We at Green Baby Guide love to hear voices from the trenches of eco-friendly parenting.  In part three of our Green Spotlight series this month, Eileen Spillman, single mom, middle school teacher, and environmentalist, inspires us to use green guilt to our advantage. 

How do you handle “green guilt?”

I put it to good use!  Seriously, guilt is normal and healthy.  If you didn’t feel guilt, I think you’d be a sociopath.  Just don’t let it turn into anxiety and paralyze you.  I use it to fuel my creative energy.  I try to always tell myself that I can’t completely change my whole lifestyle overnight.  I make one change at a time and once I’ve got that down, I can think about the next thing. 

I guess for me the guilt is just an awareness, I recognize that my lifestyle is still not one of zero environmental impact and so the guilt keeps me moving forward.  I don’t know if a life that has zero environmental impact is possible and I wouldn’t want anyone to kill themselves working towards that, but I also don’t like to see people who say that we can never do enough so why bother or who make one change and pat themselves on the back thinking they’re all done.   

Have you managed to save money going green?  If so, how?  

Oh gosh yes.  And I actually don’t think I am spending less than before I made these changes, but I am able to keep up with inflation even when my paycheck doesn’t.  I use less electricity, less gas and I definitely spend less on cleaning supplies.  Instead of running out and buying something when I need it, I try to be resourceful and creative. 

Buying fewer consumables and not buying things new saves you a ton of money.  For me, living on a very tight budget, many of these green choices were no-brainers.  It’s just a huge ironic bonus that, by being poor, I am for the first time in my life doing something trendy and cool.  Truly being green means consuming less and that saves money. 

We’d love to hear your reflections on today’s green spotlight.  You just might end up being our next contributor!