The Truth About What I Don’t Do

I had another post in mind for today, but as soon as I read Tsh’s post on Simple Mom this week about imperfection, I knew I wanted to the address the issue over here as well.

Just like on Pinterest, where it’s easy to get caught up in all the inspring things we pin to our To-Do boards, I feel like we can get carried away with our dreams for more natural living.

But let’s be honest, sometimes we don’t feel like making green choices. Sometimes we get tired of it, or sometimes the cost is too great– whether in terms of time, money, effort or availability. We’re not perfect, and it’s time to embrace that.

One of the best things about the blogosphere is its ability to encourage. I love what Tsh said,

In large part because of the Internet, women are slowly chipping away at the lie that we need to be perfect. We more or less believe we don’t have to work full-time and have a spotless house and have children that never argue and don a cookie-filled plate in a moment’s notice.

Or over here on our blog, we might say something about how we are finding out that it’s okay to take baby steps instead of giant leaps on our natural living journey. That every little change we make does make a difference and that we don’t need to give up just because we can’t (or don’t want to) do it all.

Green Imperfection

So for the record, here’s a list of (some of) the things I don’t do in the realm of “green living.” I’d love to hear what you don’t do in the comments!

• I don’t have a garden.
• I don’t cloth diaper my toddler.
• I don’t make everything from scratch that I could despite some great recipes that I at one time employed regularly.
• I don’t drive a hybrid, or heck, even a fuel-efficient car!
• I watch TV pretty regularly at night.
• I don’t eat grass-fed beef.

I hope to have a garden of some kind next year. I used to cloth diaper my son but when the baby came along, I decided one was enough, and besides, breast milk poop is much easier to deal with. I would love to buy exclusively grass-fed beef, but it’s not readily available/affordable where I live.

This where I’m at in this season, and you know what? I’m okay with it!

Let’s hear from you now, readers, if you so desire to share.

From Tsh:

Let this be a freeing exercise, if you choose to participate. Do it for fun and for encouragement, and not to feel guiltier. Share simply out of a desire to encourage other women, and perhaps to lessen a bit of your burden today. You already know what’s on your list. You can simply choose to etch it out with your fingers.

It really is freeing to list out the things you don’t do. If you feel so inspired, share your list in the comments. I know I’d be encouraged to read what you don’t do, and I’m sure other readers will as well.