Mike found a great article in The Green Guide: Green Room to Grow In about it being easiest to make greener/healthier lifestyle changes when you have a baby. This article has some great things to think about in terms of what your child is exposed to in the nursery, but even I started to read it with the “oh give me a break that’s not going to kill them” outlook.
The reality is it’s not easy being green. No matter how much you do, you can always be doing more, it seems. And the concept of sustainability and the idea that we need to think about what happens to all our “stuff” when we’re done with it is a relatively new concept to most of us. The fact that our stuff increases at such an alarming rate with a new little person around is daunting for anyone concerned about the environment. It’s easy to just throw in the towel.
When I was pregnant, we were totally on board with protecting Reilly from the smallest trace of fluorocarbon or PCB, and when we planned his nursery, we thought about avoiding plastics and paint fumes, etc. We thought we were being conscientious by choosing a hardwood crib.
But then he was born and reality set in.
We were immediately flummoxed by the pros and cons of disposables vs. cloth diapers, and finally decided to go the path of least resistance, (but inordinate amounts of guilt), and went with disposables (but, there is still hope!). We tried Seventh Generation diapers, but didn’t like them (too bulky, and when I decided to try again, after dropping to part-time work, too expensive). A friend recommended cornstarch diapers and even gave us a coupon for them, but the reality was we needed diapers we could run out and pick up at any store, not something we had to shop at a special store for or order over the internet and wait to be delivered. He changed diaper sizes so quickly, and we were so run down from all the new work required in our lives, not to mention the budget changes that go with having a child and cutting back on work and one salary … it was (and still is, though I am not proud to say it) not only disposable diapers, but the cheapest, most prolific we could find, environment be damned. For those of you still facing this decision, check out the Diaper Report at Green Guide – I wish I’d read this when I was starting out.
Since we had Reilly we consume more energy, make more waste, and generally use so many more resources than we used to that it is overwhelming to think about. So our desire to be that perfect green family is still a distant dream (cotton batting in all couches is a long way away for us!)
The reality is we pick and choose. In some areas we are thoroughly green and smug. In others we are horrible, earth-destroying consumers who are practically out cutting down the trees ourselves. We pay extra for baby wipes that are fragrance free and biodegradable. We skimp on the diapers. We have made a lot of changes in the area I find it easiest - and most economical - to make changes. We have a great micro fiber mop that cleans with only water. We try to avoid plastic toys, but we have plenty, many hand-me-downs, some gifts, but some that we have purchased ourselves from huge retailers like Target.
I still have plenty of horrible cleaning chemicals that I am going to use as sparingly as possible until they are gone, and then I will not buy any more, or use them as sparingly as possible. I am trying to live without bleach, but this is Washington after all, and that mold and mildew sometimes need to be attacked with bleach. But I use it as a last resort. I have doubled my purchases of vinegar and baking soda and been pretty impressed with what you can do with them in various combinations. A lot of the new micro fiber cloths are antibacterial and clean glass with just water. The up-front investment in the cloth is totally worth it to avoid having that under sink nightmare (because yes, we installed the safety catches on all our cabinets, but half of them are not working properly or broken and we are going to get around to fixing them really soon, but…)
So I take heart in the final sentence of the article: being green is a continual balancing act and a green lifestyle need not be perfect. This is definitely an area where being a parent multiplies the issue tenfold. So, as Mike always says, we’re working on it. And as I like to say, every little bit helps. I think the fact that we’re even thinking about it, and you’re even reading this, is a step in the right direction!