[MrsSarah1]

Lurker, learner, expert or regular, feel free to introduce yourself here!

My name is Sarah. I am 24, married to Daryl for almost 4 years. We have two daughters, Peyton and Charly. I started becoming more environmentally friendly about a year ago. My first purchase was cloth diapers and it was all downhill from there . Doing something environmentally friendly almost gives me a high. I really love doing what I can, but I think my favorite part is saving money!! If that isn't an incentive, then I don't know what is!! As of right now we cloth diaper, recylce, grow our own vegetables, use cloth paper towels, I use mama cloth and a waste free lunch kit. I also use homemade/natural cleaning products and try to buy food that has the least amount of packaging and took the least amount of energy to make.

[2Corinthians10:4]

Hi Im Meagan, 20 (21 next month!), SO to Dusty, 21, and we have an almost two year old daughter named Addisen.

[MamaJessie]

Hi. I'm Jess, married to Rich, mother of sapphire - 11, sebastian -7, esme -2, clara - 10 months

Was raised to respect the earth, so it all stems from there

I'm Rebecca, will be 31 next month. OMG I will officially be allowed to say I'm 30 "something." lol
Married to Tim, mommy to BJ 11, Cammie 7, Timmy 4 1/2 and Ivy 2 months.
I wasn't raised all Earth special. But a few years ago a friend of mine got me started on the idea of trying to go self sufficient and maybe one day be off the grid. While I know I'll never be all the way off the grid, I'm enjoying what I'm learning, and being self sufficient is what lead me to being green(er.) That, and trying to live more frugal. We're also paying off credit cards we've already closed, and don't have vehicle payments anymore. Going frugal meant learning to make my own cleaning products, which incidentally happen to be green.
My whole life as much as I LOVE the outdoors and animals and stuff, I've denied being "one of those tree hugging hippies." Yet here I am actually successfully BFing my 4th baby after failing with the first 3, and she's in cloth diapers and loves being carried in her slings. I guess that makes me kinda crunchy!
I dunno, I guess all this added together makes me feel more womanly in general. I feel like super woman who makes her own cleaning products and can make a moby sling for the baby. I'm learning to garden and keep small live stock, and when I actually GET enough of a harvest I want to learn to can.
I have to say, I'm really loving going green! It's slow going, I don't want to get overwhelmed and end up giving up. But man, every new thing I add into my routine makes it better and better.
I hope I end up being as much of an encouragment on this board as other ladies here have been to me.

[lil duckies mama]

Hi, I am Carol (32) married to Bryan (29) and we have two lovely children Stephanie (10) and Miabelle (2 months) and have been married 2 years. I have been eco friendly for almost 10 years. It started shortly after DD1 was born. I was trying to find every means possible to cut costs being a single mom. Then I realized how much better for everyone the choices I made were. Every year I try to add one more eco friendly thing into my life. I am far from being 100% and I would not even say I was 50%...but I try to do what I can.

[dalynnrmc]

Hi there! I guess I'll poke my head in here....

My details would sound a lot like foxfire's post above. I'm not "green" for the sake of the environment, I'm more on the "natural" side for the reason of frugality. (On the same note, I'm totally having a hard time deciding if I should intro in the traditional or crunchy parenting boards - I feel like both will hang me! LOL)

We're working towards becoming self-sufficient. Well, we want to be working towards it. We have a move coming up, again, and it's been kind of difficult for us to get going with it. Gardening, small livestock, homesteading, possibly cloth diapering the one on the way, once a month (or twice?) cooking, making my own cleaners, etc. I don't do much of that yet, but have a working plan to start doing so. One step at a time... and the first one is getting somewhere with our feet firmly planted so that we can do something about it!

Thanks for having me!

[future_adoption_mommy]

I'm RJ, (21) I'm not very green but i'm learning. It's hard to have a green household when you share a house with ungreen people. :/

I'm trying to learn how to be green though so when I do have my own place I'll be able to be as green as I want.

[ItalySarah]

Hi! I am sarah. Mommy to four; Lexi, Trinity, Christopher and Bella.

My new years resolution was to start recycling and since then I have been way more conscious of being green.

[averyhappymama]

I'm Lisa, the mom of one energetic 1 year old boy. I was always brought up to try to conserve energy, recycle, and reduce waste, and my own mom CD'd me and my sister. I started further down the path when I decided paper towels and napkins were a real waste of money and resources, and switched to cloth. I really started along the green path when my son was born and started replacing cleaners & household/personal products etc with greener (& sometimes homemade) choices.

[Mod-Lady Valkyrie]

Hi, I'm Sharron, mummy to Daniel aged 3. I'm still a learner I guess but I do what I can: recycle, walk whenever I can, conserve water and energy when I can, reuse, and try to buy things fairtrade/fresh/organic/sans packaging when I can. We also compost and do lots of planting. My boyfriend, Shaun is vegetarian and very eco, and I am learning lots from him, and probably will become vegetarian again (have done in the past) at some point. We were also talking about getting an allotment near where I live to try and grow our own fruit and veg - I hope that's something we can do, have yet to look into it but he informs me it's the wrong time of year right now. At the moment my biggest focus is on teaching Daniel how to separate the recycling and put plant waste in the composter.

[healthymomemily]

Hi, I'm Emily, mommy to one 14 month old boy. After giving birth I became much more environmentally conscious and I am very concerned about the products I use in our home. I want to make sure I'm not using anything with chemicals around the baby and have found some really great green, non-toxic products since becoming aware. I'm hoping I'll find even more environmentally safe ways to safeguard our home through all of your posts

[happyhealthymom]

Hi Everyone! I am Sarah from Nashville and have three cute kids. I did not know much about the toxins in our household products and what they are doing to our health and the environment before November. This is when I joined a wellness company and started working from home with them.

We have converted our home to all natural products and are taking better vitamins and my whole family is feeling so much better. I am someone who would always get sick when any of my kids were sick and would suffer for about 3 weeks because I did not take the time to go to the doctor. I also had started to develop a bad case of allergies. Since November, I have not been sick once and my allergies are gone! I cannot wait to see how the fall and winter months go

My dad has cancer and my mom has tons of health issues as well, so the more I learned about Bleach, ammonia, and formaldehyde, the more I wanted to switch out every single product in our home to try to cut down the exposure for my children. I switched cleaning products, makeup, shampoo, body wash, everything. It is easier to do than you think.

I cannot wait to learn more from all of you,

[marmeeof5]

Hi! I'm Mary! I have 5 daughters (2 of which are on JM). I've been crunchy for many years, but have recently been learning more about natural cleaning supplies, health products and the benefits of a traditional foods diet (aka- Nourishing Traditions/Weston A Price).

I enjoy using essential oils, herbal and homeopathic remedies, cooking/baking from scratch (including freshly ground/soaked grain bread), trying to grow my own food, canning/freezing, and sewing. I always cloth-diapered my babies and now have begun making cloth pads for myself and my daughters. Life is an adventure!

I'm looking forward to meeting you all and joining in the fun!

[Christina33]

Hello Everyone! I am Christina, momma to 2 precious, growing boys, Dylan 10 & Dawson 9, and 1 furbaby Wennie - who was brought home to me after I came home from the hospital after losing a real baby in 2007, due to an Ectopic.
I have always wanted to be more Green, since I took out my first box of recycling as a new wife! As of right now I am using Reusable Shopping Bags, Recycle aluminum, metal, plastic, and paper that is not reused. My FIL has chickens, so we have fresh eggs (yay!) We use energy-saving light bulbs and I currently buy Green cleaners, but am looking at recipes to make my own. I Line-Dry my clothes in the spring and fall months and do not use a dish-washer, so I save both energy and water.
I want to learn everything I can, but am new to a lot of concepts of living green. I look forward to getting to know everyone here!

[DaGreeksWife]

Hi everyone.... I was about to start an introduction thread when I saw this one... so I am guessing this is where I am supposed put this?? I used to frequent this board a bit, about 2 years ago... but there wasn't much happening, so haven't been around in a while.

My name is Tiph, and I am the oldest dd of Mary (Marmeeof5) and sister of Heather (BirthDoulaToBe)!

Personally, I am a 26-year-old homeschool grad, chocoholic (yes please... better yet, make it dark!) & coffee aficionado.. Living my dream as crunchy, AP mommy, to my precious daughter "KB" (born at home, Aug '07).... a homemaker... and a helpmeet to my husband, B. ♥

As for my green journey.... I personally feel that "being green" encourages us to be more prudent & economical with the resources of which we are blessed to have! God has given us this beautiful earth to live on... and I feel we ought to be better stewards of and take more responsibility for it's care!

Without the label... I was pretty much raised by a AP & crunchy mom. From early on, we were taught the importance of recycling, not littering, good stewardship, frugality, living debt free, living simply & having a strong family unit. We were homeschooled, and taught to cook and sew simple items from a young age. Much of my wardrobe consisted of handmade or hand-me-downs, as Marmee always stressed the importance of $$ and how to stretch a dollar. She wore & breastfed every one of us, and made sure we all knew the benefits of eating a well-balanced meal. We even had times (depending on finances & stages of life) where we did all, most of, or (at least) some of the following: ate completely healthful & organic.... shopped at health food stores vs. the reg. grocery stores... juiced... made our own bread.... used herbal/natural remedies.... used only reusable items (like grocery bags)... and even managed an organic produce coop (and did so for a long time)!

From the beginning of our marriage, I began naturally implementing many of the things I was raised with (cooking at home vs eating out, recycling, shopping second-hand, cutting coupons, using only things that were necessary (lights, water, air conditioning, electricity, etc), not spending a lot of money on extravagances, etc.)... but I never saw myself as anything more than the average young adult... who was newly married, and trying to get on our feet. Then (almost two years later) I got pregnant, and began going the birthing center, to see a midwife for my care. It all went uphill from there. I guess the saying "When you have a baby is changes the way you see the world" is more true than I realized. Throughout my pregnancy, I was reminded of all the wonderful benefits of cloth diapering babywearing, & co-sleeping... given some awesome tips... and even learned about some cool new things, like Elimination Communication & some not-so-known methods of wearing your baby - like a wrap or a Mei Tai. Then, after the beautiful homebirth of our daughter....I started attending play groups, LaLeche League Meetings, babywearing groups, & EC meetings... and found myself being enlightened on issues much deeper than milestones, breastfeeding, ring-slings & having a diaper-free babe. I was being encouraged to research what's in things, and the impact they have on our daily lives. From shoes to plastics - cleaning to health... I have found an increasing conviction & interest in living more eco-friendly... as I continue to discover just how endless education is, if you're willing to listen & learn!

Looking forward to getting to know you all!!

[Indymommy7]

Hi, I am Wendy, mother to 6 children ages 16,15,13,10,3, and 10 months, currently TTC #7.

WHat brought me on my "green" path? When I was around the age of 16, I started immersing myself in a group of "Dead Heads" you know, those`who follow the Grateful Dead? They were and earthy sort, I will say, but that's how it started My parents HATED it, still do, as they are very wasteful with both money and our precious resources. I remember making a composte in our backyard and my mother screaming at me to remove it immediately as it would "bring on worms" and to this day, she is very unrespectful of my lifestyle, but our relationship was never good, but this belongs on another board!

I will admit over the years from time to time I may have veered a bit off of the green path in for the sake of convienience (bad Wendy) and others for situtions beyond my control (like me being unable to directly breastfeed my current baby due to his health issues at birth).

For years I was very resourceful and frugal and didn't realize the term for it was "green". For example, I never understood the need for papertowels as you can buy a huge pack of ultilty towels and use them many times over, all for the cost of one pack of paper towels! I also have been know to reuse tinfoil. I have used cardboard from packaging to make the base of decorations for my home. I cd'ed my 16 year old for a while, and back then they didn't have the wonderful quality cd's they have now that I have used on my two little ones, so after many leaks I went by the more "convienient" route and sadly think of all the sposies in the landfill and want to cry

I enjoy a green lifestyle by making my own household products, personal products (mama cloth namely) cloth diapering, recycling, repurposing and many, many other things. I find the homemade household products in most cases are far superior to the ones you buy in the store, esp those with the harsh chemicals, and in the process I save money and packaging, so really, being green is a win win situation! I am happy to be here!

As a side note- I feel I owe it to the earth to be green as I have chosen to bring many lifes into this world and many more if I am lucky!

[mommy melisa]

Hi my name is Melisa. I've been married to DH for 6 1/2 years. We have a very energetic 2 year old dd.

I'm more green to keep costs down. My mom was very frugal and I picked up those traits. We are trying to be more self sufficient and we try to eat healthy whole foods.

[Gaby&Emmy'sMama]

Hi, I'm Emma (27), single Mummy to Gabrielle (26.10.06) & Emersyn (16.06.10)

I am another in the green-for-frugality category. I am cloth diapering Emersyn (oh the addiction..), recycle, send organic waste to the organic waste center, grow my own vegetables & try to use the drier as little as possible during summer.. I've also just started making my own baby food

Oops, sorry, I just now saw this and posted my intro in the main boards. I won't duplicate it, just wanted to apologize.

[marmeeof5]

Copied from Ashl3y's other post for future reference:

I've had a look around the board and wanted to say hello! I'm not going to lie, I'm very new to this whole "green" idea but I definitely want to take it on. Or at least try my best. We recycle, we are expecting our first baby who will be in cloth diapers, but other than that I don't really know what else I can do so I will be looking around a lot, most likely picking up lots of ideas from you ladies!