But we are trying again. I visited "Little Ants" a green parenting store in Evansville,IN and bought a couple pairs of Bummis Super Brite diaper covers. Today, my son hasn't been in anything but cloth diapers. We even had a poopy diaper and survived.

I have been reading about cloth diapering and researching the different brands. True it can be expensive at the start. That $20 pack of disposables is looking really good. But if you buy 3 packs a month that's $60 a month and $720 a year. Cloth diapers can be washed and reused. If you have enough you can maybe just add 2-3 extra loads of laundry a week. And if you line dry that saves you money too.

I think our first step is going well. The Bummis are super cute and come in a variety of styles and colors.

So are you willing to try it out? Take the plunge into cloth diapers. You may be surprised at just how easy they are. Who knows you may even become addicted.

My next step... getting rid of chemical based household cleaners and making my own natural cleaners. This will be really interesting.