The Hippie Kick

Ok so it is no secret that I'm on some hippie kick. It all started waaaay back in 2004, when my hippie roommate recycled EVERYTHING! And I mean everything, as in even the toothpaste box. Well, it turned out to be a big influence on me and I went from once throwing away the tiny cardboard or paper items like the toothpaste box to realizing that every bit helps and the guilt set in. I began recycling everything too. Like even the tampon wrappers to the smallest contact lens packaging. Watch out, I was a recycling Queen! If I visited someone's house I would say, "Oh I'll just go put this in your recycling bin..." and if they said they didn't have one or didn't recycle, I ended all contact with them right then and there. Just kidding. I then gave them a very guilt-inducing, "Ooohhhhhh...." but what I was really saying was: "Grab a HINT, you are murdering the EARTH!!!" :) Hippie conversion #1-check!

The next step  into my hippie existence was the year of 2006-07 when I was living in Wyoming. WOW what a bunch of Earth-loving, hippies! These were the true hippies too, the no make-up and beanies, eating spinach salad with flax-seed for lunch, brew your own beer, gut an antelope in your front yard, cross-country SKI TO WORK through the downtown main street, Wal-Mart loathing, making pie crust from scratch, camping and hiking every weekend instead of spending money at the mall and Costco (well there was no mall/Costco in this town), disc- golf fanatical, Nalgene-toting, harmonica playing...well I'm sure by now you get the idea. :) I LOVED the lifestyle! What a refreshing change after well, California-need I say more? So I taught pre-K while living there and one of my co-workers had two recycling bins set up in the classroom that the kids had decorated. One for paper and one for plastic. At the end of each week when it was time to take the recycling out,  it became very clear who's Kirkland plastic water bottles were filling up the bin....ahhh-ehhhhmmmm....My co-worker however had a handy Nalgene bottle from which she drank water everyday and it seemed much easier to get one of those then spend money every two weeks at Costco like a goofball buying all these polluting, energy-consuming plastic water bottles. Hippie conversion #2 completed. :) I had the cutest, pink Camelbak you've ever seen and have never looked back :)

2008 came along and now it was time to get pregnant. Then I began reading all the alternative birthing literature like, Birthing From Within and watching the movie The Business of Being Born and after that decided right then and there I would be birthing drug-free as it is the safest route for your baby. Once I had decided that I was going au natural, I thought that I should be incorporating this ideal into my diet, (eating as organically as possible). I began drinking my hippie prego tea which I proudly displayed on the kitchen counter as if to say, "There IS a pregnant princess in the house!" Then I thought about all the other chemicals we ingest on a daily basis through our skin and I promptly switched my skin care regimen as I read all the natural pregnancy books which stated that the chemicals in some products can be harmful to the fetus. I love the Belli Skin Care line which had something to suit all my needs. I also began listening to my hypno-birthing CD so that I could maintain a calm and confident mindset throughout the pregnancy and birthing process. (And boy did that work!) See, the hippies are on to something. They eat better, take care of the Earth better and are calmer happier people all around. Hippie conversion #3-check, check!

Now that my little angel had arrived, I wanted to continue to do what I thought was best for him. Cloth diapering, baby-wearing, making my own baby-food, the canvas grocery bag is a given ect. Having Aiden around has definitely inspired a new set of hippie conversions which I swear started with the whole cloth-diapering kick. It's like once you do this, than why not do that? Like switching my household cleaners to biodegradable, earth-friendly options like Method and Seventh Generation- (Which I might add I've even switched to Seventh Generation maxi pads so that I don't have to wonder about all the harmful chemicals my whoo-ha is ingesting when that time of the month rolls around) 

Last week I started a compost pile. My husband is all for it except the concern of the smell and bugs but there are neither so far. I'll let you know how that goes. My goal now is to only have one bag of trash a week for the garbage man to pick up. With recycling, composting, and cloth diapers I'd say this is a reasonable goal. (The recycling trash bin is always overflowing!) Last conversion, (for now) are paper towels. Oh how I HATE buying them! What an expensive waste of money! They can't be recycled and they are chemically treated, bleached, and could cost well up to $400 a year! My new plan is to buy these paperless paper towels. Scroll down and read the Top 10 Reasons to Use Reusable Paper Towels article-good one! They are machine washable and dishwasher safe. They have high absorbency and hold up much better when used for scrubbing than regular paper towels. Check 'em out! Hopefully I will never be buying paper towels again! 

That's all for now on the hippie kick! I'll leave you with a picture of an adorable, 4 month old hippie baby and this earthy quote: We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~ Native American Proverb