Day 215 - Being a Better Steward of God's Earth and My Body

Yesterday on my lunch break, I drove to the library and picked up a DVD called "Yoga for Families," along with some toddler books for my youngest and a novel for me.

After dinner, my eldest daughter, my toddler and I cleared out the livingroom and popped the DVD in and began.

The first 20 minutes was called a "warm-up," but I knew from the warm-up that this was not going to be easy.

For 30 minutes, we participated in various yoga stretches and positions, all of which I have never done before in my life...except maybe the cat stretch in gym class as a child. We had a good time trying to participate as well as the family on the DVD, despite our jerky movements and lack of balance. But it was our first try, and I figure it can only get easier...right? I was really proud of my toddler. She thoroughly enjoyed participating in all of these neat and new poses alongside of us.

I went to bed feeling very relaxed, my lower back feeling the best its felt in a very long time. I slept hard. But then I woke at about 3 a.m. with the WORST kink in my neck. I could barely move. I tossed and turned until it was time to wake and get ready for work.

While I was dressing for work, I heard toddler moving around in her bed. She was groaning. I went to her bedside. She was lying on her back, her eyes closed, as she said to me, "Mama, I can't move. My neck hurts!"

Well, I'm no dummy. Yoga shouldn't hurt. What did we do wrong? I'll have to ask around.

But I started yoga because we recently put a hold on our health club membership in order to save money so we could pay off some more bills and, hopefully, have a wee bit extra for things like gardening supplies for our vegetable garden.

I want to take care of my body so that it does not become overweight or out of shape. I want my heart to stay strong and healthy, too.

I also want to take better care of God' earth. Although it's been over a year now since I began my "green" living journey, there are things that I can improve in our lifestyles as a family of 5. I am concerned about leaving clean water behind for my grandchildren, pristine nature preserves, and a cleaner and healthier earth for them to enjoy as I did...do.

We started off recycling. I bought some bins and labeled them "Paper/Magazines," "Aluminum/Tin," "Glass," and "Plastics." We kept one recycling bin next to the garbage can in our kitchen so that daily we could just toss all of the recycling items into it, and then at the end of the day sort it out according to type. We did really, really well at it, too. We've not been so good at recycling, though, the past five months as it's been wintertime and it's too cold to walk outdoors and sort recycling. But I will start this up again probably next weekend.

Then I began buying only healthy groceries for our family. No more cereals. Only eggs and toast or oatmeal with maple syrup. No boxed meals, no heat&eat frozen dinners...just pure, fresh, wholesome foods. We never were the type of family to buy pop and drink that as our main liquid for the day, but we did enjoy lots of bags of potato chips and packaged cookies and foods filled with high amounts of sodium and sugar, preservatives and pesticides. I quit buying name-brand breads and instead brought out my old bread machine and made bread from scratch, or made bread by hand. When I do buy bread, it's whole wheat or 7-grain without preservatives.

I made a meal menu for the week, making sure to eat very healthy. And then I created a grocery list based on this meal menu. Not only did this force me to only purchase healthy items, but this saved us money, too. I buy plenty of fruit and veggies, legumes and beans, yogurt and cheese. I make meals from scratch mostly, too. We don't eat out but once in a blue moon.

Then I chucked most of my chemical-filled household cleaners and replaced them with all-natural cleaners or eco-friendly cleaners. In fact, I went so far as to clean with basically vinegar and water, or lemon juice and water, or baking soda and water. (vinegar is a natural disinfectant, you know.) I began making my own laundry detergent out of baking soda, borax, and castille soap, plus a dash of essential oil for a nice scent. Not only was this move better for our environment, but it costs far less than store-bought cleaners.

I quit buying paper towels and napkins. I sewed up some pretty cloth napkins for everyday use so we don't waste our precious trees on paper napkins. We scrub the home using rags and then wash and sanitize those for next time.

I quit using those plastic shopping bags the grocery stores fill our groceries into, and instead bought about 10 re-usable cloth grocery bags. If I would only remember to take them each time I shop!!!

We replaced most of the bulbs in our home with energy-saving bulbs. You know, those curly-Q pigtail looking bulbs.

We began gardening our own vegetables and herbs, or shopping at the local farmers' markets to purchase eggs, poultry, and produce.

We switched from chemical-filled shampoos, conditioners, and lotions to organic. Again, better for the earth, and MUCH better for me and my family.

I had already been using cloth diapers on my toddler, so this was another area in which I was a better steward of the earth. Not only does this help the environment, but it keeps nasty chemicals found in disposable diapers away from my child's sensitive diaper area.

As a final step in taking care of God's earth (*MEN, YOU'LL WANT TO SKIP THIS SECTION), I replaced all of my chemical-filled disposable feminine products with soft velour cloth pads that I wash and use the next month. Some women find this disgusting. They're used to throwing that ick away and never thinking twice about it. But women for thousands of years have been using "rags" for their cycles, and it was once the "normal" thing to do. But in this age of convenience, women have forgotten this fact. One thing that surprised me to read in beginning this endeavor was that the chemicals that are contained in our modern feminine products actually cause problems inside our reproductive organs. Cramping is a major affect of chemicals in these. So when I quit using chemical-filled disposable products, my body quit cramping. Nearly completely.

So I want to thank the Lord for showing me how to be a better steward of this place we currently call "home," our earth. And I want to thank the Lord for showing me how to lead a healthier lifestyle and take better care of my body...His temple.