simple days with bonnie rae

Miles is almost 6 months old! So many people talk about how quickly it has gone, and while part of me feels like it has, another part has felt every moment of these past 6 months. Every new coo and wiggle and laugh has brought me here.

Now that Miles is at an age where he can tag along with mom and dad, participate more fully and take in so much I have been thinking more about our consumption and our values.

From pregnancy to about 4 months I was in self preservation mode. I gave myself grace and gave into cravings, conveniences and consuming more than usual. I tilted toward self-care and loving myself and my baby well.

Now that we are in a different stage I am ready to shift back toward value based living and away from as much consuming and convenience.

Now, if you are currently in a stage where you feel like you’re slipping up, like your new habits aren’t working for you anymore, give yourself grace.

My favorite Podcaster, Brooke McAlary wrote to me when I was struggling and said the following, “You’re smack-bang in the middle of such a big,emotional time that it makes sense for newer habits to slip away. These old, well-won tracks of previous habits seem really comfortable when we’re under a lot of stress and coping with a lot of change…honestly the thing that we always find helpful in those instances is to simply reduce expectations. There’s only so much of us to go around when there’s another more immediate requirement of our time and energy, it makes sense that we slip up. If there’s one tiny little thing we can do in our day that brings us close to where we want to be (add a serve of veggies to dinner, drink an extra glass of water or sit and enjoy three sips of tea, two minutes of deep breathing, deleting the online shopping app etc) then start there.”

If you are not currently in a healthy place to change your habits, that’s okay. There are plenty of podcasts, blog posts, books, quotes, etc. that I have come back to at a later time when they made more sense for me.

If this is the right time for you to make a habit shift I would love for you to join me for Plastic Free July! I attempted this last year with great success. One day, our little family hopes to be zero waste. For now, we’re settling for less waste and plastic free July is a wonderful place to start!

So, what is Plastic Free July? The Plastic Free July Foundation’s mission is to build a global movement that dramatically reduces plastic use and improves recycling. Click here for steps to get signed up and get started! We’re only in the middle of June so there’s still plenty of time to sign up, join in, and get your zero waste kit ready!

This is a great joint activity for the whole family, or for just you and your little ones! The world is hurting and we have to change if we want it to be here and healthy for our children, grandchildren and the other beings we share our earth with.

My zero waste kit, which I will carry each day, includes: my reusable water bottle, reusable shopping bags, reusable coffee cup, one glass jar, a glass straw, reusable cutlery and a cloth napkin.

Sure, it’s a bit more to carry but it’s an amazing reminder of how much we send to the landfill without thinking about it- my purse and zero waste kit are one in the same.

If you plan to join leave me a comment below! I would love to know what you plan to carry in your plastic free, zero waste kit.

More soon,

Bonnie Rae xx

a bit more: zero waste kit video, package free shop, zero waste shampoo & conditioner we use and love