Natural Living: How We Started Living Sustainably as a Family of Five

 

It was 2020.

 

But it was pre-covid 202o, so it wasn’t “2020” 2020, if you know what I mean.

 

I was in my 7th month of my third pregnancy, and I was in full nesting mode.

 

I don’t know the science behind it, but I’m utterly convinced that the personality and interests of a baby determine pretty much everything about the pregnancy. My relaxed, observant, and nature-obsessed baby was growing inside me and all of my nesting passions were circling around simplicity, nature, and sustainability.

 

Don’t ask ME why, ask her. 🙂

 

Natural Living — The Start

 

For years I have been dabbling with DIYs and essential oils. I became a pescatarian at 15. I’ve been thrifting, mending, and sewing since childhood. Living with things that weren’t completely on-trend and out of a big-box store was semi-normal to me. (I was homeschooled after all).

 

But that was pretty much it.

 

2019 was the year that a series of documentaries (and blogs) opened my eyes about hidden toxic ingredients in everyday items. I began a “wellness” journey. I started removing toxic products from around our home and stopped bringing new ones in. Of course, my medicine cabinet never reached perfection (I’m still on the journey). Avoiding toxic products, however, was pretty much it (and a fairly low bar at that).

 

And then: my nature baby.

 

My pre-born baby and I started watching Youtube videos about simplicity (slowing down, non-tox life, minimalism, etc.) during our afternoon indoor cycling sessions. I began watching a Canadian momblogger named Sarah Therese and she discussed ethical fashion in a few videos.  It was eye-opening to say the least. I hadn’t considered the alarming fact that I could be dressing my daughters in clothes that had been (forcibly) made by another child.

 

Not.

 

Ok.

 

At all.

 

I had to know more.

 

For so long, I had been viewing objects through the extremely limited lens of one thing: how an item would function/exist in my life. As insane as it sounds, I hadn’t considered their production cycle much at all.  It was humbling, shocking, and concerning that the things in my life (and what I was bringing into my life) had so much backstory.

 

This changed everything me.

 

Google, Youtube, Pinterest.  I started learning more.

 

And turns out, there was another entire cycle I was missing: the end-of-life cycle of an object. What happens to it when I let it go? When I throw it away, what exactly is ‘away?’

 

Google, Youtube, Pinterest. I needed to learn more.

 

One video led to another and we stumbled upon Madeline Olivia, Youtuber and author of Minimal: How to Simplify Your Life and Live Sustainably. Her content was fascinating and eye-opening to say the least. Simply by Christine, Shelbizleee, and Sustainably Vegan videos started taking over our biking sessions. An awareness starting swelling inside me (us).

 

*cue Disney orchestra swell of A Whole New World*

 

That really was it.

 

All the dots aligned to me.

 

My interest in minimalism, simplicity, an frugality had been crowned with a connecting goal: sustainability.

 

*aha moment*

 

My desire to simplify our household belongings linked up with my attempts to live frugally. My growing interest in living a non-tox life aligned perfectly with a sustainable way of protecting the natural world around us.  Funding a corrupt industry wasn’t necessary with the knowledge that there are good ones to support instead.   Basically, the one ingredient missing from our pursuit of Natural Living was sustainability. It was like the stars had fallen into place and there was a spot for me.

 

A spot for us!

 

The Aftermath of my Aha

 

I think it’s important to note that while we we started living sustainably soon after in very minuscule ways, we did not become sustainable overnight. Much like the journey to a non-tox life, that I had been on for quite a few months, going sustainable did not “just happen.” The only thing that did happen instantaneously, is that I couldn’t “unsee” the sustainable movement.

 

For the months that I had been researching and shifting to achieve a life that was low on toxic ingredients (in food, beauty, and household products), I had completely missed the packaging. I was fixated on removing toxic products from our family and hadn’t even considered that those toxic products were just as bad for the environment we lived in. More importantly, those toxic products had been really unhealthy for the people that made them, and would likely cause further hurt to others when we threw them away. Realizing that my goals for the family aligned for what was best for the planet as a whole felt really, really good.

 

But that wasn’t enough.

 

Sure, eliminating added fragrance from lotion was much better for my babies’ skin. And it was better for the planet that those fragrances were never produced. But what about the part that didn’t harm my family, but did harm the planet? Was there a way to get lotion that wasn’t mass-produced in a wasteful factory and bottled in a plastic-wrapped, plastic tube?

 

(ps that actually would also be healthier for my family)

 

Trying to become non-tox wasn’t really achievable without embracing sustainability. I couldn’t consider our medicine cabinet, pantry, or home “healthy” if we were, in fact, living “unhealthy” in terms of the environment. If our carbon footprint was damaging to our homeland, the “health” we were accessing would be so fleeting.

 

Did it matter that the air quality of our home had improved, while each year the air quality outside our home was declining? Could I really say that I didn’t support toxic products in our home, and still vote with my dollar on poisoning the environment?

 

 

How We Started Living Sustainably

 

Whenever someone asks “where do I start?” in the sustainability community, the answer is usually either “a metal straw” or “a trash audit.” Our start looked a little different. For one thing, I don’t like straws that much. For another, we didn’t need to do a trash audit. We were throwing away everything. We didn’t have a compost. Our recycling efforts were half-hearted. We hadn’t changed an ounce of our consuming habits (except that we consumed healthier foods and products).

 

I started by making a list on my phone. I did a “where am I at?” audit for everything that was disposable in our life. I compiled a list of future swaps (sustainable cleaning brushes, rechargeable batteries, etc) and a list of swaps I already had or could easily do (reusable coffee filter, tote bags for groceries, etc).

 

I also decided I would defund the fast-fashion industry to the best of my ability.  Talk about it being impossible to “unsee” the sustainable movement. I couldn’t “treat” myself to fast-fashion clothes knowing that they could have been so detrimental to another person’s life. It was a pledge I could make to myself that didn’t involve making a swap or making something from scratch. I would simply have to start hunting for pre-loved things or ones that came from ethical brands.

 

Slow But Steady

 

Now that I knew “where we were” I could start reaching towards where we wanted to be.

 

I continued to consume. (Youtube videos, I mean). And as I watched and researched swaps to make, the “why’s” behind changes, and the “what’s” behind production, I continued to update the list of swaps on my phone. I added some simple “goals” and some basic “why’s” to it too. (I still have it and use it!) My swap list expanded. Progress was being made. Halfway through 2020, we invested in a compost bin. We researched the recycling rules of our area to drastically reduce our trash. Those two adjustments made a huge difference!

 

The biggest learning curve for me (way harder than recycling and composting) was saying ‘no.’

 

I love a good deal. It can be really hard to pass up a sale–especially a freebie. When we started living sustainably, the reducing and reusing was the most “exciting” part (until composting entered/took over my life). And the least exciting part was refusing. But my reducing, reusing, recycling, and rotting had to work overtime if I wasn’t willing to refuse. So I started doing that too.

 

Despite our best and new efforts, we still made trash. (We still do.) The pandemic made it hard to make as much progress as we would have liked. But progress is progress. And the sustainability movement encourages everyone to remember that the ultimate goal is progress, not perfection.

 

Today, 2021

 

Sustainability has become a big part of pursuing Natural Living for us. I think sustainability is a better word for us than zero waste or eco-minimalism. I try to reduce our trash, sure, but the real adjustment has been reducing our consumption in a variety of areas (see above).  Really, my ultimate goal is making choices that benefit our family and the planet. As it goes for Natural Living, I like our food to be as close to the source as possible and our daily activities to embrace nature, not destroy it. Mostly, I want our lifestyle to be maintainable (sustainable for us).

 

What is maintainable for my family is not always possible for others. And what others have achieved is certainly not always possible (or even close to possible) for mine. We still move (which has a big fat carbon footprint). We own 2 cars. Our batteries are still not rechargeable. But rather than shy away from labels or throw in the towel, I would rather just say we are still in the achieving stage. We started living sustainably, but the finish line isn’t even in sight.

 

As many others have said, perfect sustainability (even for those with trash jars) is practically impossible. But, what is possible is trying a little bit every day. Swap by swap, habit by habit, every little change actually does make a difference. The one single produce bag you refuse is one less produce bag wasted when (bananas don’t actually need a bag) your cotton ones are at home.

 

Instead of beating myself up for buying pretzels in a plastic bag, I try to focus on the fact that I bought salsa in a recyclable container. If I can buy my pineapple whole and cut it myself, I’ll do that over buying it packaged. (It’s cheaper too!) Wherever possible, choosing the sustainable option, and not agonizing over the unsustainable choices, has been a healthy balance for our family of five. I’m not going to use my compost bin as an excuse to create a ton of food waste. But I’m also going to not panic over the inevitable food waste that comes with having toddlers, since composting is the best way our family can navigate that waste.

 

To Infinity and Beyond

 

If I had to give a single “why” to explain the reason we started living sustainably, it’s simply this: “why not?”

 

Why support unethical businesses/business practices when you don’t have to?

 

Will toxic ingredients serve your family better than natural ones?

 

What will happen to the environment if we don’t stop over-consuming?

 

When will enough damage/destruction be enough?

 

How can we expect anyone else to make a difference if we aren’t making it too?

 

It’s been a year and a half since we started living sustainably (or rather, trying to). And we haven’t looked back once! I definitely attribute the “success” to gradual progress. “Ripping off the bandaid” so to speak is not universally effective for a family of five. It certainly would not have worked in our case. There have been an occasional swap or two that doesn’t work out (toddlers and soap bars don’t always mix). But tackling everything with balance and glacial change has allowed us to arrive at this lifestyle naturally and maintain the progress we make.  It’s easy to say our Natural Living goals have been so greatly enhanced by embracing sustainability.

 

And it’s even easier to say we aren’t going to stop!