Purchasing New = Big Carbon Footprint

There have been quite a few moments recently where I have realized my negative impact on the environment.  I typically try to watch this but sometimes experiences sneak up on me, giving me a "whoops!" reaction.  This happened last night.

A few days ago our microwave officially died.  (I secretly wanted to try to see how long we could go without one, but my s.o. called me out on it and said "not happening".  Perhaps someday I can gently coax him into it and in the meantime, practice finding ways not to use it. He claims that it is more environmentally sound than using alternative methods of heating and cooking, so this is to be continued until I do more research)

Anyhow, we went out to the store last night to purchase a new microwave.  For a microwave, this definitely makes me happy seeing it on my counter.

When we came home, we opened it up to put on our kitchen counter.  As we took it out, I realized just how much packaging was involved in bringing this microwave to our home in new condition. I had the same experience when we moved across the country using a full-service company. Oh my goodness, we spent 2 months of putting boxes and packing paper in our recycling bin.  Even though I posted on Freecycle and kept a bunch in storage, it was a massive amount of paper.

Have you had any experiences like this recently where you realized your negative impact?

       Peace,

Jen Starks, Owner www.ecologicalbabies.com ecologicalbabies@gmail.com 574.275.1235