Our journey to resourceful, sustainable living.
We have been plotting and planning the course of this journey for the past couple of years. We've decided not to wait another day. Thus, as the first days of the new year are here we will put one foot in front of the other and take the first steps on our path to freedom.
Freedom...Freedom from what? Freedom to do what? Aren't we already free? The BEST things in life are free! Nothing in life is free! Sorry, rabbit trail.
I know you all are dying to know what kind of freedom I am talking about! Oh, come on, you know you are! Ok, here it goes...
Freedom FROM consumption and consumerism; freedom from the need for excess; freedom from the tyranny of wastefulness, ungratefulness and laziness that has plagued our family for too long; freedom from reliance on a FAILING bureaucratic system.
Freedom TO make our own choices about what we feel is best for OUR family, be better stewards of what the Lord gave us, and set the course for our selves and our children; freedom to provide our children with the life skills necessary to either follow our path or make their own.
Now that that's out of the way, here are a few of Our First Steps...
REDUCE:
waste
water usage
consumption of goods/services provided by others at a cost
REUSE:
repurpose items
utilize 'washable' household products
RETHINK:
determine priorities - physical, spiritual, & mental
analyze and adjust perspective
innovate methods to provide a more suitable expense to income ratio
For all of you who are application oriented like me, we've made a list of "steps" toward our goal.
Practically speaking...
Keep lights off during the day, and when we're not in the room
Use CF bulbs in all of our fixtures
Keep appliances unplugged until needed
Turn off the water when brushing our teeth
Flush only solid waste
Make homemade, cost-efficient, environmentally friendly household cleaning products
Reduce use of paper and plastics
Cook from scratch
"Shop" at bargain or consignment stores
Compost kitchen scraps
Become a "Locavore"
Grow as much of our own produce as possible
Raise poultry for eggs and meat consumption
Harvest game for low-cost, lean protein
Just to name a few...
We are so excited to be embarking on this new expedition. We welcome you to come along and walk side by side with us as we document our journey. You can expect to see our every step toward freedom including each success and failure (where I will be cry inconsolably), lots of pictures (I'm a visual person), and videos, in the form of weekly post updates.
So what are your goals for this year? We would love to hear what you are striving for in 2011!!!
