It’s Too Much

All this sustainability, eco-friendly talk can be overwhelming and often feels a bit condescending. I know that was something I felt as I started to venture into the “crunchy” world of reduce, reuse, recycle. In fact, just dipping a toe in the sustainable living world immediately made me feel immense guilt that I was never doing enough. Starting out feels expensive, and sometimes even wasteful, as you change over your everyday items. When I bought my first glass soap dispensers and got rid of the old plastic store bought soap bottles, it felt like I spent more money just to create waste.

There is a bit of truth to it, I spent more money on 3 dispensers then I would have buying 10 individual hand soaps from the store, but I reminded myself that that was kind of the point. I immediately reduced the amount of plastic I was buying by spending a bit more money. Truthfully, it still costs a little more to keep and refill my soap than it would if I just kept buying the plastic hand soaps. It is also true that I can offset that added cost by forgoing the coffee shop one time that week or keep the Oreos out of my cart at the grocery store. It’s the little things that add up. I should have seen those glass dispensers as a success, but all it did was make me look around and see how wasteful many things in my life were. And how much money it might take to make more changes.

Overtime, I swapped out more household items with a more eco-friendly version. It’s still not perfect, but that’s how life goes and we do our best. I still get that shameful feeling when I look around at all the “things” in my home, or take out the trash too many times in a week. I always have to remind myself that even doing small things can help shift the way my life and home operate, and ultimately contribute to the betterment of the planet - if only by a very teeny tiny bit.

And that’s what I hope to help others with when they come to River Girl Farm Company. Start simple. Try one new thing; maybe the next time you are running out of shampoo, you order a refill pouch or even test out a shampoo bar. Sometimes it will take a couple tries to find what is right, but know that you’re doing your best. I see you! Let me know if I can help.