It's back-to-school time and I personally believe this is the real
new year. This is the time for resolutions - yes, I'm that much of an
academic nrrd. My life revolves around academic years. So what better
resolution than to be more green?
Eco-Friendly Families,
a new book by Helen Coronato, gives you the outline for your whole
family to lead a more green life. Now let me tell you, we are not the
picture of a green family. Forgive me Goddess, for we have sinned! We
live in Chicago which has a horrible recycling program and we're too
lazy to haul our recyclables to a community center. We have a 5yo girl
who could draw and write 24/7 if we let her, so we go thru more than
our fair share of paper. I also indulge in frozen dinners for lunch at
work.
Did I feel overwhelmed by this book? Yes. Did Coronato address
that? YES! Basically she reminds you to go slow. Pick things that you
can do or can get your family to do.
My favorite part of the
book is near the beginning in chapter 3. She gives us month to month
goals and only 4 of them called "The Eco-Friendly Four." The first tip
for August is this:
Once
school starts, so do computer projects. this year, put a dual-can
practice into place wherever you have a printer. Mark one can "garbage"
and one can "paper only." If your waste baskets don't have lids, reuse
a piece of cardboard from an old box and attach a homemade lid that has
to be lifted. this way, no one is absentmindedly dropping paper into
the garbage can or vice versa. Before computer paper ever his the
recycling container, make sure you have used both sides. Set up a paper
tray for collecting sheets that can be used again. When it's time to
purchase a new ream, look for recycled paper products.
The
book has a lot of achievable goals. Don't work the book front to back
as if you have to do this before that. Jump to areas you think you can
really accomplish. For us it might be about cleaning solutions and
paper use. We do have a new paper collection box just a few blocks from
us. I also want to start remembering to bringing old shopping bags to
the mall. I keep most of the bags I get from Ann Taylor Loft...they are
great reusable bags. My problem is remembering to reuse them at their
store!
~~~~~
I was able to talk with author, Helen Coronato, over the phone this week about her book for a few minutes.
Why did you write this book?
I wrote the book that I was looking for and I couldn't find. I am a mom
with two young children (ages 3 and 1). I wanted a book that was user
friendly, optimistic, and hands-on. I wrote it to be an activity book
for the entire family NOT as something that would be one more thing for
mom to do. I didn't grow up with being green in mind. I had to change
some old habits and I wanted to raise my kids knowing how to be green,
so that it was second nature for them. Hopefully if we do that with our
kids, they will take being green to the next level.
How do we go from feeling hopeless about the situation to hopeful without being overwhelmed by all that we need to do?
In chapter three I break it down with a year-round calendar. Each month
I give you four ideas - If you do just one new idea a month, you'll be
doing a lot for the environment and our world. There's a lot to do, but
most of us need to start with small steps. Little ideas do make a
difference. And be realistic. You aren't going to go 100% green
overnight. I wrote the book and my family doesn't do everything in it!
I don't expect others to do it all. We also have to stop comparing
ourselves to others...We have to be as green as we can be.
What was the hardest habit for your family to get into? The easiest? There
are two things that are a struggle for us. The first is my husband has
a hard time recycling paper. I have to police the paper use in our
house. The second is that I am overly optimistic about how much healthy
cooking I will do each week. I over buy produce. Thankfully my husband
is great at making veggie soup on Sundays and using up the produce. The
boys get into it and it's a fun thing for them to do together. My
husband & I help each other with our challenges.
The
easiest? Bringing our bags to the store. We put our oldest son in
charge of the bags. We also store them in the car in front of his car
seat, so each time we stop somewhere he asks us, "Mommy, do we need a
bag?" When we walk from the car to the store, he holds one handle, I
hold the other and so we know when we forget the bags. Do you bring bags to all stores or just the grocery store? Oh, everywhere!
Thanks Helen! Thank you, Veronica.
Purchase this book at an indie bookstore, Powell's, or Amazon!
This post was originally featured at Viva la Feminista. When Veronica isn't trying to be green, she also blogs at WIMN's Voices, and Work it, Mom! You can also follow Veronica at Twitter.
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