Why is it that when women talk about being a stay at home mother, many describe themselves as being “just” a stay at home mom? I’ve always felt that there’s nothing so simple about it. As a stay at home mom you have the power to make a big difference for your family or even for others.
I like to think about the environment, for example. There are plenty of things you can do around the home to make sure that your family lives in a more environmentally friendly way. Some of it can even save money, which is often near and dear to the stay at home mother’s heart.
You’re always home, so that probably means you’re always using some electricity. But at some times of the year you can cut down on your electricity usage by something as simple as opening the blinds during the day and letting the sun light the house. This may not work in the dead of winter or when it’s so hot during the summer that you’d have to turn on the air conditioning, but it can be effective.
You can think about the cleaning supplies that you use. Cut out the harsh chemical cleansers that probably aren’t all that good for your family anyhow and pick ones that are more environmentally friendly.
Think about how you’re cooking for your family. Some cooking methods are far more energy efficient than others. If you like, you can even cook multiple meals at once to save energy.
Remember that when you have the time to cook for your family, you don’t need to waste money on fast food, which also produces a lot of garbage. You can also avoid more prepared foods, thereby avoiding the excess packaging and preservatives.
You can drive less. Being at home means that if the school is within walking distance, you can walk the kids to and from school. Great exercise as well as not using your car.
For that matter, you may be able to walk to the store. I’ve been known to go to the grocery store, kids in a wagon, lock up the wagon outside the store just like a bike, then haul the load home. It does work. You just have to be sure that the store is close enough for this to be a comfortable activity for you.
You can plant an organic garden. Not only is this a great way to have fresh vegetables without pesticides, it’s a delightful way to teach your children about where food comes from. Sometimes the hardest part is keeping the kids away from the garden long enough to get the produce to the table.
There’s more you can do, of course. This is just a quick list off the top of my head to get you thinking. As a stay at home mom I find there are lots of little things I could do that would be much harder if I weren’t at home.
Technorati Tags: stay at home mom, SAHM, organic gardening, environment
As you show, Stephanie, a stay-at-home mom can do a lot for the environment. It’s all about individuals (ALL individuals, not just moms) making choices in our everyday lives. We Americans are the ones with the most money to buy all the stuff, and it’s the way all our stuff is grown, manufactured, and transported again and again and again that depletes resources and contributes to global warming.
We’re the ones who have to make the change, and I have tears in my eyes that I’ve found one more ordinary person doing it.
Thank you. Keep up the good work. Keep writing about it.
great list and very practical too, thank you! starting small and just doing one thing that is doable is a great way to begin…
Great suggestions! I sure wish I had someplace to grow an organic veggie garden…
Great suggestions. These are things even working moms (really anyone) can do.
Here via the carnival of family life.
[…] Green SAHM has some wonderful suggestions on things stay at home moms, and really any one, can do to help the environment. […]
Great article! I’d like to echo comment #1 – it really is up to each of us to do our part. Even small changes, like the ones you’ve suggested, will add up as we live our lives.
As a stay-at-home-dad, I’ll take your suggestions to heart, even if I don’t quite qualify as a mom. 🙂
dan
Glad you enjoyed it. And great to meet a stay at home dad. Two of my brothers-in-law are stay at home dads too; I’m currently the only mom in my family who gets to stay home.
Excellent approach! Thanks for sharing with the Festival! Have you checked out the “A Little Greener” columns at GNMParents? I think you’d enjoy participating in the “conversations” around those topics!
[…] Stephanie of Green SAHM says, “Mothers have tremendous influence on their families. You can help your family make environmentally responsible decisions with just a little effort.” Read her story in How Much Can a Stay at Home Mom Really Do For the Environment? […]
[…] Another Stephanie shares how she is doing her part to save the Earth in her post, How Much Can a Stay at Home Mom Really Do For the Environment? Stephanie’s post really reminded me of the “A Little Greener” column here at GNM Parents. Clearly, there are lots of things that we can improve upon. Stephanie shares some of her efforts at Green SAHM. Go Green! Go Stephanie! […]