Eco-Mama: Renew The Soul

Hello and Happy New Year!
I am very excited for this new year for many reasons. My daughter will be turning one this year! First of all she is just about to crawl, that's a first, and will only happen in 2009...along with her two bottom front teeth that just came in. Secondly, we will be finnnnnaaaaaallllllyyy changing Presidents. Much needed, highly anticipated...many hoorays! So as I start off the new year vigorously editing my belongings...I am also comparing notes to myself on where I was last year at this time, and what I didn't get to that I want to this year.

I began by sorting all my magazines. I love to collect things that interest me, and sometimes those things go unused for a year or two...when I was pregnant I read alot, I mean, ALOT! I came home every evening for almost 9 months and just read and listened to calm music. I feel wasteful for the fact that at the record high I had subscriptions to 6 magazines. But I found it all to be very useful for my knowledge and comfort in the darkest moments of the winter. I have everything very well organized so it never looked bad, it just got to the point of taking over a whole bookshelf. Well, mixed in with all my books, Siena's large book collection (already! for a 9 month old!) and all my camera cases and binders of negatives...but I felt it was time to say goodbye. I rip and file all the pages I mark, in categories of: icons, iconic people, artists, art, photography, food and of course home design/decoration...those pages go into binders per category.

I was tying the magazines into piles with bailing twine, and decided to flip thru a few quickly to see if I edited correctly...and of course there was a Green Issue of Elle (May 2008) that I wasn't so sure of throwing out. I mean, it has Madonna on the cover...and I know this green thing will be a "thing"of the past at some point, (as in, we will all be so natural at being no-waste-makers). I can point out to Siena when she's a green conscious teenager, "look, Siena, this is the big issue from the year you were born!" she'll roll her eyes and walk away, of course! she's my daughter, I can only expect a retort of something like: "mom, I've been doing that since I was born"
Well, to point out my main issue here, my new goals for 2009 and beyond. To make a larger impact in my life by practicing a less wasteful existence.

I want to share a passage from the Elle article: "Elle's 2008 Green Awards: They make the truths convenient, the planes fly on coconut oil, the rock 'n' roll lifestyle tread lightly. Introducing this year's eco-illuminators-the people, products and concepts that put energy and our planet in the right place.-By Katie Arnold." (I am sharing this from 2008 in hopes that we can compare notes at this time in 2009 and say we came alot further!)
#4: Urban Outfitters, Colin Beavan and Michelle Conlin.
"...we salute them for proving that they could forgo electricity, create no trash and boycott all modes of carbon-fueled transportation for one year, while living in a Manhattan high rise with a kid.
The point? To become experts in low-impact living. They learned to buy in bulk, stashing everything from flour to almonds in their cloth bags, and to convert their bikes into elaborate grocery carrying rickshaws. (hey, its not that hard, the Dutch do it as a standard, I loved living their and grocery shopping by bike!)
"The whole project had an element of spirituality to it," says Beaven, who offers do's and don'ts for living consciously at Noimpactman.com. "Once we got away from stuff and moved toward people, we began making real connections. In a lot of ways, our quality of life actually improved." And, they got a book and movie deal out of it."

PS- the no impact man blog is great.

PPS- I was raised far better than I am acting, so I am going to stop acting like I shouldn't be...and get cracking on my deepest apologies to the planet.
Now..let's hope that these stacks of magazines I've put out make it to the right recycling facility.

As always, keep in touch and do one green conscious act per day.
next article: an eco-mama solar vacation, and the 100% biodegradable bag
~your Brooklyn Eco Mama Mariah

*all photos taken by eco mama or the self timer on eco mama's camera