6 month checkpoint

We're coming up on 6 months, and while we have quite a few things still to accomplish (this is pretty much a continuous cycle of change), we are definitely improving.

Buying Then:
We used to shop using coupons and at whichever discount retailer might have items at the lowest cost. It wasn't uncommon for us to purchase items at the dollar store, Wal-mart, or Marketplace Foods (which, while local, offers a lot of outdated items, less-than savory produce at times, and questionable meats.

Buying Now:
We've cut ourselves completely off of Wal-mart (not at all a sacrifice) and have found mostly local vendors for the products we would've normally purchased there. We spend more at Swain's and Sunny Farms than we used to and try to buy things made in the U.S. and organic foods from within the state of WA. We aren't exclusive on this. We still buy and drink coffee, but I avoid Starbucks and big name retailers and have switched to organic, fair trade, shade-grown for our home coffee-pot. We still buy some bulk items at Costco and all of our pet items. But, as Costco is a decent company based in our state, I feel okay about this. Besides, the less packaging I can get away with, the better. We already use our own bags most of the time (although I slip and forget to bring them from time to time).

Buying Later:
I'd like to cut back even further on packaging...buy more in bulk and bring my own containers to avoid using plastic bags. If we could figure our way into buying all of our food from within our state's borders (making our own condiments and dressings) that would be optimal. I'm not willing to give up olive oil, basalmic vinegar, coffee, beer/wine/spirits, so those items will still come from outside our state. Seasonal menus would cut back vegetables and fruits that travel too far. That will be something to look into. Especially if we can begin to grow some of our own within the next few years. I'd also like to begin baking our own bread, making our own tortillas, canning (someday), and making our own pasta from scratch.

Cleaning then:
Whatever looked or sounded like it might work. Or whatever was on sale or was accompanied by a coupon.

Cleaning now:
We haven't bought a new cleaning product since before I started this. I've just been using up what we have. As we use things up, I'm finding alternative, home-made recipes for each of our cleaning needs. I've already made an all-purpose cleaning spray and have some of the ingredients to make glass cleaner, furniture polish, and stain remover. When our current stock of pre-made cleaners runs out, I'll make my own. We use Ecos laundry detergent, and now that I can get their dish-washing soap, I'll do that when I run out of what we have. I also found an environmentally sound liquid dish soap...though I will probably switch to castille soap after this runs out, since I can use it to make other cleaning products, as well. An important change we made early on was giving up paper towels. We bought a package of cloth baby diapers and use them in the place of paper towels and invested in cotton napkins. A summer project: putting up a clothes line!

Health and beauty then:
For me, it was whatever product looked interesting or caught my eye on the shelf or in an advertisement. I bought things because they smelled good, promised a desirable outcome, or had attractive packaging. I often bought things I didn't need.

Health and beauty now:
It's all-natural, almost all the way as far as personal care items are concerned. D. uses Grandpa's soaps and shampoos, I use Nature's Gate, Burt's Bees and Alba facial products, and Kiss My Face and Avalon Organics soaps and lotions. Currently he is using up his stock of Old Spice deodorant, while I am still on the search for an aluminum-free option that really works (even Burt's let me down on this front, though D. plans to try it). I've also transferred over to Alima mineral cosmetics. The only "non-natural" make-up item in my case now is a Cover-girl brow pencil, because I can't find the right color match in the minerals. I also have a red lipstick that I wear on occasion that isn't natural. I currently use Kenra root spray, Loma hair tonic, and Paul Mitchell hairspray, because they are all cruelty-free. I've yet to find viable natural alternatives. I bought a jar of henna hair dye, but I haven't tried it yet. My hair is graying, but it isn't bothering me too much, and the henna dye process seems time-consuming and cumbersome. I have an eye make-up remover that is about to run out...I bought it at Country-Aire...but it contains parabens.

Our health products are not natural (except my cold-drink recipe). We use all the regular stuff: ibuprofen, pepto-bismal, alka-seltzer, prescriptions, etc. But we avoid anti-biotics unless the doc says it's necessary (thankfully, our doctor is very careful about prescribing them).

Health and beauty later:
I'd like to come up with some more natural, herbal remedies that I can make at home. We have used them for our son (other than Tylenol to bring his fevers down and antibiotics twice for infections) exclusively. I also plan to try out Avalon's new hairspray and make my own eye-make up remover (olive oil). I'd like to wean myself off of all other hair products...except henna or vegetable-based dye (if I ever get around to doing it). Also, a better natural sunscreen would be nice. I wasn't thrilled with Burt's. It doesn't rub in really well (leavse a filmy white residue). I also plan to try making a bug spray with catnip. We'll see if it works.

Throwing things out then:
We have always recycled to some extent...bottles, cans, paper.

Throwing things out now:
We definitely try to throw out less. We buy things with less packaging when we can (though we don't go too far in our attempts), we use stainless steel coffee mugs and water canteens. We take our own dishes and silverware to work. And now that we have our compost bin, we throw out mostly just plastics and paper items that cannot be recycled (for whatever reason). We have actually made it to the point that we are ready to cancel garbage service and just head to the dump once a month to recycle and throw out what trash we still have accumulated.

Throwing things out later:
I'd like to figure out a way to use even fewer throw-away items. For example, I could take small cotton bags to the bulk bins for refill, bring my own leftover containers to restaurants, return junk mail.

Transportation:
For us...this isn't likely to change much. We work in separate towns (not far from where we live), so we have to drive. I do try to do my errands on my way home, so I don't drive much on the weekends. We don't leave town much, so long-distance driving is only occasional. We also don't fly very often - maybe once every year or two.

Exercise then:
Let's face it...we were lazy. I'd pop in a workout video from time to time...but mostly, we did very little other than go out dancing on occasion and lift a drink.

Exercise now:
We both run on a regular basis and do some basic strength training at home.

Exercise later:
I'd like to get a bike and a child trailer to take the kiddo out and about without driving. We are lucky enough to have a trail that takes us right into town. Also, when our monetary situation is less tight, I'd like to resume yoga classes (it's the only form of exercise I've ever really liked). I'm sure D. will begin a more strict regimen as well, due to job requirements. Now that the little guy is getting bigger, it'd be nice to go on some family hikes, since we live nestled beside one of the country's most beautiful national parks.

That's about all I can think of for now. I guess this is a work in progress, so more will come...more changes, more ideas. We're doing better, but there are always improvements to be made. With the rate of technological change, certain things may be more accessible to us sooner than we think. Solar or wind power might be more affordable to the average consumer. Grants for these changes might become more abundant and easier to find and obtain.

Ultimately, the idea is to continue slowly uphill. To keep making small changes. Because those small changes will never run out and are more likely to stick if they are steady and gradual.

P.S. We gave up television years ago, but I feel proud of that, so I'm adding it to the list. We still Netflix and watch movies from time to time. But our son isn't allowed to watch T.V. during the week. He gets a Saturday morning cartoon. I know he watched T.V. elsewhere, but at home, it's definitely on the bottom of the list for entertainment.

We also have Energy Star appliances and a front loading washer and drier. That's probably all we are doing in the area of energy conservation, though. So there is room for improvement in that category.