Happy Belated Earth Day! What We Can Do To Be Eco-Friendly

Yes I’m late for 2 days, but here I am. Let’s talk about this year’s Earth Day with the theme “Invest in Our Planet” which is the same as last year. 

Well, I feel guilty…because I’m the one destroying this beautiful planet. Ever since I gave birth to my little Miss Smiley a few weeks ago, the speed of our garbage bin to be full has been much quicker than ever. 

 

A few culprits are: 

• Disposable diapers (newborns pees/poops so many times! And I don’t know why but our baby pees/poops right after we changed diapers!!)
• Baby wipes(same as above. If it’s just pee, we can finish it with a sheet but not for poop)
• Disposable changing mats(we mainly use reusable mat but accident happens…a lot)

 

I’m loyal and honest to you(surprised? No, you’re not!) so I admit the culprit isn’t only baby stuff but…

 

• My postpartum pad(Maxi pads are as big as baby diapers(well, aren’t they?) I bled too much blood again in my 4th week of postpartum and had to have an emergency operation. That led my recovery from the delivery push back so I’m sure I’m using maxi pads and other medical supplies much more than other moms)
• Disposable sheets to prevent blood leaks (I ended up making a mess a lot from bleeding)
• Nursing pads(I’m sure I’m NOT producing much milk like other moms but milk leak happens so I need them)
• Food packages(meal preparation and eating need to be done quickly before the baby demands another feed. We’re eating much more ready to eat food and typically they have more packages than making from scratch kind of homemade food)

 

Garbage is not the only reason but…

 

• Water to hand wash baby clothes/bibs/burp clothes/crib sheets (same as above…sometimes…ahem, quite frequently they’re only in use for a few sec. She spits up milk a lot!)
• Laundry detergent(exactly same reason as above)
• Frequent change of our clothes(even after 1 hr from last feed, baby spit up milk when we hold up baby)
• Frequent change of towels(as long as diaper change is frequent plus before and after each feed, we need to wash our hands so towels get soaked up quite quick)

 

etc etc…I have reusable clothes diapers and nursing pads, but I wonder if they’re really eco-friendly since we’d be using a lot of water and detergent. Also if I need to hand wash them, I’m risking my hands with eczema…meaning I’d use extra gas to see my dermatologist later.

 

Well, so many excuses to justify my current action. Also if I need to list up the disposable anything that I used at the hospital, the list adds up to hundreds. Sometimes I talk about the importance of keeping this planet beautiful, but now I’m doing totally inconsistent things and that makes me feel bad. 

 

Now I’m reflecting on my everyday life to make up for these shames, and phew, there are a few things I’m doing right. 

 

The first one is that we changed our garbage bag from the traditional plastic one to an eco-friendly, compostable bag. According to the brand, the garbage bag is made from plant-based materials and will completely break down as the time goes by. We’ve just started to use them but I’m sure this move is the right thing for our planet. 

 

Also we’ll keep the easy, basic way in terms of our eating habit: cook just the right amount of food for us to prevent making leftovers. If there are any leftovers, just enjoy the second serving in the next meal by thanking the beautiful harvest, or transform leftovers to another food!

 

It’s too early at the moment but when my baby grows a little more, we’ll definitely teach her it’s important to be friendly to the Earth. 

 

Is there anything you can think of and want to give me some advice? Please feel free to share it in the comment! It’s much appreciated:) 

 

<Some Leftover-Makeover Food Ideas> 

I know baking is hard! Trifle

Got any seasonings you didn’t use? Heavenly Aromatic Apple Cookies

Who’s a fan of salmon skin? Crispy Salmon Skin Hand Roll

Enjoy home cooking and your own creation of homemade food:)