I want to thank Liz and Katie for their answers to my question about local vs. organic, when given the choice. I think both their answers reinforced what I had been leaning towards, which is always good!
In terms of the container veggie garden, things are on hold while we move. I was hoping to start the arugula and a few other plants indoors by the end of February, but it looks like the move won’t be a done deal till the last weekend in February, then I have to spend a week at my parents house watching my little sister while the parents go on a Caribbean cruise. Some people have all the luck. So, now we’re looking at mid-March and I’m not totally pleased about it. Still, I think it’s important that we get settled before I tackle a project this big. I want to succeed at least with something so I know I can do it.
Food wise, I have yet to begin making major changes. Since R. does most of the grocery shopping/buying, I am having trouble convincing him of making conscious choices over cost/convenience choices. He’s beginning to see my point, but he’s still in the camp where convenience and price are the number one priority. Therefore, organic only wins if it’s around the same price. And, he has the notion that organic doesn’t taste as good. He’s having trouble distinguishing organic and healthy/low fat. So, we’re working on that. Luckily, he’s very on-board with farmer’s markets and buying food fresh, so once we get to summer he’ll be at least going in that direction.
I’d also like to start being better about our waste. We throw away a lot, and recycle very little since it is not offered in our apartment complex. It’s hard to change from being convenience oriented to being more mindful of what goes into your trashcan. But, I know I need to start making these changes now while I have the time and effort. That way, once I start student teaching and ideally getting a teaching job, the routine will already be in place and I won’t say—Oh, we just don’t have time to reduce our impact on the environment.
The minimizing/simplifying is going well. I filled up a large garbage bag full of clothes to send to Goodwill. R. doesn’t seem as excited about getting rid of all his unused stuff. He’s determined to keep all 8 million t-shirts. I’m determined to cut back significantly.
It’s hard to believe that we’re almost halfway done with February. March doesn’t feel too far off. And April will be just around the corner. Sometimes, I wish I had the patience to savor each season, each week, each day instead of waiting and planning and thinking about the next one, but I suppose it’s partly this time in my life—filled with so much change, it’s hard to focus on the here-at-hand.
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2 comments:
Do you have any Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in your area? Usually they are a super deal - you pay one price at the beginning of the season and then you get great boxes of fresh, local, sometimes organic (depending on the farm), every week. The initial cost is big, but when broken out over the season it's usually much cheaper then buying at a store every week.
I have looked a bit into CSA's in our area. Despite it being cheaper overall, it's still a lot at once and unfortunately at this point in our lives it's just not economically feasible. (Silly, since it would end up saving us money, but we can't afford paying all that money at once). I'm hoping that next year I will be able to try this out since I will be done with school and *hopefully* working fulltime. Thanks for the comment and the information, Katie!
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