Sustainable Camping

Each day I try to be as green as possible.  My hopes are that I am not only doing something for the planet but for my children as well.  Whenever we go shopping we use cloth bags.  We recycle everything we can.  We just started our first compost bin.  All in all I think we are doing pretty good.  Some of my goals are to start a garden so we can have fresh veggies.  A big goal is to get a hybrid vehicle. Gotta get a nursing job first for that one.

Right now our upcoming green adventure is a camping trip.  We have been sort of camping.  Now we have the opportunity to go next week and I cannot wait. We will be staying in a tent and cooking over the fire. I have been searching the web for tips and how to's all week.  My family loves nature and this will be fun for all of us.

The downside to camping is that it seems people use more disposable products when camping.

• plastic cups
• paper plates
• canned drinks
• plastic utensils
• plastic water bottles

  I understand why.  Its easy to use and easy to clean up.  Sure.  But how does that teach my children to be green.  I decided we will use dishes that can be washed and reused.  They are plastic but we won't have as much trash as we would using paper product.  And we will wash in hot water, no soap (rules of the camp ground) so we don't damage any of the foliage around us when we dump the water.  Of course we will use reusable water bottles.  Our table cloth for the picnic table will be reusable as well.  The theme will be reusable, could you tell.

I enjoy being in nature.  But while I am enjoying it I don't want to be ruining it at the same time.

I have the perfect vision of our upcoming camping trip in my mind.  Don't worry, I know it will be nothing like it.  But I am sure special memories will be hidden within the chaos. 

Have you been on a camping trip recently with your family?  Do you have any tips you would like to share with me?

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.