My Experience with "7" by Jen Hatmaker--Week 5 (Waste)

The fifth chapter of Jen Hatmaker's book, "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess", looked at the environmental impacts of our wasteful American lifestyle.  For one month, she made seven changes to the way she lived that would decrease waste, from recycling everything possible to planting a garden and only driving one vehicle as a family.

Some of this chapter made me rather envious: Austin, TX in the summertime seems to be a haven for farmer's markets and local foodie joints, both of which do not exist in Gallup, NM during the winter.  Jen Hatmaker might be able to shop and eat local for a month in Austin, but these options were simply not available for me (and even if they were, think of the expense!)  However, as I thought about steps that I could take to be more environmentally conscious, seven ideas quickly came to mind:

• Pick up trash when I'm outside with Benji
• Take shorter showers (taking 15 min. showers in the desert is a crime, and I am guilty...)
• Turn off lights when I leave a room
• Visit the local co-op and see what's available
• Hang the diapers out on the line instead of using the dryer
• Look into possibilities of composting
• Recycle everything I can 

Most of these changes were so small, it really just required me to look around and be a bit more conscious of my surroundings: to recognize the trash I see on my daily walks with Benji, realize that I left a light on in the other room (and take half a second to turn it off!), keep track of the time I was wasting in the shower, etc.  These are tiny changes, but they could have big impacts over time.

Benji loved the picking up trash part; it's one of his favorite games!

My favorite thing about this week was finally going into our little co-op downtown, which I had never gotten around to for two reasons:

1. I thought the prices would be prohibitively expensive
2. It looked so small from the outside, I thought it would never sell the groceries that I actually need

Both of these assumptions proved untrue!  While some of the items in the store were quite expensive, I walked out with an organic avocado for just $0.79 (better than Safeway!) and a block of the most lovely, delicious feta cheese for less than $5 (plus it was produced "locally", in Tucumcari, NM!)  I also discovered that the co-op has bulk bins of rice, oats, gluten-free flour, spices, and more, all at good prices.  I will be going back again!

My main take-away this week was that, as a consumer, I generally make decisions based on price and health.  If something is very expensive, I don't buy it; if something is very unhealthy, I don't buy it.  If something is healthy and cheap, I buy it without a second thought!  The factor that never plays into my decisions is the environmental impact of the product.  Local, organic, and responsibly-produced goods tend to be quite expensive, and so I pass them right by.  Jen makes a case for considering these options more, and I think she is on to something. 

1. God created the Earth and so He clearly cares about how we steward its resources
2. Environmentalism is not just for "earthy crunchy people" (as Jen puts it)--normal, non-hippie Christians should care about the Earth, too.  And there are plenty of small lifestyle changes I can make to do so!