Living natrually and simply in the city

For the last few years I have been learning more about how to live naturally and simply. Eating organic foods, using naturopathic medicine, sustainable living, organic gardening, herbal therapies, recycling and composting are part of my new lifestyle. I am just easing into this new lifestyle one step at a time. There are many things that work against the lifestyle I am striving to live but I am finding ways to work around the obstacles!

I live in an apartment complex in Flagstaff, AZ. This means I have no yard or dirt to garden in. Fortunately my concrete patio has not stopped me from enjoying gardening! I grow many herbs and vegetables in containers right on my patio. I actually began growing my own vegetables accidentally. I found a few potatoes in the pantry that had "eyes" on them, I put them into some soil and wha la my potatoes grew into bushes! I am now growing tomato, lettuce, onion, potato, rosemary, lavender, basil, parsley, mint, cilantro and echinacea on my concrete small patio. I was recently amazed to discover that most vegetables and seeds that you have in your kitchen can actually be planted and will grow into foods you can eat!

I am lucky enough to live in an apartment complex that has recycle bins in addition to the trash bins so that has made recycling pretty easy for me. I set aside a separate trash can for my recyclable items such as: basic paper products and plastics. I also try to find ways to reuse everyday household items instead of just throwing them away. I keep things like milk jugs, grocery bags, cardboard boxes, plastic kitty litter bins, beer/ wine bottles, corks/ bottle caps and more. These items can be reused or can be manipulated to serve other purposes depending on your needs. I am planting and composting in old kitty litter bin, I use the bottoms of plastic milk jugs for planting, take my own saved bags to the grocery store and I compost table scraps and garden waste.

Composting is kind of hard to do in an apartment community setting but by using worms and kitty litter bins (that have lids of course) I have managed to make patio composting work. Most kitchen waste is great for composting and replenishing garden soil. Things like coffee grounds, tea bags, milk, vegetables, fruits, egg shells, paper towels and egg cartons can be composted and later added to garden soil. I set aside one of my old plastic kitty litter bins for all my chosen compost items.

In addition to gardening and composting I also shop at natural food stores and participate in my town's Community Supported Agriculture project. With the Flagstaff Community Supported Agriculture project we pay a set fee to join and in return we enjoy a set share of seasonally available vegetables that are harvested and delivered weekly. These vegetables are grown by local farmers harvested and then passed on to us for consumption. I love the CSA because it supports local farmers, brings fresh foods to us, promotes a sustainable food system and supports the local economy. I found out about all the local food resources from: http://www.localharvest.org/

They say one person's trash is another persons treasure right? That is why I regularly practice "gifting" or giving away old functional items. Things like old clothes, appliances, or any other reusable items are usually needed by others in the community. Sure you can always donate stuff to charity or to goodwill but I prefer to just give it away! I use http://www.freecycle.org/ to give things away. Here in my town all you have to do is email what you have to get rid of and all the members of freecycle in your area will get notice of what you have. If someone is interested they will contact you, you can set up a meeting or you can simply have them come to pick up the stuff you are giving away. It is super easy, convenient, free to use and best of all you are helping others!!

I found that living a simple and sustainable life is a lot easier that you think! The resources are all around us, recycling plants, goodwill stores, farmers markets etc. All we have to do is seek out the recourses and take advantage of them. Sometimes it is extra work but in the long run I think it's worth it! A small change can make a big difference!


Note- I am looking for critiques and honest feedback on this article. This is my first draft and I am trying to get this published.