>Vintage Green

>Welcome to the March Carnival of Natural Parenting: Vintage green!
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month we’re writing about being green — both how green we were when we were young and how green our kids are today. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

What sorts of “green” things did you do as a kid (even if you didn’t know at the time they were eco-friendly) that you now do with your own kids? Alternatively, what “green” practices do your kids find normal (because they’ve grown up with them) that you did not do as a child?
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Let’s see, this is an area in our life that could use more work.
When I was growing up we recycled our paper, plastics, and our pop cans. We had separate bins for each one. We lived in Ohio then, and you could get 5cents I think it was per can.
We also kept every single newspaper and plastic bag that came into the house. The newspaper would be used for a number of things. Book covers, packing, potty paper for our rabbits.

We cloth diaper, and I was cloth diapered when I was a baby. I love my cloth diapers. They are so cute, and have saved us money in the past. I know I keep saying it, but I’m really looking forward to using cloth diapers again.
I love Diaper Swappers I got most of my diapers from there. Some new, some used. It’s an awesome community to buy/sell/trade your cloth diapers.
I still reuse plastic bags. They get used for storage, trash, lunch, wet clothes from the beach, or the pool.
We keep newspapers, too. They get used to wipe down our glass dining room table. The girls like to use them for making a collage. We also use it for packing.

I’m not very good at recycling our plastics. I keep saying I’m going to do it, then we never do. Maybe if I make a sign above our trash can that says Please Recycle! I’ll start to do better.

One thing I love about the house we live in now, all the natural sunlight. There are windows everywhere! No need for lights until it gets dark.
My parents used to always remind us to cut off the lights before we left a room when we were growing up. I think it was more about saving money on the electric bill though.
Winters in Ohio were so cold, and seemed to get worse every year. My dad started putting up plastic over the windows to help hold the heat in. That way we didn’t have to turn the heat up so high during the winter. He also built a fireplace in the living room, and that helped as well.

When we lived in Minnesota we called it the frozen tundra. The townhouse we were renting at the time had no window border on the living room window, and the back patio door would actually frost up. You could trace the frost with your finger. That place got cold quick. I suggested to my hubby that we put plastic up over the windows to save on heat, and keep us a little warmer. Now that we are in Virginia I don’t think we will need to use that practice, but it’s nice to know it’s there if we need it.

I would love to learn more about making our own cleaning products. I’m tired of spending money on them, plus the chemicals aren’t good for us, and it adds more plastic into the environment.

I wish I were greener, and maybe I will be as time goes on.

Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants.
(This list will be updated March 9 with all the carnival links.)

• My Momma Was a Hippie — Jessica at This is Worthwhile is continuing her Earth Momma mother’s way of honoring nature by taking her child outside every day. (@tisworthwhile)
• Mom Did Know Best, About Diapers at Least — Guavalicious at They Are So Cute When They Are Sleeping has a dirty secret about cloth diapers: They’re easy. (@guavalicious)
• The Force that Drives the Water Through the Rocks — Shana at Tales of Minor Interest remembers her first spiritual connection with nature, granted to her through her father’s care for the spirits of the earth.
• Confessions of a Cabbage Patch Kid — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma learned about landfills and recycling through gardening. (@kitchenwitch)
• Seeing My Grandmother Through Green Colored Lenses — Michelle at Seeking Mother was raised by a grandmother who wouldn’t let anyone throw out used clothing — ever — and who believed baths were water enough for two or more people at least. (@seekingmother)
• Through Green Tinted Glasses — Thomasin at Propson Palingenesis realized her family didn’t so much choose green as it chose them, since not being green would have cost a lot more.
• Green or Die! — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing remembers berating her family for not turning off the faucets — and notes that her efforts to save the planet for another 20 years must have worked.
• Natural Parenting Carnival: Green Living — Sarah at Natural Parenting is doing more to make her children’s generation green than what she had as a child.
• Natural Parenting Carnival: Vintage Green — pchanner at A Mom’s Fresh Start used to fill her own water bottles from a spring — before doing so was cool. (@pchanner)
• Getting Dirty — Molly at Molly’s Place is inspired by her mother’s camaraderie with nature. She’s going to get back in touch with the real food cycle, as opposed to the “shrink-wrapped nutrition” you can buy. (@KPMolly)
• My Vintage Green Raincoat — Mama at Maman A Droit is wearing her brother’s bright green raincoat — 16 years later! (@MamanADroit)
• Vintage Green — Darcel at Mahogany Way hasn’t realized it yet, but she is slowly turning into her parents. 😉 (@MahoganyWayMama)
• Vintage Green — mrs green at littlegreenblog reminds us that children can be green simply by being kids. (@myzerowaste)
• March Carnival of Natural Parenting: Vintage Green — Lauren at Hobo Mama was eco-chic before it was en vogue. (@Hobo_Mama)
• Growing Up Green — Chrystal at Happy Mothering honed her green instinct from an early age. (@HappyMothering)
• greener pastures — The Grumbles at Grumbles and Grunts has a list of ways she’s transitioning from green living as a novelty to green living as a lifestyle. (@thegrumbles)
• Vintage Green: The Hot Water Tank Is Not Sexy — Zoey at Good Goog had to go green when moss started growing around her feet. (@zoeyspeak)
• We Walked Softly — Starr at Earth Mama wrote a beautiful post about how her parents instilled a love of and respect for Earth and nature in her, and how she is passing that gift on to her own children.
• Save the Mermaids! — CurlyMonkey is learning from her daughter how to keep the mermaids happy. (@curlymonkey_)
• March Carnival of Natural Parenting: Vintage Green — Dionna at Code Name: Mama sees glimpses of her mother’s greenness frugality in her own life – but she draws the line at pantyhose soap. (@CodeNameMama)
• I Thought I Made Them Green, But Really They Made Me — Melodie at Breastfeeding Moms Unite! thought she made her parents green — until she took a closer look. (@bfmom)
• A Culture of Less — Alison at BluebirdMama explained why homebirth is the green childbirth choice. I love this thought! (@childbearing)
• 5 Ways to Embarrass Your Children While Going Green — Acacia at Be Present Mama shares some of the embarrassing things her parents did to her in the name of being eco-conscious.
• Ending Is Better than Mending? — Paige at Baby Dust Diaries is teaching us how to darn socks armed only with a light bulb. (@babydust)
• There and Back Again: A Green Girl’s Tale — Lactating Girl offers a gentle reminder that certain eco-conscious practices shouldn’t be “ideals,” but realities. (@LactatingGirl)