In our family, it began with the birth of our first child. I was horrified at the thought of throwing away all of those disposable diapers, and thus began our quest toward a greener lifestyle. It was no large feat to expand our cloth diapers to cloth wipes, and then cloth rags, etc. Four years later, we have very few disposable items in our home, and have been working to reduce our energy usage both in the car and in the home. Before we had so many kids, we would even ride our bikes five miles into town to go grocery shopping, but it has become too dangerous to travel our country roads on bike these days.
Going green is not just a series of individual choices; it is a lifestyle change. I never imagined how far it would go from just wanting to avoid putting diapers in a landfill. Now, my whole life revolves around making better choices for my children, my planet and my wallet. We no longer buy new clothes, and I have learned to sew in order to make many of our own items or repair the ones that need it.
What about you? What prompted you to take that first step toward living green? Are you glad you did?