Reduce-Reuse-Recycle… but mostly Reduce

How did we get into the mess that modern parenting is? Does anyone feel like they’re doing it right? Have we bit off more than we can chew. New, more, better might be sinking us.

Many of the parents I work with are buying organic carrots, carrying reusable bags and driving their Prius’ when they aren’t on their bikes. They care and yet the level of consumption continues to go up. Americans consume far more natural resources and live much less sustainably than people from any other large country of the world.

Our goal has to be to create more sustainable families. It isn’t just about the “stuff”, it is the time, the money and the emotional clutter we are facing every day. We need less- clothing, toys, distractions, structure, space, food waste, noise, information.

We need more peace, sense of satisfaction, experiences, outside, acceptance, balance, boredom, music, wisdom.

What if you have all that you need? What if your kids already have an amazing family, great parents, a wonderful life experience? What if you’ve got this?

Can we celebrate birthdays and holidays and family time in a sustainable way?

Can our kids be entertained and kept safe while still being free to be outside, playing creatively or just bored?

Can our community be those people who live near us, no matter what they believe or how they look?

Can we have homes that are havens where we let go of our stress?

Instead of “Keeping Up with the Kardasians” or even the boring old Joneses, we need to create lives that value growth and acceptance. Family balance means having a game you can win. Unsustainable goals create toxic stress. A clean house, great meals, well behaved kids, a perfect marriage, even happiness…these things happen in moments. They are fleeting and temporary. Life is more often a messy house with whatever we have in the fridge, kids fighting and complaining, partners making us nuts and so much distraction it is hard to notice if you are in fact happy in this moment. And then things shift and something lovely happens and you hit the zone. The sun comes out and things go smoothly for one simple moment. This is the goal. More beautiful moments in our simple daily lives.

This week- pick one thing. Simplify one area. Stop trying so hard. Do less. Create a sense of satisfaction in your family right now, in the glorious mess. Do it for the rest of us. Maybe we can create some pressure to have sustainable lives.