Do you challenge yourself?

I have come to realize that I am a very competitive person. I honestly didn't realize this until relatively recently. And I have learned that my favorite way to compete is with myself! I enjoy taking on challenges that I am honestly not sure if I can do or not. For example, cloth diapering.

I started thinking about it before I was even pregnant. I decided I couldn't do it at first. Then my aunt sent me some cloth diapers for "diaper rash emergencies." And they got me thinking. A lot. I bought a few used pocket diapers to experiment with. I realized it might be possible. So I talked it over with my husband and he was fine with it, so I took the leap. As I spend the money to buy the #1 selling cloth diaper out there, I questioned whether I could do it or not. As I washed them, I wondered if I was crazy. As I changed the first wet cloth, I wondered what I would do when a poopy one came along. As I changed the first poopy one, I realized, "Hey, I can do this!" I now love cloth diapers and am very proud of myself for taking the leap.

My decision to go cloth is based primarily on the environmental factor (i.e. trash) as well as the economical factor (i.e. money saving). The money saving aspect is a no brainer: disposable diapers are crazy expensive, especially when your child is allergic to the cheap ones and the mom (i.e. Me) prefers the most expensive best ones anyway!

As far as the trash factor goes, I am not a Green Freak, but I do try to do my part to help the environment. I do think it's very important and I am simply trying to make my world a naturally healthier place.

I remember back in Fourth Grade (or thereabout) learning about "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." It wasn't a Democrat vs. Republican issue (at least not to my fourth grade class); it wasn't an issue of "Is global warming real or not?"; it was simply what everyone should do to help the planet we call home. It was the fact that we are using our resources on this earth too fast and creating more waste than our planet knows what to do with. Period.

I always remember recycling as a kid. I remember sorting the recyclable stuff between cans, paper, plastic, etc., and then throwing them in the appropriate bin at the recycle center. It never seemed to me to be an "extra," it was simply what you do.

Now that I stay home with my little one, I have been trying to do even more to keep our environment healthy.

Step 1: Recycle all those soda cans, milk jugs, newspapers, etc. CHECK! (That one is pretty easy!)

Step 2: Reduce trash: Use Cloth diapers. CHECK! (A little more difficult, but not really!)

Step 3: Reuse stuff: I have greatly reduced our plastic grocery bag usage by using reusable bags. Although I have a link here to a site to purchase bags, I don't really do that! Look around your house, you probably have some perfectly able bags just sitting around not being used. [Okay, I will admit, I am a bag-aholic - I'm addicted to bags. I don't know why, but apparently I got it honestly (from my dad, so says my mom)! So I have a ton of them, of which I have probably paid about $.02 for total!] The grocery stores will look at you a little funny if you don't have the standard bags, but who cares? They're likely going to look at you funny anyway as people are only just starting to get used to using reusable shopping bags (at least in this country). Of course, I do keep some plastic bags around in order to reuse as trashbags in my smaller trash cans. CHECK! (Again, this one - totally easy!)

Step 4: This is my newest challenge adventure - Reducing trash even more - I LOVE my Swiffer Sweeper. I don't actually like its sweeping ability (or lack thereof), but I do love the mopping capabilities. I have always hated to mop (I literally quit a job after working for three hours when they asked me to mop...I was only 16, give me a break!), until I found the Swiffer wet cloths. I have been on a hunt for the best wet cloths out there. I've been trying all sorts of different store brands and such trying to find the best combonation of cleaning and cost. And then it hit me: I realized how often I was buying them, how much money I was spending on them and how much trash it was creating in my trashcan! So how to fix it? I guess I could buy your standard mop and Pine-Sol, however that wouldn't do me any good as I would never use it! Trust me! I know myself too well to even think of buying a regular mop! Plus that would put my Swiffer in the trash since I would no longer have any use for it.
So, my solution is to make my own reusable wet cloths from old towels and a vinegar mixture for cleaning. I'm simply going to cut the towels to the appropriate size to fit my Swiffer, mix the vinegar cleaning solution, mop, then wash the cloths and dry them ready to be used next mopping time! My secondary reason for loving this is using the environmentally/kid friendly cleaning solution of vinegar instead of chemicals. It makes me feel so much better about my baby crawling (or walking) around on the floor knowing that he's not walking on chemicals that could make it to his mouth via his toys (or whatever else)!

And this leads me to my next challenge:

Step 5: Reducing (again) trash - This time, out with the paper towels and more! This post has caused me to rethink paper towels. Okay, I had thought about it before, but kind of brushed it off as insanity. I know I will have issues with this because along with paper towels, I am focusing on Clorox Wipes. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Clorox Wipes (or whatever brand happens to be on sale). I hardly know how to clean without them. But I'm going to learn. Again, it's only partially due to the reducing aspect of things and also has to do with the environmentally friendly and all natural, healthier, non-chemical cleaning. This is going to be a tough one for me, but like I said at the very beginning of this extremely long post, I am up for a challenge. I will compete with myself and see who wins!


What do you do to challenge yourself?