Screen-free week: Role modeling and the Facebook Fast

I constantly have to remind myself that my kids are watching me like a hawk, absorbing my behaviors and often adapting them. This makes for many cringe-worthy moments, but also for some proud ones. Like any other behavior you try to reinforce, you probably won't have much success unless you do it yourself. You can't teach your kid to chew with her mouth closed if you eat like a horse. The same goes for screen. If you're spending most of your time staring at a screen when your kids are around, they will want to do the same. TV is not an issue for me, and I don't have a fancy cell phone that browses the web and receives email (because if I did, I would be looking at it constantly). My screen struggles are right here on the computer.

Several weeks ago I finally hit the wall. I was depressed, sick and unmotivated and trying to find escape online. I'm not sure how much time I was spending on the computer, but it felt like too much. Most of it was reading blogs, and then clicking on a link, then to another link. It was like I was looking for something, some great insight that would help me, what? Figure out how to be a better person? So I decided to put myself on an online diet. Major. Here's what I did:

1) In one fell swoop I emptied out my Google reader and unsubscribed from all of my favorite blogs. I figured they weren't going anywhere, so if I needed them again one day, I could find them.

2) I stopped checking Facebook. I'm not really a big FB user, but I was checking it a couple of times a day, reading all of those status updates from high school people I haven't thought about in 20 years, letting that useless information infect my brain. I didn't miss it!

3) I stopped receiving daily digest emails from a Yahoo! group that I'm really not that active in. Always read the digest, but never really participated -- why bother?

4) I stopped checking news sites, you know, for the latest! breaking! news! as well as People.com and other brain candy sites. I knew far too much about the cast of Gossip Girl yet had never watched the show.

Basically for most of March I limited myself to writing this here blog, checking email and only browsing the web if I needed to research a recipe or something important. And I only did it when the kids were at school. Oh. My. God. It was liberating! It was like an instant energy boost. Well, hello reality! You're not so bad after all! I gained a ton of time and focused on getting healthy and being really present for my family and myself. I was active instead of passive, busy and engaged, and it felt (feels) great.

Little by little I've eased up on some of those online restrictions, but not by much. I just don't feel that compulsion anymore, like some part of my identity is wrapped up in those online destinations, and if I don't go there then I might miss out on something important! But also, I kind of don't have the time anymore. There are yard projects underway and a new exercise class to get to and hikes to take with my mom and baseballs to throw and bike tires to pump up and the list goes on. 

I want to show my kids that you can be entertained and engaged by alternative means. You can MAKE your own fun, and for the most part they are really great about doing that. (In fact, they are working on a list of 'things we'd rather be doing than watching television' to share with you later in the week.) When they do get some screen time, they know it's a privilege and they really think about how they want to use it -- what site to play on or show to watch. But ultimately, they have a lot more fun away from it. That's how I'm feeling about the online world these days -- it's a nice place to visit once in awhile, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Do you struggle with computer time? Have you found a good balance between the virtual and real world?

Happy Birthday, EnviroMom (& favorite links)

We are two! It's hard to believe that just two years ago we broke EnviroMom off from our now-defunct parenting blog and launched it as a stand-alone. Renee and I have been looking through our archives, and it's pretty crazy how far we've come since we started down this mossy-green path. We were just starting the Master Recycler course, Renee was still terrified of chickens and I couldn't wrap my head around composting. I wonder what the next two years will bring? Maybe we'll both have given up our cars and dying our hair. Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, stop!

This past year has been pretty exciting. With 'green' having such a presence in the media, EnviroMom ended up getting its own share of attention. We launched the One Can A Month Challenge in July, which got a lot of people talking and (we hope) inspired to reduce their household waste. Portland Monthly, our local glossy, labeled us Ecofreaks and managed to publish a truly terrible photo of me. But the highlight had to be the Nightline segment, which was a joy to film and, ultimately, nerve-wracking to watch.

So here are a few old posts that we both enjoyed re-reading again, and so may you:

Bloggy love

I subscribe to ten blogs in Google Reader, which is about all I can manage on any given day. (This makes me particularly grateful to our readers -- thanks for coming here!) I usually end up rotating out some of these blogs for new discoveries every so often. I was really hot on design blogs for awhile, until they all started blending together and sounding the same, so I just did some Reader housekeeping and swapped out a few for three new finds:

Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op. I'm not sure how I came across this site, but I love it so much. It's written by 16 bloggers and covers the wide spectrum of simple, sustainable living. And because there are so many contributors you get a variety of voices and perspectives. I think at least one of the bloggers lives in Australia (she refers to herself as 'mum'). Recent posts on menu planning, making butter, and homemade kid gifts were so inspirational. Really good stuff here. And from this site I've been enjoying a couple of these writers' personal blogs (I'm almost too scared to explore others because I'm trying to keep my addictions to a minimum!)

Throwback at Trapper Creek is one. This blogger, who prefers to remain anonymous, lives on a farm in the Columbia Gorge not far outside of Portland. She is living my farming life. Seriously, it's like reading about how I'd want to be living my life if I didn't love the amenities and company of the urban life. I love reading about her thriving winter garden (and they battle some serious cold and wind out there), food preservation and life with a handful of cattle and some chickens. She recently pondered whether she should continue blogging, whether anyone was getting anything out of it -- they are! Continue, please!

The other one is Beauty the Moves, written by another Heather who I think might live in the eastern U.S. She loves all things handmade and vintage and writes about crafts and cooking, raising her teen daughter (love the Abe Lincoln party they hosted) and finding balance. Beautiful photos. I keep thinking that if I read more of these crafty/cooking blogs that I'll actually get inspired to do more myself. But who has the time when we're so busy reading blogs? 

Good 4 Girls: reuseable cloth menstrual pads for developing nations

I love this. The Good 4 Girls initiative collects donations of reusable cloth menstrual pads -- either hand-sewn or commercially sewn. Goods 4 Girls is working with aid organizations in Kenya and Uganda to distribute the pads to girls in need. Why, you ask? Because in developing nations, they don't have tampons and maxi pads as cheaply and readily available from vending machines in public restrooms as we do. So when they get their periods, they often have to miss school, or worse, they're trying to change-out the rags or wads of newspaper they are using behind a shrub. I cannot imagine. We have Seattle's own Crunchy Chicken to thank for this great idea, who's clearly put a lot of thought into it (please read her post for more information and to get involved).

Shining the spotlight of some fellow green bloggers

We get a ton of email from other green bloggers and wanted to shine the spotlight on a few:

• Cecily from EcoMetro (publishers of the fabulous Chinook Books) blogs on green parenting issues. We're hoping to meet Cecily at an upcoming GreenGroup meting.
• Smart Foods Healthy Kids, is having a healthy Valentines day recipe contest. It's a website site focused on teaching healthy (organic, non-toxic) diet and home habits to moms through recipes, videos, articles...  They also teach about solutions for people dealing with food allergies and intolerances. Do you have a recipe that is contest-worthy? Entries don't have to be Valentines-day themed, anything healthy and yummy is fine.
• Go a question? Ask Wooly M, who specializes in eco-friendly help. Wooly M is originally from Portland. Yay, Portland!
• Abigail has just started blogging about making her home a greener home. Check out her blog Greener Memphis. She notes that living in a "red" state it's pretty hard to find green alternatives, without breaking your budget.

Green on, everyone!!

Culinate: eat well, live well

I've been drooling over Culinate, a blog out of Portland that takes a deep look at food -- where it comes from, how to prepare it, and how to live well by eating well (thanks for the heads up, Julie G.). Many of the writers live in Portland, so these articles tend to reference local food, farms and farmers markets. I love the section Produce Diaries where people write about what's in their weekly CSA bin and suggest recipes for preparation (wish I'd seen this four months ago). And just in the nick of time: 10 ways to use stale bread (as I have two hard-as-rocks Grand Central loaves waiting in the wings).

After a summer of CSA eating, I've pretty much given up my focus on local food this winter. My children are so picky about vegetables and other foods that I feel they would shrivel up into old, forgotten mushrooms by springtime if I tried to feed them beets, rutabagas and kale. And the satsumas out of California are about the only thing keeping me from going back to bed on a dark, rainy day...so sweet, like a little burst of sunshine. Can't give 'em up. I'm still shopping the Hillsdale Farmers Market and picking up mushrooms, cheese, bread and Kookoolan chickens (but no eggs, wah). But I just can't devote the time and energy to creatively cooking the foods in season NOW to trick my kids into eating them. (This is when I really wish I had frozen lots of green beans from the summer and canned those juicy tomatoes.) I'm glad Culinate is here to inject a little inspiration and positive local food reinforcement.

One family tackling the Eat Local Challenge

One of the great things to come out of the Green Sprouts Festival was meeting Portland mom and blogger Katherine Gray, who stopped by our clothing swap. Katherine writes about her family's (including two young children) quest to eat as locally as possible on her blog Dirt to Dish. Her posts are full of details about what she's buying, how much she's spending (trying to stick to the USDA family budget!) and her struggles to source certain local foods. I'm so inspired by her dedication and awed by the time it must take her to research and plan menus, while both working and raising two children. I love her writing style and down-to-earth honesty. I'd like to hear more about her menus and recipes (hint, hint) and what types of things she's getting her kids to eat.

While I haven't limited my shopping to only local foods, I do *try* to buy as local as possible (fruit is tricky -- but have you tried those local peaches lately -- oh yum). As we head into colder months, and the availability of fresh local produce dwindles, I can see challenges ahead. My CSA subscription ends at the end of October, and I'm already in mourning. I'm not sure how well kale and root veggies will go over with my crew. But now that I've become aware of the 'true cost of food' I'm not sure I can bring myself to buy red bell peppers from the grocery store in February. I'll be eagerly following Katherine's adventures this winter!

A nod to a few more new green bloggers...

In addition to Heather's list of great green bloggers who've posted or linked to us, I wanted to add a few newbies:

• Shelby Wood's PDX Green blog over at the Oregonian. Thanks for the link, and for keeping up current on the Oregonian green beat.
• Chris Plante's EnviroFreak message board, currently out of Texas, but apparently moving to California. Love your disclaimer at the bottom of the home page!

Sharing the love

Many eco-minded bloggers have recently linked to EnviroMom, sending their readers our way, and we can't thank them enough! Check 'em out:

Worsted Witch: Very funny, very cool commentary on design, craft and, of course, all things natural.

Eco-Chick: As they say, "because Mother Nature is a woman" this blog is written by a bunch of women covering many eco-topics, including fashion, design and beauty. Sharp, broad and timely.

LaMarguerite: Another down-to-earth mom, just trying to do her best to live lighter on the earth. A 'green girl wannabe.' Aren't we all?

Gift of Green: Funny, honest, inspirational and informative. I love this woman!

EnviroBlog: The blog of the excellent Environmental Working Group -- the latest green word on what the media, politicians and bloggers are saying.

Chinook Book seeks green bloggers

Are you itching to become a blogger for the green team? The publishers of the Chinook Book are launching a web site this September called ecometro.com. They're looking for writers to produce original columns on living green in Portland. If you're interested, read here for more info. Applications are due by August 17.