- What one thing stands in your way the most when it comes to buying local?
- What items can you just not find that are both local and organic?
- Do you shop at Wal-Mart? If yes, do you feel guilty about it?
- Do you do everything you can to reduce the amount of power you use at home?
- Do you have solar power? If not, what stands in the way?
- Does your entire household agree with all of your green strategies?
- How much does societal expectation limit what you are willing to do to "go green".
- How many cars are in your driveway? Have you considered sharing one?
These are not trick questions. These are things that I have found myself considering or discussing with others often. I really would like the comments to become a running discussion on this post. Who's first?
What one thing stands in your way the most when it comes to buying local?
ReplyDelete** Having local options. :P We have one awesome place that sells farm-fresh produce, but their meats aren't locally produced and most aren't farm-fresh nor grass-fed.
What items can you just not find that are both local and organic?
Meat and milk. /sigh.
Do you shop at Wal-Mart? If yes, do you feel guilty about it?
**Yes, and not so much. I've been overhauling our lifestyle a few years now, so I really only get the essentials there. Like, I buy my burlap there for my business (because it's the cheapest place to find it locally), and we get things like our printer ink from there.
Do you do everything you can to reduce the amount of power you use at home?
** Yes! The only other change we could make is not turning the air on at all. However, I'm in an apartment above someone who cooks three times a day, and live in Georgia, so the A/C comes on eventually so the toddler can sleep comfortably.
Do you have solar power? If not, what stands in the way?
No, I live in an apartment.
Does your entire household agree with all of your green strategies?
** Agree? No. They go along with it though. Even when VagabondHusband doesn't agree, he goes along with it anyway. The only thing he's against is family cloth, and I'm happy with 3 out of 4 of our regular household members using it.
How much does societal expectation limit what you are willing to do to "go green".
** None at all. One day, I'll live completely green in the boonies somewhere. ♥ I don't care what people think.
How many cars are in your driveway? Have you considered sharing one?
We have a parking lot, and we also have two cars. We only drive one (we even commute), except when we have all four kids because neither of our vehicles will fit six people. We're working on affording a bigger vehicle, so we can just use one and the second is there for emergencies.
You are awesome! You get an A+ for participation! I have the same issue with the hubby sometimes, but he goes along cause he knows "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy". heehehe!
DeleteBut I do feel guilty when I go to Wal-Mart. They put locals out of business everywhere they go because they can afford to buy in bulk, which is how they lower prices. I would rather support my neighbors who are just trying to make the house payment than some exec that's trying to buy his 10th car.
DeleteWhat one thing stands in your way the most when it comes to buying local? There are not a lot of local options and the ones that we do have are expensive.
ReplyDeleteWhat items can you just not find that are both local and organic? There are not a lot of options for buying local, let alone organic. I cannot find local organic milk at all.
Do you shop at Wal-Mart? If yes, do you feel guilty about it? I try not to, but yes we do end up there at times. And yes, I hate buying things at big chain stores, especially walmart. I hate that they make companies sell them products at such a cheap rate that the company doesn't make anything. But the reason I end up there is because they are cheap; I don't have an unlimited income. Its a horrible circle.
Do you do everything you can to reduce the amount of power you use at home? No. There is Wallas more I can do, however we did put in a wood stove and that sure does cut down on the electricity used to heat our house.
Do you have solar power? If not, what stands in the way? No. Cost and my husband says there isn't enough sun in the winter.
Does your entire household agree with all of your green strategies? Its just my husband, my 6 month old baby, and me. And yes my husband is on board!
How much does societal expectation limit what you are willing to do to "go green". None. My friends all think I'm crazy, but who cares! I wish I could live in the middle of nowhere on my own homestead!
How many cars are in your driveway? Have you considered sharing one? Two. And I wish we could share one. But we live in a VERY rural area and there is no way we could only have one car.
Great questions to help me think about the things that I can do better!
We didn't have many local options, or at least we didn't know who or where, until recently. A group of people opened a new local, organic, sustainable market just a few weeks ago and I am loving it!!!! A whole new world of food possibilities! And the wood stove is on my list. We moved and left the fireplace behind, so I def wanna get a wood stove for this house. By the way, my friends think I'm a nut, too, for the most part. Haha. Oh well!
Delete-What one thing stands in your way the most when it comes to buying local?
ReplyDeleteI am the only thing that stands in my way. I live in a rural county (although I am in the more suburban area), but there is a farmer's market on Saturday mornings in downtown. There is another farmer's market that just started a few months ago that is closer to me, but it's only once a month and I never remember when it is. I do visit one specific farm for produce once they start selling their corn (usually right before Memorial Day) and visit them through the summer. But this is one area of my life I can definitely improve.
-What items can you just not find that are both local and organic?
I'm, and I don't know of any place locally that does organic almond or any alternative milk.
- Do you shop at Wal-Mart? If yes, do you feel guilty about it?
I WORK at Wal-Mart, and I am constantly battling with that. Unfortunately, for my small county, Wal-Mart is the biggest employer. There are 3 supercenters and 1 distribution center, and I just learned they bought land for a fourth supercenter. I have an MA and I can't get a job better than Wal-Mart at the moment. I actually don't really shop there except for a few things like bread (because the supermarket I shop at uses an egg wash) and produce (because it's cheaper, they do have some local stuff, and it's the only food category where my discount applies).
-Do you do everything you can to reduce the amount of power you use at home?
Yes, we unplug everything when not in use, don't use the a/c until necessary (in FL, once it gets into the 90's during the day, it's necessary), and we don't leave lights on when we leave the room (which has actually caused us to turn the lights off on each other because it's such an ingrained habit).
-Do you have solar power? If not, what stands in the way?
We have a solar heater for the pool, but it's broken so we just don't heat the pool. It's something we have considered, but don't have the money to convert right now. We bought this house two years ago, and we were looking for a home that already has solar, but we fell in love with this house and the location.
-Does your entire household agree with all of your green strategies?
My husband grumbles sometimes, because I can be a little extreme (the county doesn't recycle #5 plastic, so I save it and bring it to the Whole Foods in Tampa to recycle it), but I was like this before we got married 9 years ago so he knew what he was getting into. The only thing I can't get him onboard with is composting. Right now it's just the two of us (and the dog), so it's actually pretty easy to be green.
-How much does societal expectation limit what you are willing to do to "go green".
None at all. I have been vegan for 11 years, and I've been "going green" since I moved out of my parents house 13 years ago. It's something I believe at my core, and every day I try to think of ways that I can become even greener.
-How many cars are in your driveway? Have you considered sharing one?
We have two cars, but we work on opposite sides of the county, so sharing just isn't an option. It would waste more gas for him to drop me off, go to work, then pick me up, not to mention the waste of time as I work 7-4 and he works 8-5. He works for the family business, so he is unable to change jobs, and I have considered transferring to another store that's closer to his office, but there is still the schedule difference. We take my car when we go out and about because it gets better gas mileage.
Thanks so much for the questions. I really do try to improve myself all the time, and sometimes I need to think about these types of questions so that I can make changes.
I love questions like this for the same reason. I question myself all the time...what else can I do sort of questions. We recently converted to one car and it's working well but my husband's work situation means he rarely needs to drive. I drop him off when necessary. It is a bad cycle with Wal-Mart. There would be more options for employment if they didn't exist, but they do, so what now?
DeleteFirst visit to your blog!! Will be visiting more often:)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you came by! And glad you like it! Hope to see you again soon! Thanks!
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