Way to go on guest blog! FYI, Scott Caddow is the owner of Legenday World and one of my best friends. He has joined me on the Mrs. Green journey and is creating more green living habits each and every day.
“Hello Mrs. Green! I thought I would pen a quick guest post for you and your readers, with an update on my grand adventure and ongoing “green journey”.
It has now been three months (WOW!) since my move to the beautiful San Juan Islands and I’m loving every minute of it. When I started contemplating the possibility of doing something outrageous like picking up and moving to another part of the world for a year, I also decided to make changes in my habits and behavior as well. I decided to call my journey Project 2013! I made TWO bold statements to myself. One, I would get rid of all packaged, processed, synthesized and other un-natural foods from my home and eat only real food. Secondly, I would get really serious about removing plastics, zip lock bags and plastic grocery bags from my routine. This has actually grown into taking a hard look at ALL single use items and making changes in how I use these – and there are MANY!
I have had so much fun learning about food, farming, gardening, seafood, seeds and all aspects of eating more naturally. My first step was to look at what I had in the house and how to replace it with better alternatives. First to go was all the bottled garbage in my pantry: dressings, sauces, condiments and salsas, all filled with unpronounceable chemicals, sugars and dyes. I got into canning (for the first time!) and made my own catsup, mustard, salsa, tomato sauce and dressings! I had a blast, my stuff was better tasting and much healthier. As my confidence grew in this area I started canning meats, stews and soups, and YUM! I have now shared my canning knowledge and experience with a few others and have enjoyed watching them get into it. We now even trade canned goods among our group.
When I arrived in the San Juan Islands I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was surrounded by small farms, greenhouses, dairies, ranches and other producers of local foods. I go out every week now and buy meat and poultry from the local ranches and hit the dairy and bakery twice per month, I buy vegetables around town twice per week and usually end up at the grocery store about once per month for the few odds and ends I need. I love not having boxes and bags and cans filling my cupboard and a having a kitchen full of real food to prepare whenever I need it. The unexpected by-product of all this is no trash! I had no real idea how much trash is produced in packaging food. After recycling, I take out a 13 gallon trash bag to the curb – every other week. Only two per month! My food waste goes to my neighbor who has an amazing composting system and when I need it for my plants she shares it back with me, a true win-win.
What I have really learned is that none of this is hard, I really enjoy cooking and canning and sharing with my friends and neighbors. My trips to the farm, bakery and dairy are always great opportunities to learn and meet new and interesting people.
I’ll tell you about my education in plastics and single use waste in a future update! Have a Great Green Day and thanks for letting me share my adventures!”
I am speechless, impressed and thrilled beyond measure. Kudos to my friend Scott for living a healthier, greener life & making the plant a healthier place for all of us. Stay tuned for updates from Scott’s exciting journey.