This post has no point. I’m just rambling.
I guess I feel frustrated that it seems like we don’t make enough of a difference for the super green, but making too much of a difference to not be considered ‘normal’ by others, like being caught in limbo.
That, and I probably feel guilty as well.
We feel like we’re in limbo!
We’re so in the middle with everything — being green, minimalist, not eating meat all the time, being frugal but not cheap, owning a car but not driving it very much, but there doesn’t seem to be a spot for us moderate folk.
I’m even moderate in my choice of a PC or a Mac (I own and like both, but for different functions).
It’s like there seems to be a camp of “one or the other” in choices like that.
I also hate the idea that it means people are better than others by the choices and sacrifices they make, like owning a PC makes you feel superior because you can play with numbers in Excel or owning a Mac makes you feel superior (BF I am looking at you!) because “it just works”.
We’re pretty frugal, I think, but we do NOT hold a candle to some frugal people out there.
We don’t use plastic baggies, but if we did, we probably wouldn’t wash them out (my mom does that). (We use Tupperware for everything.)
We don’t try to scrimp and save with coupons, because we rarely buy anything that needs a coupon for it, but we wouldn’t say no to even $0.10 off!
I mean yes. We all make choices to be better people, to buy or not buy certain things and whatever but it almost feels like people are silently saying: if you aren’t with us 100%, you cannot be as good as us.
The newest?
I feel like eating meat, is the new smoking of cigarettes!!!!
I do agree that we need to cut down on the meat, which is why I’m trying to eat less meat and eat more vegetarian/vegan at least twice a week, and I’ve enjoyed it!
But sometimes I feel like being green can be so self-righteous, which is funny for me to say because I consider myself to be eco-friendly.
People like us, meat-eaters who drive a truck and an old car (although not often, by the way), being good with keeping electricity down, not wasting water, switching to more simple items, trying to go more natural with less processed foods or products… but it doesn’t seem like it’s enough.
Maybe one day I’ll turn completely vegetarian or vegan, own an electric car (or none at all), but right now, I feel like our choices are being judged singly, rather than looking at what we choose to do as a whole.
Meat eater? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *shun shun shun*
I’m sure we could do more but being in a modern country, it’s so difficult to avoid these things if you live a modern life. You can make choices but only to an extent because I still want to buy electronics and do other modern things that make us feel guilty as greeniacs.
And I do love eating meat. 🙁 I have a love for it, and while I wish I didn’t, it’s what I like.
I wish all I craved was raw, fresh, meatless meals like Gena of Choosing Raw, but I’m not that person.
(Interesting note: BF told me he lived like a vegan for a while just to see what it was like and went back to eating meat and dairy. He likes to try everything to judge for himself. He also doesn’t eat much meat in general — mostly tomato pastas during the week and only meat-y meals on the weekends.)
Feeling helpless in a modern society
I feel as though the only way to live “off the grid” with a super low carbon footprint is just to move to a country that doesn’t have anything modern.
Like living in Thailand on the beach, growing our own veggies and living in a hut somewhere. We could live off the land and just live simply forever, but we don’t want that.
All we can do is try to keep our carbon footprint down, using handkerchiefs, limiting water and electricity, driving less, choosing to use cloth diapers with our future kids. In general, we’re trying to make the best choices, but we have modern lives here.
We have worker bee 9-5 jobs when we’re on contract.
We like living modern lives with modern amenities..
It’s kind of like being judged by other minimalists or frugal people for loving to spend money and to have so many clothes and accessories, or loving our laptops and the internet.
Ok I’ll shut up. Really, I’m just rambling, but not ranting at anything or anyone in particular except myself.
Thanks for listening. 🙂
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
I think we all feel judged for our personal decisions. I’m a vegetarian and when meat eaters find out, the attitude I get is, “Oh, so you think you’re better than me?!” uhhh…no. I just don’t eat meat. I get that many vegans/vegetarians are die hards and it gives us more mellow folk a bad name but I think we should all just be more respectful. Why do people care what I put in my face? 🙂
I actually think that you’ve made some nice, balanced choices there. Trust me, you’re doing enough. Also, humans are omnivores by nature. I don’t think that going green is a good reason to be a vegetarian/vegan.
Correct response to all this = screw what everyone else thinks. You know that you’re doing your best. But in my experience, easier said than done.
You guys live in a much more frugal/minimalist way than the vast majority of North Americans and that is a massive step toward being green!
Personally, I know I can’t do it. I love meat too much. That being said, I try to do my small part by buying local organic meat that has been treated well while being raised. I love the idea that I am supporting my local farmer and getting quality meat for a very reasonable cost. I just love CSA’s!
I don’t feel guilty about meat eating. I’ve switched to a mostly Paleo diet and after doing some research I don’t think it is eating meat that is killing the planet. It is the prepackaged foods, everyones desire to have a big house and car, and consumerism. If we all only ate single ingredient foods (vegetables, fruit, meat and seeds/nuts) I think the whole planet would be better off. No packaging, no processing and everyone would be much healthier.
I only know one healthy vegetarian. The rest are vegetarian and vegans that eat poorly and are overweight. It is a lot of work to get the right nutrients if you’re not eating meat and there are a lot of bad food choices that are vegan and vegetarian.
I like the moderate approach. There has to be a balance and when I read your blog I see the balance. You’re frugal but you’re not cheap. You’re enjoying your life and not letting finances be the one focus.
Hope you’re enjoying your travels!
Yes, many vegetarians live on potato chips! I am completely vegetarian at home but usually eat meat once or twice a week when I am out. Eventually I want to be completely vegetarian but it’s all about baby steps.
I believe moderation gets you further on the road you’re heading down, than jumping in with both feet does. Keep doing what you’re doing. Love your blog.
I can definitely relate to this post! I am 95% vegan but I have no vegan friends…because my 95% is never good enough for real vegans usually. I always feel like I’m never doing enough and I do wish people looked at EVERYTHING we did. 🙂 I never liked meat and dairy does a number on me so being vegan is easy in my case. But like you, I enjoy an urban life and as much as I try to be a minimalist with most things, I do have areas where minimalism doesn’t work as well (fashion, technology). We don’t have or watch TV but we own several computers (macs and pcs). We eat local, we have one car and I use public transportation. We are also in the midst of selling all the contents in our house to move into an apartment in another city. We’re never buying property again! looking forward to a smaller space and more minimalism. 🙂 Thanks for this post, made me feel better. 🙂
I can definitely relate!
I own a PC at home, but use a Mac at work (by choice), and I like both just fine. I use coupons occasionally, but only if I happen to see one for something I’m already planning on buying. I hardly ever ate meat in college, but hubby loves it, so we eat it more now. I have switched us over to organic, and as much as possible free-range/cage-free stuff (which I know is still not perfect). We do try to take public transportation or walk when possible, and try to conserve water and electricity, but of course, living in a modern world which requires us to be online or at least on computers for work quite frequently makes it harder.
Sounds like there are a lot of us here in limbo! But I think all of our little efforts combine to make some difference, and that’s all we can do.
Wow love the post, because I totally understand. I live in a small, inexpensive home, drive older cars, I like both PC’s and Mac, I don’t use coupons for the same reasons, and was a vegetarian, but love BBQ chicken way too much. All because I want to, not because people tell me I should or shouldn’t. I always feel like I am in limbo and people don’t understand. Cool to know there are people out there who do occasionally think like me. 🙂
I hear ya! I’m in the middle re: the green movement (if you can call it that), too. And I, too, feel the burn when a non-meat eater discovers that I occasionally eat it! Especially in lesbian circles (the stereotype is true in this case) it is heavily frowned upon. So I like green curry chicken — lay off the judgment, please!
I think it’s good that you’re conscious and do what you can. Wouldn’t the earth be better off if we were all like that? The die-hards are good – they’re the ones with the drive to spread the word and bring awareness, I find in most cases. But being in the middle is nothing to be ashamed of!
I liked this post. 🙂 I feel the same way a lot of the time. I was vegetarian for most of my life, but it wasn’t necessarily healthier (LOTS of cheese for protein, processed foods, meat substitutes). Now that I eat meat occasionally, I feel better physically but I feel guilty.
I always take my own shopping bags to the store, but I feel bad driving there (it’s not walkable, but I still feel bad).
I don’t want to think about what plane travel does to the environment, but my life is happier when I see the people I love on a regular basis. I can’t help it that they all live spread out and far away.
I want to use cloth diapers but I’m concerned about how day care/family will react to that. If they don’t agree, am I stuck using disposables? Can I live with that?
Anyway, no answers for you – but I totally feel your pain.
I was a vegetarian for 3 yrs and went back to a meat eating person. All because I love meat. No regrets here.
And for those people who shun you because of your choices, too bad! They lost the opportunity of knowing you. Not your loss.
Come to Switzerland, everyone is very moderate here! They don’t “do” extremes, neutrality is always the name of the game… and nobody would be so rude as to criticise your choices.
Actually, that drives me crazy sometimes, too, always the herd instinct – and I occasionally stand out as an “exotic” Anglo-Saxon, but then I am forgiven for being a foreigner!
Personally, I like to make my own choices and actually dislike extremes, so I’m probably not so badly situated overall LOL. I prefer to live in a smaller house, drive an ancient tiny car (as long as it runs, when it dies I will probably use the train like a lot of other people – we have a great train service!), eat meat and/or dairy if I feel like it (with plenty of organic options in everything) and not if I don’t, exercise in whatever way I like – or not, and so on.
I was taught it was called “having the courage of your convictions”.
(You might get some funny looks if you don’t like Swiss sausage or cheese, though – maybe this is why we have fewer American tourists these days…)
In regards to the meat/footprint thing, I would suggest The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith. It’s the best book on ecology I’ve read since my ecology textbook (and yes, I thought one of my college textbooks was amazing).
Small changes can make a huge difference. I do not like when people go to extremes with things, and feel that if most people thought the way you did it would make a huge difference.
I would say that I feel the same way as you on many issues and have gotten over trying to justify my choices. I have one friend who gets on a soap box about almost any issue, and eventually we stopped hanging out with her. No one wants to feel that their efforts are just not enough.
I say good for you, and keep doing what feels right to you. If you do not have a balance it will throw everything off.
I have to respect anyone that is thinking about what they can do to reduce their impact while maintaining a lifestyle that they can still love. I think that is all we can ask of people! Certainly, it is what I ask of myself. I haven’t run into anyone that has judged me for not being green enough, but certainly I’ve come across people who think it is crazy that I don’t own a car ($$ and parking issues, mainly, not because of greenness, but it is an added bonus!). I’m certainly not as green as I could be, but I do what I can, when I can, while still being comfortable and happy.
It is the people who don’t think at all who *I* judge. Actually, that is my whole philosophy, on religion, eco-friendliness, frugality, etc. If someone is blindly following the herd, they aren’t figuring out what works for them. Therefore, I can’t respect their position, because they don’t know why they believe the things they do!
Basically, I am saying that I love that you aren’t trying to fit into a certain camp because you feel you have to–you have figured out what works for you. You are being unique, which is what you were meant to be. It is hard to be caught in the middle, though, and I understand that. But you know why you do certain things and what you are doing DOES make a difference, so that is all that matters. A day without meat is a day without meat–no one can argue that that isn’t as good as someone else’s day without meat. You know what I mean? I’m annoyed that someone made you feel that way!
That reminds me…I once had two roommates, one was super green and the other was less vigilant about it. (It was California, even the worst person there is pretty green.) One day, the super green roommate berated my other roommate for putting something in the recycling bin that wasn’t recyclable. After that, my less vigilant roommate was actually afraid to put ANYTHING in the recycling bin, lest she get another lecture! I think sometimes the super greenies fight against their cause by being so militant. Same with all extremists…it scares people off sometimes. Every little bit helps, so don’t be a douche to someone with good intentions.
Be what you are, and proud of it. I’d be happy to join your new group of moderates. 🙂
And that is the end of MY rant. 🙂
I understand your frustration! Being moderate in your “scaling back” is a strange line to walk, because very “mainstream” people often think you’re a weirdo, and hardcore minimalist/green/etc. folks sometimes view you as a dilettante or a “tourist” in their movement. However, we know our own selves best, and not all of us are meant to cannonball 100% into a movement like minimalism or eco-friendliness, given our jobs, families, and other living situations. We each do what we can. It’s not a question of “legitimacy”, of all or none. It’s a question of doing what you can in your own way. Love your blog, by the way!