…Which is the better way to live? Silly question, in my opinion. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and say that one is not “better” than the other. We need both. There are too many different kinds of people in this world for a one-size-fits-all lifestyle or environment. But. But, no matter where you live- in the suburbs, or the big city, or the boonies- there are ways to be a good steward to the Earth and ways to not. And I do believe that some environments lend themselves to good stewardship a little easier than others.
In my experience, living in an urban suburb is probably the most difficult place to execute a green/low impact lifestyle. The city’s downtown public transportation usually does not reach into the suburbs, so unless you work from home, your daily commute to the office is most likely about 45 minutes, twice a day, in your vehicle. Not to mention the commute to the grocery store and your kid’s school/activities.
On top of that, your suburban housing situation is most likely a development of some sort, named after whatever was there before the houses and lawns {Pine Grove Estates}. And on top of that, there is the social pressure to have a beautiful green lawn, this year’s paint colors on the walls, the cutest fiesta-ware for your weekly book club BBQ, and a two-car garage full of, well, two cars and various other material “necessities”. I know these types of pressures first hand, and they’re tough.
Good stewardship in a suburban setting is possible, however. After all, that is exactly what this blog is all about! You may not be able to ride the train to work, but you can carpool. Your lawn can be just as pretty if you watered it by collecting rainwater instead of with the sprinkler. Your BBQs can be a great chance to educate your community about some of your low-impact lifestyle choices. Your two-car garage can have a hybrid in it. Your home can be just as pretty {prettier!} decked out with homemade decor instead of trendy made-in-China crap.
Downtown city living comes with a whole realm of different pluses and minuses. On the up-side, you probably have the benefit of super-awesome public trans, or you can probably ride your bike to anywhere you ever need to go. You probably have a farmer’s market not too far from your pad, or you probably even know a couple crazy people growing gardens on their patios/roofs.
The downside it that you live in a concrete jungle, breathing smoggy air and drinking chlorinated water. I can’t relate to this situation very easily, so maybe some of you who actually live this way can enlighten me…It just seems unnatural to have to visit a park in order to see dirt or trees or rocks. When everything is man-made around you, don’t you lose touch with what is real, gritty, and alive? I think I would. But then again, maybe you appreciate nature even more when it’s something you need to purposefully seek out. When every day is a reminder of how fragile and rare nature is, maybe you think twice before dumping chemicals down the drain or tossing a plastic bottle in the trash.
I grew up in the middle of nowhere, in the woods, and I can attest to the fact that many, many country folk take the woods, lakes, trees, clean air, and plentiful fresh water for granted. They change their fishing boat oil right there on the lake shore, and inevitably spill it into the water. They burn garbage in their backyards, or bury an old broken refrigerator in the ground to avoid the recycling fees. The list of transgressions is long.
But the list of upsides to country life is also long. You can live off the grid if you so choose. You can raise your own food. You can use the natural resources all around you to support yourself. You can separate yourself from societal pressures and the pull of material things, and build a home that is centered around what is really important.
Perhaps I am biased…ok, I am definitely biased…because Mike and I are choosing to move from the city into the boonies, and so I see country-life as the ultimate way to live simply and live greener. But I stand by my original statement that we are in control of how we live, no matter where we live.
What do you all think?
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What a nice surprise to wake up today and find out that one of the blogs I read dailyhas featured Itty Bitty Impact! Going Home to Roost is such a beautiful blog about all things handmade (diy projects, seasonal recipes, organic gardening, and ways to live a simpler life). The first time I stumbled upon it, I couldn’t help feeling like Bonnie was my long-lost-soul-sister. A big huge thank-you to Bonnie for sharing my blog with her readers! Keep up the great work over there in North Carolina!
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We found our dream hobby farm {and I mean, OMG this place is awesome} about an hour from Duluth, and we have not been able to get it off our minds ever since we first stumbled upon it. It is everything we have always talked about someday having. After much thought, we’ve decided to get our house on the market as quickly as possible, and make an offer on Perfect Magical Dream Farm.
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Have you seen this blog? If not, hurry on over there! Naomi Seldin is a terrific writer who focuses on “living well with less” in her articles for timesunion.com. I have been a regular reader of hers for months now, ever since I found her on Twitter {follow her}…so I am beyond honored to be interviewed by her! Thank you, Naomi!
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I thought I would update you on the wedding plans and all the things we’re doing to make the event as low-impact as possible. During the planning process, so many challenges have arisen from the fact that we are avoiding disposable items like cups and flatware…and it has been a real struggle to not give in here or there/do things the easy way {read: the wasteful way}. But we’re sticking to our guns…
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We’re taking a little break from Cheri’s List in order to do some spring cleaning around our house and yard. And I bet you are busy spring cleaning and doing yard work as well, so instead of doing an Itty Bits Challenge this week, let’s skip right to some handy links from around the web to inspire you while you work.
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We’re whittling away at Cheri’s list. Today we’re going to make our own earth friendly cleaning solutions, because commercial cleaners are heavy on toxic chemicals, and consistently buying the eco-friendly brands is really darn expensive.
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Last week Cheri shared with us a list of things she is doing to reduce her impact on the environment. I decided we would try each of the things on her list, and show you all how to do them as well. First on the docket is how to make homemade laundry soap. This is such a great thing to do, the main reason being because store-bought laundry detergents have scary ingredients. They can include quaternary ammonium sodium carbonate, sodium alkyl benzene sulfonate, sodium silicate, bleach, and some phosphates. {The fact that my spell-checker thinks that half of those are not real words tells me that they certainly shouldn’t be going into our ground water by the gallons day after day.}
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I am really excited and honored to share this with you all! Jonathan at We Live Simply interviewed me for his Five Questions With series the other day. It was so nice of him to share my blog with his readers and followers. As a newbie, I am extremely grateful for his interest in what I’m doing, and the exposure he gave me. Make sure you check out his blog– it is a daily read for me now. His posts are always original, thought-provoking and inspiring.
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I received a really nice letter from a friend and reader, Cheri. She shared with me some of the things her family does to decrease their daily impact on the environment. All of the items on her list are easy to implement into our lives– there’s really no reason not to. But because I know, from experience, that unless green lifestyle changes are easy as pie to implement, we ain’t gonna follow through with them, folks! So, I have decided to not only share her list of great ideas, but to also do the things on the list. Check back soon for a video series of me demonstrating the items on Cheri’s list, so that you can see how it’s all done, and hopefully also try it yourself. I will begin to post the videos next week!




