New Age Hippie

That is what I have decided to title myself as - a "new age hippie". Not that I particularly want to be or like being generalized into ANY kind of category, but I feel like that is the best way to describe myself and lifestyle in as few words as possible. Recently at work, I have taken the time I am not busy to explore ways to be more green, healthy, and consequently more liberal. (My grandfather, father of 7, college professor, faithful church goer and lover of all goodness - who also calls horse poo shit and is married to a woman who doesn't like the word "darn" - just recently proclaimed that God is a liberal and it makes me feel much better about life. I also discovered that my grandparents, whom I always figured were super conservative, have voted democrat their whole lives and don't like people that don't like/voted for Obama. My grandparents rock.)

So, I already am vegan, plan on using cloth diapers and making my own baby food, having non-medicated births, maybe even home births, am pro-gay rights and marriage, and I use Tupperware over plastic baggies and screw in my little High Efficient light bulbs. I also like to yell at my husband when he lets the shower run for 10 minutes before he gets in it. OK, so some of that makes me a little hippie-ish, right?


Well now I am onto a whole new level of craziness. I started looking at how much paper we waste on napkins, paper towels, toilet paper etc., and these are not JUST tree hating products, but the resources and pollution that go into packaging these products makes me a little ill. So, here is my resolution: switch to all cloth. You heard me cloth. Cloth napkins, cloth towels, cloth TOILET PAPER! So probably right now most of you have just made a silent oath to never come over to my house ever in my existence - however, I will keep some "guest rolls" of the regular stuff tucked away for such occasions. Please don't let me scare you away.


Side note: I am not the type of person to force my lifestyle and beliefs on anyone else. I do however hope to make people re-think some of their beliefs, re-evaluate, and maybe make some changes for the better. Hence the "new-age" in my self proclaimed title; I'm not going to sit on your porch with daisies in my hair singing Kum-bi-yah waiting for you to switch to cloth toilet paper and squeeze your babies out in your backyard.

However I have come into a small dilemma because to fulfill my dream of cloth toilet paper I also want to install a bidet. I have always loved the idea of really getting clean with a bidet, plus it would make the whole process much more clean and less smelly. My dilemma is a) we live in a tiny apartment with two cats and we can't attach any kind of permanent fixtures and b) we only have like, 3 rolls of paper left and I don't have a sewing machine to make little square cloth toilet wipes. This gives me very little time to make the change. So what does a girl do?! Do I wait for another 6 months until we are out of this shoebox apartment whilst every day agonizing over the waste I am creating as I wipe my bum? Well regardless I'm sure I'll figure it all out - and definitely make sure to include you all in this fantastic new adventure!