Third Coast Kitchen

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What Made Me Go Paper Towel-Free {Stella Challenge Giveaway}

Fuel the Soul· Stella Challenge· Third Coast Mama

It sounds like an incessant little drummer, tap, tappity, tap tapping in the background as I try to write this … the methodical noise continuing to interrupt the words from easily flowing onto the page—but, it’s not a drummer, it’s my speCtra breast milk pump.

So much has changed in three short months since Stella rode a shooting star down from the heavens and into our lives. Now that I’m emerging from the dense fog of the 4th trimester, a very real thing, the greatest difference for me has been a mental shift. I’ve become an auditor of my own daily life, habits and beliefs, closely examining each item currently making up the constitution of ME, Lindsay, wife, and now mom. “Is my current life the very best representation of the example I want to create for my daughter, as she comes into consciousness and begins to emulate her parents?” In some aspects yes, but if I’m being honest, betwixt you and me, some significant aspects of how we live day-to-day receive a resounding NO.

Becoming a mother inspired me to remove my “rose colored glasses” and view the current state of the world without a filter. I need to see very clearly, even if the light is harsh, to pave a positive path for my daughter, so she can then blaze her own trail.

In my mind, by bringing another person to live on our already overpopulated earth, it’s now my responsibility to raise her to be a sustainable human, a protector of our planet and someone who lives by the mantra, DO NO HARM. But at the moment, our family isn’t vegan, we don’t ensure everything we put in our recycling bins is ACTUALLY RECYCLABLE, and we are loads of trash bags away from ending each year with an awe inspiring picture of a small mason jar containing “all the trash our family of three created in the past 365 days.” Ha… not even close my friends.

We are in fact, so far from where I’d like us to be on the “zero-waste lifestyle” spectrum, that the effort it would require to get to that pristine place feels insurmountable. But I look at Stella, a blank canvas with zero preconceptions about life and I know, from a wisdom deep within, that WE MUST BEGIN. It won’t be a sprint, but a long, sometimes uncomfortable journey, changing our habits one day at a time, so we can teach our daughter how to live in a way that acknowledges and addresses the urgent care our planet needs if humans still want a home.

When my body became home to another human, I protected that home fiercely for 40 weeks. Now, like all people, my baby calls mother earth home, and that home also needs protecting.

When I found out I was pregnant about a year ago, we became a paper towel-free family. I bought about 25 tea towels plus a bundle of micro-fiber clothes and we took the first small step in a better direction. We keep the clean towels in a deep drawer in the kitchen right near the sink, so they’re easy to access and I don’t even fold them!

“We don’t need a few thousand people practicing zero-waste living perfectly, we need hundreds of millions of people doing it imperfectly to see our efforts positively effect our home, mother earth.”

– Many people have said a version of this quote and I thank them for their inspiration, including Anne Marie Bonneau from ZeroWasteChef.com

Today, I’m inviting you to join me as we embark on a journey to waste less and protect Mother Earth more by taking the very first #STELLACHALLENGE: GO PAPER TOWEL-FREE. It’s uncomfortable about about 3 weeks, then becomes a new norm and every time you reach for a tea towel, your heart feels happy because you’re protecting your family’s home and the home of all children, who DID NOT ASK for a home filled with TRASH!

What is the Stella Challenge? In honor of my daughter Stella and all children who have been born into a world where adults are not doing enough to effectively protect the health of our home, I’ve created the #StellaChallenge. Once a month, I’m challenging the Third Coast Community to take a specific action as we all work towards adopting a “less-waste” lifestyle. And while you’ll receive plenty of karmic goodness for accepting each challenge, you’ll also be entered into a GIVEAWAY with prizes ranging from my favorite sustainable products and cookbooks you don’t want to live without to the *chance to babysit Stella for FREE! *Conditions apply … lolz. 😆

I’m a new soul, a blank canvas. Teach me how to protect my home for me and all future children of planet earth.

GIVEAWAY: Take the #STELLACHALLENGE by making a pledge to go
paper towel-free and be entered to win:

  • 1 copy signed of my cookbook, Hungry for Harbor Country
  • 25 of my favorite tea towels (I LOVE a good tea towel!)
  • 1 bundle of Stasher reusable ziplock bags … yes, next we’re giving up single use zip locks!

TO ENTER: Fill out the form bellow OR follow me on Instagram @thirdcoastkitchen and leave a comment using #StellaChallenge! Do both to receive 2 entries.

{Details} Giveaway ends Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 11:59pm PT. Winner will be announced Sunday March 8, 2020 by 6:00pm PT here and on Instagram. Thank you for taking one meaningful step of many, towards protecting our planet for ALL OF US.

Lovely links to learn more about living a less-waste life.