I've been thinking about writing this post for some time now. I'm still not really sure how I want to go about it since there's so much content floating around in my head all mostly related to this one thing. How can we be intentional consumers?
I'll first start with this. My journey first started over 9 years ago. It's a process. Sometimes we compare ourselves to others that we see doing something similar, but I can tell you Roosevelt had it right, comparison is the thief of joy. You are not them, so don't expect to be like them. Sure, we can take things we see others doing and apply principles to our lives, but I think we so often lose the filter of who we are. That filter should be applied to everything, because we are our own unique persons.
Alright. I'm pretty sure I started with paper towels. I had a friend who was on the crunchy side and had ventured down the path of wanting to give birth to her first born at home. Through her journey, I got to hear all about things she was learning and adopted a few of them for myself. I actually remember quite a bit over the course of that season of our friendship. It was very enlightening and fascinating to me, even though at the time I didn't have any children or even a husband.
I'm sure the first little while was challenging, but honestly I adjusted pretty quickly. I picked out some lovely beige linen and my mom helped me turn them into napkins. I also kept some rags under the sink for any mishaps that needed to be cleaned up - anything I would typically use a paper towel for. Instead of throwing it away, I would just throw it in the wash.
Around the same time I was also introduced to the EWG (Environmental Working Group)'s Cosmetic Database and switched my cleaning products over to Shaklee products which are nontoxic, natural, super concentrated, and have no phosphates.
All of that to say that when I look at all of the advances I'm seeing in today's crowd, it excites me that more people are getting on that train. But I also know that some people are anxious and don't know how to start. Or they question what difference them as one person can really make. I'm sure over the course of 9 years, I've saved a ton of trees and have used far less gunk in my home making it more of a safe environment for our family. And that's just those 2 small changes I made years ago.
Whatever you feel easiest for you, your family, and your lifestyle, start there! I can promise that it gets easier and one thing leads to another. If you're on the fence, what's the biggest fear or roadblock you feel is preventing you from just getting started? If you have started making changes to how you consume, what's been helpful for you on your journey?
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A great place to get started on being more intentional with your consumption habits.
