In a society where 24 hours in a day just is never enough, it’s our constant challenge to do it all. I have found myself in the position, once again, where I have taken on more than my share of goals or activities. It seems that so many things are going on around me, it takes my constant attention to just maintain. My iCal has SEVEN different calenders going at once. My husband and three year old daughter & housework are all on the same calender!
Now I know I have a lot going on, but I pale in comparison to some other people; bless you which are more organized and ambitious than I. I have really felt this time vice when I went back to work after staying home with my daughter, Kayla for 2 years. It becomes quite a struggle to keep up with everything and have convenience and sustainability. Isn’t it so much easier to buy another 24 pack of water bottles and recycle your last case than it is to wash refill those bottles a few times? Although the impact of the bottles you just recycled and the new ones you just paid for, which will also be recycled, is important to you, you just find yourself without the time, energy or patience. So how do you compromise? As I keep up with my struggle, I am going to share some ideas of how to save time, money and the planet.
Here are a few to try out:
Baking groups: So we all would like to have fresh home made goodies made locally with love. We don’t have the time, or the talent to make them all ourselves. Talk to your friends and neighbors about what they like to make and each of you can find something to contribute each week. If you don’t have time to bake, consider working out a price to purchase the products instead. I purchase my tortillas and pitas from a friend of mine. I pay less than I would for the same from a store, and they are so good.
Community Gardens / Container Gardens:
This option does take a bit more time and effort to plan and get started, but once you get things going there are amazing benefits. Besides an abundance of local home groan organic food for low overall cost, you can plant as little or as much as you want and kindle new relationships. Late last summer, when the community garden my girlfriends and I had in my back yard was full of great tomatoes, peppers and we were finishing up the last of our carrot crop. Our young children learned about plants, bugs, the earth and how to make a dam in my back yard pond which resulted in a ‘beaver stick’ debacle of a back yard. I am about to invite the girls over for a campfire night with the kids, precisely placed over our former zucchini patch. Maybe we can kill all the squash bugs that ate out plants last year while we’re at it; but if not at least will have roasted marshmallows.