Environmental Stewardship
The title may be too fancy, but it sums up what “going green” is all about for Christians.
We base our care of the earth, animals and resources on Genesis 1:28, which says: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Part of having “dominion” means to be a caretaker.
We have been using natural products for our home and eating mostly organic food for about four years. I found that usually what was good for the earth was also better for my family, by purchasing things with less chemicals in them I was helping to make my family healthier too. It has been a gradual journey because I couldn’t afford to throw everything away and start fresh!
So what should you do if you’d like to go green but think you don’t have enough green in your bank account?
All you have to do is replace one product at a time.
For example: Say you are almost out of the blue glass cleaner, when you go to buy a new one, get a natural version instead. Be sure to spend some time reading reviews of different products so you’ll get one that works!
Better yet make your own cleansers at home. Inexpensive and easy, it doesn’t get much better than that!
There are so many ways to conserve resources and money at the same time. Try these tips:
Good for the earth: Wash more loads of laundry in cold water
Good for you: Lower your electricity bill by not heating the water
Good for the earth: Replace regular burned out bulbs with LED or compact florescent bulbs
Good for you: Save as much as $30 over the life of a compact florescent bulb in electricity costs
Good for the earth: Turn down your heat a few degrees and wear warmer clothing inside
Good for you: You can save about 3% on your heating bill for every degree that you set back your thermostat
There that wasn’t too hard was it? I hope these tips have encouraged you to be a good steward of our precious gift, our world. While still being a good steward over your finances as well!
For more information:
Homemade Cleaner Recipes: Jolly Mom
I’m a real mom, with a real family and a house that seems to get dirty
on its own! Between homeschooling and chores I enjoy blogging, playing
the piano and the harp. During naps you’ll find me working on
paintings for L. Herbert Designs. Come by and be encouraged at Heaven
In The Home!
After my daughter was born in late 2007, I started to get really concerned with cleaning products and the idea of her being exposed to harmful, unnecessary chemicals. Slowly I started making my own (as the ones we used ran out), and currently make all my own cleaning products, with two exceptions – dishwashing liquid and washing machine soap. For some reason, with these two, I haven’t been able to find something that cleans effectively enough to make a switch. So, if anyone has some good recipes, I’d love to hear them!
I’m so with you on this. I am trying my best to be “green” too in my little corner of the world.
Last year I have been slowly getting the chemicals out of my house and replacing them with more natural cleaners and soaps. I’m not completely organic in the food category, but do buy quite a bit of it.
Please be very careful on using the CFL bulbs if you have children in the home. They are not recommended around children or pregnant women as if they shatter there is a large amount of mercury let into the air. If the mercury dust gets on clothing or bedding it is recommended that you BURN THEM. Do a google search and see for yourself.
I really find that being frugal also is environmentally friendly. I would ad to reduce and reuse instead of just recycling. Using Freecycle or a similar group can help you with that.
I really hope that we go to LED lights quickly. We have found the CFL’s do not last as long as they say, they make a buzzing noise and it is true that they are basically hazardous waste when you have to throw one away.
While I probably won’t go entirely natural or frugal, I will be doing what I can to be both (which can be difficult when you are just starting out). Vinegar and water is a good cleaner for just about anything that spills. I have tried a laundry detergent that is made from a bar of soap, some Borax, some laundry booster, and lots of water and it works fairly well. I am unsure how it will work with cloth diapers as our little one is not here yet and we will probably wind up using disposables the first little bit anyway. Um, I haven’t tried a homemade dish detergent yet, but a “store bought” one that I grew up on is a Conklin product. It is called Spring Dew. This can be found at conklin.com . I hope this respose is helpful.