The Green Part- I’m passionate about recycling! I recycle anything and everything I can. I’m a member of the Freecycle community (www.freecycle.org) and I feel much better about “freecycling” things rather than just throwing them away. I’m big into reusable shopping bags. Unless I’m taking an unplanned stop at the grocery store I always take my canvas/reusable shopping bags to the store when I shop. I actually prefer this now. They can fit more groceries into one bag and the bag is sturdy enough to where it doesn’t rip while I”m lugging groceries into the house. And I feel like I’m doing my part in helping reduce the amount of plastic that is used. I’m in the process of finding reusable lunch items to send in Mike and Katelyn’s lunch, rather than using plastic baggies all the time. I send Katelyn to school with a real spoon, her juice cup, and many times Tupperware containers. I don’t send juice boxes or plastic spoons (usually).

I still have problems with “green” cleaning products. Especially in my tub and toilet! I haven’t found any yet that I feel clean those two very well. My  tub( a large, jacuzzi tub) is a beast to clean! I’ve used all natural products to clean it before and I have to use a lot of physical force to do it. By the time I’m done I need a nap. I loathe cleaning my tub so I have been using bleach products to clean it.

I still wash and reuse my plastic baggies as much as possible! You can go ahead and laugh at me. It’s become a habit now. I have saved some money by doing that as I don’t got through boxes of plastic bags nearly as quickly as I used to. The only time I don’t wash and reuse is when there’s been raw meat in the bag. Then it goes right in to the trash.

The cloth diapers are put away for now, as Madelyn has begun potty training. Once we get back from our trip to TX we’re going right to underwear and training pants. We won’t be using Pull-Ups all that much.

The Organized Part- I’ve actually done really well with this part since the last time I wrote about this. We did a lot of work on our house this past summer that has helped us get organized.  Now that we have a playroom our living room has stayed pretty clean and organized for the most part. Our new dining room(that used to be the playroom/office) looks good all the time now. There is very rarely piles of anything on it. I’ve really stayed on top of the girls and their toys. It’s been a chore but I keep track of what they are taking out and am constantly telling them to clean up and put something away that I noticed they aren’t playing with. There has been a lot of moaning and groaning and struggling over this. I had gotten to where I dreaded telling them to clean up their toys because it had gotten to be such a huge, long and drawn out process. They don’t get as overwhelmed now that I keep track of what they are taking out and thus are more willing to clean up.

My biggest struggle right now is coming up with a new, efficient and productive schedule now that we’ve added three days of school for Katelyn, Awana/Bible Study and dance. I’ve finally figured out what I need to do is come up with a daily schedule of events for each day and divvy up the major cleaning chores during those days. Dropping Katelyn off and picking her takes up a huge chunk of the day! I know that sounds like complaining but it’s not. I guess I just wasn’t expecting Katelyn going to school to be as much work as it is on my part. I’ve found that one thing that leads to organization is simplicity. That is starting to become my mantra. I used to think simplicity was boring and lazy. Now I know differently! Simplicity is the key to my sanity.

The Natural  Living Part- I’m still working on this part. It’s a struggle. I’m still reading labels, trying to eat food as close to it’s natural state as possible(for our family!) and trying to eat…simply. Eating simply has actually helped in the organization part because I found that cooking dinner was taking a huge chunk of the evening each night and then the clean up was a pain. For four people! Most of who didn’t like or eat most of what I was making! I don’t buy all organic right now. I can’t afford it. Right now I stick with buying organic dairy items. Since we drink a lot of milk I want my girls to drink organic, hormone free milk. Once our food budget allows I’ll most likely move up to organic meat. I have given up on organic produce for right now. It’s sooo expensive and the offerings at my grocery store aren’t that great. I try to wash my fruits and vegetables as best as I can and then enjoy them for what they are.

As far as body products go, I don’t use all natural products with everything. I use Suave shampoo ( because it’s so inexpensive) and bar soap. I’ve found we like olive oil ba soap by Kiss My Face. I use that on the girls too. The bar isn’t cheap but since it’s so big it lasts awhile. I do use goat’s milk shampoo on the girls’ hair right now. Makeup, lotions etc are usually what I can find on sale or what I buy from my sister’s Mary Kay business. Again,as time and budget allows I’ll slowly start looking in to more natural body products but it will be a slow process.

The Simple Part- Like I said above, simplicity is becoming my mantra and motto. What’s the easiest, most stream lined way to do this? What will make this task, this room or this job more streamlined and efficient? I used to love knick knacks and decorations around my house. The  more the merrier. Ha! Not anymore. The knick knacks are being freecycled and I”m looking at everything I do with fresh eyes. Including relationships that are draining and past their prime. Yes, some relationships and people can be time and energy wasters.Time to move on.

The Healthy Part- We’ve been doing better at this! Or, should I say, Mike has been doing better at this. We recently got an elliptical and Mike has been using it very consistently! I’m so proud of him. He also gave a me a list of fruits and vegetables he likes and ones he’s willing to try. So far he’s started eating grapes, carrot sticks,spinach and celery with almond butter. I’ve been using the elliptical too but not nearly as much as I’d like to. Once we get back from Texas we won’t have any more huge commitments or upcoming events at our house. I plan on focusing my attention on the elliptical more. We started eating fish about 2 or 3 times a month. I make baked haddock and we all like it. I want to try some other types of fish although Mike isn’t crazy about the idea.I’ve been trying to eat my fruits and veggies consistently and offering them to the girls. Those foods are still not my first choice when I’m looking for something to snack on. I have to make myself eat them. I’ve found that if I cut them up(yes, as if I’m giving them to a child!) I eat them better. I have to prepare the fruit or veggie right along with my food. If I plan on eating it later I won’t get to it. I feel like I do throw a lot of veggies away but I feel like it’s worth it in the long run since the girls  are being exposed to these healthy foods.  I’ve tried to limit the amount of boxed snacks and desserts we keep in the house. The girls know there are certain foods we don’t eat anymore and they are used to it.  It’s hard!

So, there you have it. Any comments or suggestions for me? Are you struggling with the same stuff?