There are starving kids all over the world - don't waste food ...

I am one who always had an aversion to leftovers, I will admit I have this fear of rotten food. I think it comes from growing up in the restaurant business and hearing all the health department requirements; which obviously are more severe then what the typical person does at home. Suffice it to say I am a little obsessive about food going bad, haha. Through this journey of taking better care of God's creation I started to really look at my leftover aversion and got over it. I also made an effort to try to make just enough food versus too large of portions. Like Mom used to say "there are starving kids all over the world don't waste food". But then I went a step or a few steps beyond just making sure to eat our leftovers and looked at what waste over buying was causing. I will tell you it wasn't pretty! I have always been a just in case buyer and a mood cooker "what if we feel like ...", well this not only makes my grocery bill higher, but causes a lot of potential food wasted.

One thing I realized also was, like most Americans, we love variety. It isn't a luxury for us, it is a requirement. But with that requirement we can waste a lot of food. I had some friends go to Africa and one thing they said that really struck me in my line of thinking on this whole issue was that "the people there eat a lot of the same thing all week", so it was challenging for them because we are spoiled with so much variety. That gave me a lot of insight as to how we needed to approach being last wasteful in regards to food. Here are a few things I am doing to make sure that what doesn't even make it to our meals doesn't end up in the compost or garbage either:

1. Planning meals appropriately - now this means more than just ok we will have this on Monday and this on Tuesday ... one thing I realized, like in other countries they have a few items to cook for the week (creative opportunity here too hehe), so I basically think ok for the week we will have e.g. rice, these veggies, this fruit, eggs. So I am selecting certain things I can make in a multitude of different types of meals while at the same token using up everything I buy.

2. More trips, less purchased - so either I walk or I drive when I am already out for some other reason ... this method I found makes it easier for doing the first step ... I plan to go to the store at least 2 times a week. One thing that happens in other countries is they go out every day buy only what they need and it is all fresh, well I am taking this to a 2 times a week event, this way I can plan for narrower plots of time and everything is so fresh. Believe it or not I am spending a lot less money.

This is the two major things I am doing to reduce the waste and I have to say it is working amazingly. What are way you are reducing your food waste outside of leftovers?

Lost 30 pounds since Going Green ...

It is amazing when you choose a life of taking better care of God's creation you end up getting wonderful benefits:

• Weight loss
• More time with your family
• Saving money

Since this journey started we went to vegetarian (I went vegan), walked instead of driving to close places (my daughter loves the walking), buying organic and non-processed foods, eating more raw vegetables and fruits. I have slowly dropped weight and without "dieting". For years I had heard you don't diet you change your lifestyle, well that wasn't as crazy as I thought it was. I was constantly looking for a quick fix. Turns out that turning towards God and changing our lifestyle for the effort of caring for His creation is giving me the result I have been looking for my whole life. Hrmm go figure! (giggles) I will keep you all posted on my progress, I have more to drop, but this lifestyle has sure put me on the track. YAY! What benefits have you seen as a result of going green?

Green Moving? Cheaper, Greener, Only Way to Move!

Moving is a recent green dilemma I had the last few week, this is one reason I have been missing in action on the blog. From the point of putting the contract in on the house, it was green strategy time. Conveniences win when we don't plan ahead, so be green and plan ahead. Aside from reusing the non-eco-friendly stuff, here are some ways I found to green up my move:

Donate It: The weeks leading up to the move we really dug through everything to sort out the things we didn't really need anymore; gave it all the Goodwill or friends. Other options for your unused stuff:

• Women's Shelter
• Goodwill or Salvation Army ... Find your local branch here
• Freecycling (online way to give stuff you don’t want to people who do)
• People from your community, church or friends could use some our items
• Have a yard sale

Pack It: If you are like me you don't have many boxes and packing materials laying around to reuse. Here are options to stay green while packing:

• Ask your moving company if they have used boxes and packing materials for you to reuse
• If you buy boxes, make sure they are made from recycled materials
• Purchase some reusable plastic containers, I got these for my fragiles for extra protection, so now I have some awesome containers I can reuse items I am storing
• Places like Sam's Club and Costco have boxes and packing materials in the front that are being recycled that you can take for your own use
• I grew up in the restaurant business, I have to say they get the best boxes ever (especially tomato boxes); ask a restaurant is you can have their boxes they are tossing anyways
• I found all of these around the house that I had to take with me anyways, might as well put them to good use:
  
• Towels
• Blankets or sheets
  
• Rags
• Clothes
  
• Reusable shopping bags
• Paper shopping bags
• Yoga or exercise mats
• Old egg cartons; I have these saved for my daughter's craft projects, but I have to say they made some great packing materials to secure certain items
• Use old newspapers instead of foam peanuts or bubble wrap (unless you have materials to reuse of course); newspapers protect even your fragile items divinely
• If you use bubble wrap, check out this article for ways to continue to reuse it: 9 Reuses for Bubble Wrap

Clean It: Whether you’re cleaning out the old place or cleaning up your new one, use green cleaners: Not only are they better for your health and the health of the planet, they‘re less expensive than conventional chemical-laden cleaners–and they work just as well or better.

All in all, like all methods of being green have saved me money, forced me to plan ahead, gave me plenty of opportunity to be creative ... all things I love! What ways have you found to be green in a move or even with shipping items?

Green Plus?

Through the changes I have been going through the last couple months to be more green (future posts I will get in more detail). There are so many benefits that have shown themselves so unexpectedly:

+ leading a more Godly life
+ more quality time with my family
+ healthier eating
+ weight loss
+ more physical endurance and stamina
+ saving money

Those are the most obvious ones, all things I think most people strive to achieve; I know I do. I have to admit I was very surprised how quickly those benefits became apparent. The main focus I have had from the beginning was finding way to use less and reuse more. Through this focus it was so much easier to figure out what changes were the most obvious. Then my eyes were opened, I was shocked at my dependency on conveniences, didn't expect that to be on my list of vices. *laughs*

When you map out the conveniences to how it can affect the earth, our family, and our neighbors you see clearly the damage it is doing. It is amazing how all of those conveniences we buy, take for granted and further seek out cause so much of the environmental issues we have. When you start eliminating them you realize that is such a huge chunk of what is destroying our earth, dividing our families, ultimately making us walk further away from what God wants for us, and walking away from Him. Are the conveniences worth it?