What's Different?

So, yesterday I told you about what got the gears turning and why my husband and I are making some lifestyle changes. Today, I'm going to share some of the things we're doing differently.

Now, this lifestyle is not a foreign concept to me. Some of you probably know that I grew up on a farm. We had cows and horses and chickens and dogs and cats. And, we had a garden (or more!) every year. I remember every year snapping beans to can and eating fresh corn on the cob for supper and tomatoes right out of the garden. I remember tall shelves in the basement filled with jellies and peaches and other canned fruits and veggies. And, I remember a huge chest freezer filled with beef from our farm and venison and turkey that Dad hunted.

We got three channels and Mom limited our time in front of the tv. We had acres of land to explore and lots to do outside. I'd say we lived pretty healthy. We were hardly ever sick - I don't think I missed a day of school for illness between 5th grade and almost to the end of my second year of college - I think it's pretty safe to bet that the way we lived had a lot to do with it.

So, you see, I already have a pretty good idea of what we needed to do.

We started with this year's garden. Last year, we made a compost bin that one of these days, I promise, I'll get around to posting about. We've been filling it up all winter with scraps from the kitchen and the worms are going to town. On top of this, we've bought organic dirt to do all of our edible planting as well as manure for compost, and we'll be looking into getting some more manure from local farmers when the frost danger is gone and we start planting the rest. Like last year, we've also started most of our plants from seed, but this year, we're planning to stay on top of the garden a little better and hopefully get a better harvest so we can can and freeze as much as possible to last through the winter.

We're also trying to locate sources of organically growth meats. I've found a farm about 45 minutes away that, starting Memorial Weekend, has a farm stand every Saturday with organic produce and meats as well as some cheeses from a local Amish farmer. This farm even goes as far as to use horses to do the work in order to cut down on environmental impact. They already have some eggs for sale and a couple weeks ago, we made the trip to pick up 3 dozen. At $2.50/doz. for organic eggs, it's a pretty good deal and I figure 3 dozen should last us about a month. For now, we'll plan on driving up about once a month to stock up, but hopefully in the future we can find someone a little closer.

For my regular grocery shopping, I've been slowing finding the products that have the organic seal. Grocery shopping is taking me a little longer while I'm searching the isles for the healthier alternative to what we usually buy, but I'm making the switch a little at a time.

In the past, I've done most of my shopping at Walmart. It's the closest and most convenient. The only other grocery store in the area being Aldi's which has terrible hours for working people, and our town's IGA that is generally more expensive. A little further away we have a Giant Eagle, and recently I made to trip to see what they had in the way of organic.

I have to say I was kind of impressed. Giant Eagle now has their own brand of organic foods, and I was able to find most of the things I was looking for, including pastas and juice. Giant Eagle is a little more expensive, but I signed up for the Giant Eagle card to get all the discounts, plus I'm getting some fuel perks, which I think will be worth it now that gas is at $3.99/gal. Giant Eagle also has an insert that we get in our PO Box so I can keep an eye on the sales and make the trip when I know it will be worth it to me.

I'm sure I'll be finding more changes we can make to live healthier lives, and I'll be posting what I'm finding along the way!