Life Changes

Before Marco and I decided to go off and get hitched, we decided to take a good long look at the kinds of things we excepted to get out of this future relationship.  This meant digging deep into our personal views on religion, politics, family, home life, work life and partnerships.  Was it all easy and fun to talk about?  No.  Does this mean the hard part is over and now we can quit talking and being all honest with each other?  Not hardly.  But it was a great way to break the ice on these potential deal breakers.

Well one thing we both easily agreed on at the very beginning of our relationship and when we bought this house was that we both think that being "eco friendly" is very important.  Being all "I'm from Italy" gives Marco the edge on this because trust me, they do things differently over there.  I cannot speak for the entire country (or the continent) but the parts of Italy/Europe in general that I've been to and seen have a big jump start on this go green movement.  I'll admit, I love to talk a good game, but until a few weeks ago, I was having a really hard time stepping up to the plate.

That's when we saw these two documentaries (for free- I checked them out at my local public library):  Dive and No Impact Man.  They both got me thinking about putting my money (and my work ethic) where my mouth is.  Long story still long... we've decided to make a few changes around here.  I hope to update as we check them off our list, but here's a good idea of where we stand so far.

• Replace paper towels with flannel and cotton
• Install a rain barrel for watering the garden
• Plant a huge garden and
• Preserve said garden via canning/freezing/preserving
• Give up fast food and all processed foods - This one is a hard one for me
• Start running more
• Read the ingredients on our supplies (cosmetic, body, bath) and make better purchasing decisions
• Start biking to work at least 6 months out of the year 
• Compost all food scraps (or make vegetable stock)
• Stop the thoughtless buying- buy intentionally
• Stock up on reusable bags and quit the plastic 
• Buy from our local farmers markets and CSAs
• Invest in a meatshare 
• Update our cleaning supplies with natural options and fewer chemicals (especially important with Mr. Sensitive Sad Sack and his skin infections)
• Update my wardrobe with handmade items 

And the list goes on and on.  Some changes are too mundane to mention: reuse plastic containers for homemade concoctions, and some you probably don't want too many details about: chemical free feminine products.  But the point is this:  we're working on it and it's getting better all the time.