Why the Crunch?

Crunchy. Green. Natural. Sustainable.

All ways to describe my dream lifestyle. But what do they actually mean?

According to Dictionary.com*, sustainable living is “any lifestyle based on energy-saving and environmental responsibility” but that doesn’t fit my vision exactly. For me, sustainable living does include energy-saving and environmental responsibility but also being reliant on my own “village” and community for your wants and needs. But it also includes living frugally. To be sustainable, you have to be able to afford your lifestyle too. It’s not necessarily natural or green (except for the money saved) but it would be sustaining the way you live.

*Photo from www.lexingtonky.gov/recycling

Most people have heard the term green living and connect it to natural. Crunchy is one of the newer terms out there though. Crunchy is a spin-off from the reference to those following a more natural minded lifestyle and the granola that was a very common snack. Granola is crunchy so it morphed into the crunchy lifestyle.

So what does that mean for me and this blog?

My vision of my future would include living a lot crunchier than I currently do. I try now and have dabbled in many different ways of saving the earth and saving some money but my situation previously didn’t allow me to really continue any of it. Now that I have kids and also take care of my mom, it is even more important to me to live a sustainable lifestyle.

Healthy, affordable food is a must in this house and with only one person in the house able to work, money tends to limit our access to healthy food. Growing and preserving my own food, especially now that I am no longer living in an apartment, is going to be the easiest way to offset our food costs. Plus, it keeps us from relying on other people for our own food.

Budgeting and living frugally is another stepping stone towards sustainable living. This goes back to the lifestyle sustainability that I want to achieve. In order to feel the safety of knowing I am able to get all the bills paid and provide for my family is a major desire and a major aspect of my dream of sustainability.

I also want to preserve the earth and the environment so that my children and my children’s children are able to enjoy this gorgeous planet we call home. Again, it’s about sustaining the Earth. So recycling, striving for a waste-free household, and conserving resources are all going to be seen.

*Photo from https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/index.html

It all interconnects. Each one a single aspect of my vision, my dream. As I push myself toward my dream, I’m taking you along with me.

Each Saturday, I’ll share a new tip or trick that I’ve tried along my journey to sustainable living. It could be budgeting or growing your own food, green cleaners or composting. You might even see posts about saving money or increasing your income. There are just so many different branches off the tree of sustainable living for me.

Whether you are completely new to the crunchy lifestyle or an old pro, there will be something for everyone.

* http://www.dictionary.com/browse/sustainable-living