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Friday, September 2, 2011

Crunchy Confessions


So Jen recently told me about this fun facebook group called "Crunchies of the KMC".  And I joined it. 

And that's when it hit me:

Wow.  I really AM a hippie!

Then I started to think about all the things I'm "crunchy" about... the Crunchies have a list of things that are "typical" for the crunchy crowd.  And I was surprised to find that I'm crunchier than I thought!

So, partly for myself and partly for your information, here's my list of "how far I've come" as a hippie.

Disclaimer:  I promise not to judge you if you promise not to judge me.  Okay, I'm a sinner, so I obviously can't promise I won't sin and neither can you.  But seriously, I'm not trying to brag here and I don't expect everyone to be like me.  I just want to document my hippie journey. 

If you like hippie stuff, maybe I'll give you some fun new ideas (none of which I came up with on my own, ps).  And if you don't like hippie stuff, you can just laugh at me, and that's okay.  My brother picked on me once and said it's like I'm from the generation of the Great Depression, and I still love him :o)

The administrator for the Crunchies says it well - "We come in all shades of green, let's embrace it".  She didn't want any "who's crunchier than who" drama.  And neither do I.  

So on to my list(s).  

Jessica's Hippie Stuff:
These things are generally considered crunchy.

-Traditional, whole foods.  As much homemade and as little processed as possible.
-Less meat (not because we're veggie-heads, but because eventually I hope that by eating less meat we can afford better, safer, less industrialized meat)  Also, by eating less meat than we used to, we can fit more weird things like beans into our diet ;o)
-Cloth diapers
-Feminine products.  (Sorry to the men who just followed that link and gagged ;o)  Or the ladies who gagged, for that matter.  But I use them for the same reasons I use cloth diapers... cheaper, healthier, and better for the environment.  And they work really well, ps.  Message me if you want more info.)
-Babywearing.  Though I don't do it as much for the bonding experience (as many true crunchies do) but more so I can have a free hand!  Which any Momma of two under two understands!
-Breastfeeding.  Though I disagree that this is crunchy... the "Breast is Best" campaign has made it much more acceptable for this generation of moms to breastfeed as long as possible.  There's much more support for it than there once was.  And I think it's a shame that with that shift, there's now a culture of "breast vs. bottle" that looks down on formula-moms.  So silly.  Every situation is different!  No judging, remember?
-Delayed vaccinations.  I'm still on the fence about if this is ever even going to happen for our girls.  But as of now, they're both completely un-vaccinated.
-Gardening. again, this is all the rage these days :o)
-Green cleaners.  all I use are various mixtures of white vinegar, water, baking soda, and lemons.
-Repurposed glass jars for storage (phasing out my plastics and reusing jars that already come free with some of the foods I'm buying!)
-Hand wash dishes
-Hang dry clothes
-Homemade deoderant.
-Washcloths, cloth napkins, hankies, and rags (used in place of paper towels, napkins, and tissues)
-Cloth shopping bags (Thanks for making them for me MIL!  They live in my car so they're always ready and I use them all the time!)
-Recycling and composting (though this is made a necessity in Germany... I didn't really do it as much in the States.  Perhaps when I'm back in the USA I'll be more motivated to compost and take more of my stuff to the recycling center, since it'll be a habit.)


Jessica's Still Normal Stuff:
I'm not a super-hippie ;o)  But some of these things are on my radar to research and maybe change in the near future.

-Hair products (and I still color my hair, obviously).  I know that I should look into these chemicals, as they are absorbed into my (and my family's) skin.
-Make up.  True crunchies go au naturel.
-I'm not really into some of the parenting methods in the crunchy camp... Mainly child-led breastfeeding/weaning and co-sleeping.  I like schedule and routine and my own bed too much :o)
-Dish soap (on my mind to research Castile Soap more)
-Laundry detergent (Ours is a compromise because it's homemade and therefore a bit cheaper, but it's still got chemicals and fragrances in it, so not "green")


So how did I "get here"?  Simple... one step at a time.  For me, the first step was when Jesse and I had the "hey, when do we want to have a baby" conversation.  And from there I started to eat healthier (to support that soon-to-be-Lily), I switched out all our chemical cleaning products, and I started to research cloth diapers. 

The rest, my friends, is hippie history. 

The moral of this story is watch out!  If you start to "go green" you might never stop!

9 comments:

  1. True story!! I'm not as "crunchy" as you...yet! The more I research the more I would like to implement more "crunchiness" into my life and my family's lives :o)

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  2. Oh and my mom started using Castile soap and loves it! She uses it in her kitchen cleaners and in her bathroom cleaners- she hasn't been too happy with her bathroom cleaner for the tub right now. I'm not sure if she has tried anything differently as of yet.

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  3. I love using a mixture of baking soda and vinegar in the bathroom... it's a super great scouring scrub. And I just ordered my first bottle of Castile so we'll see what uses I find for it!

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  4. My mom also puts tea tree oil in pretty much all of her cleaners.

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  5. What ratio of baking soda to vinegar do you use?

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  6. I just basically add vinegar little by little and mix it until it forms a paste.

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  7. kudos Jess- being crunchy green takes a major investment of time and energy to research all this stuff. good that you are not bamboozled by the ads for the "latest greatest technologically advanced moozums schmoozums easiest most convenient killing us softly but surely" with their use products...ummm... think i'll slowly, very slowly back down off of this soap box :) xxxx0000

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  8. I'm laughing so hard at the fem products! Mostly because that is something D and I are in total disagreement about. I'll have to e-mail you. ;) Ooo, or we can talk on our Skype date. Yay for Skype!!

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