Easy Changes for a Better Life

One year ago, or just over it, I could never ever have believed that my family would be living the way we are today.  We have so far to go, and are in most areas frightfully delinquent compared to my sister-authors, but I feel great satisfaction and joy in our lifestyle and in our continued improvement.

The moral of this story is that what seems overwhelming becomes easy if we break it down, priority by priority.  Here are some good changes we have made in our family for better health, and better stewardship of the environment, over the last year or so (in no real order).

 By Cameron 

• We buy organic produce, dairy and meat whenever possible (especially the latter two)
• We eat grass-fed beef and pasture-raised chickens/eggs, locally produced when possible
• We grind our own grain (and often sprout it, and often soak it)
• We eat less grain in general.  Once upon a time it was pasta at least 2x a week, and now it's maybe once a month.
• We soak our beans and nuts
• We make our own bread 50% of the time (more than that until our bread maker broke)
• We make our own snacks --- homemade crackers, dehydrated fruit, tortillas, granola, fresh veggies, ice cream, etc.
• We drink raw milk
• We have dramatically reduced our plastic consumption.  We use glass containers with lids to store leftovers (an initial investment that makes a whole lot of sense over time).  We reuse jars and bottles for other storage.  We use real plates and forks when we go on picnics.  And when we remember, we bring our own cloth bags for shopping.
• We recycle
• We haven't had paper towels or napkins around in a good 4-5 months, using rags and cloth napkins instead
• We take fermented cod liver oil daily
• All of our soap products, detergents, cosmetics, lotions, sunscreens, etc. are rated 0-2 on EWG's Skin Deep website
• We avoid preservatives, GMOs, estrogen-containing foods (like soy), growth hormones, and processed sugars
• Though perhaps an unnecessary luxury, we love sleeping in our organic cotton sheets
• I make my deodorant from scratch
• I use a squatty potty.  Funny as that may sound, it has made a world of difference.
• I virtually never wear heels anymore, and gave almost every pair I own away.  When I hike, run, or go walking, I wear Vibrams.
• I pay close attention to the way I stand and sit for good alignment, and I sit in a chair less than ever
• We avoid unstable oils and mainly cook with coconut oil (and use it for lotion, salves, etc.)
• We seek natural remedies first for everything.  Two comments on this: neither of us has gotten a cold since we started drinking raw milk a year ago (I used to get 2-3 per year).  The exception was when we went out of town for 3 weeks and had none to drink.  The other comment is that since we made the decision to move toward natural remedies, we have never needed anything else.  1.5 drug-free years and counting.
• We have no processed sugar in our house

I can't emphasize enough that while this seems like an overwhelming set of changes, it wasn't hard at all!  I didn't vigorously pursue this lifestyle --- it just naturally changed as my priorities changed, one shopping trip or meal plan at a time.

 

We still have a long way to go, but I'm not afraid anymore. 

Things I want to do in the near future, or eventually

• Grow a garden
• Make all our bread
• Ferment stuff (at least I think I want to do this)
• Make a standing work station in my office and at home so I don't have to sit to work at the computer.
• Cloth diaper.  (Eek, why do I keep putting this off!  It's not so hard.) 
• Drive less
• No more plastic wrap or bags
• Walk a few deliberate miles on a daily basis 

What's next for you?