We’ve been told with five kids we’re leaving a larger footprint on the earth than families of just two children. When talking to us, others feel the need to justify that they only had two children because they are just so expensive. Some wonder how we can afford “all these children”. You have to feed, cloth, and shelter them, afterall. And they can’t imagine the cost of flying somewhere then staying in a hotel for vacation. Simply the cost of eating out with so many kids panics them. “The cost of gas, alone!” And the amount of trash we must put out. This simply isn’t the case!
First of all they are multiplying the cost and waste of the typical 2 child family. That’s simply not how it works. Let’s take a side by side comparison. Take our family of five children and compare it to three typical families. Say we have two neighbors with 2 children, and one neighbor with an only child.
Our neighborhood has similar sized homes. So, right away we take up less space, for our 5 children, vs those 3 separate houses and yards for those other 5. Next, to go anywhere, we go in one vehicle. Yes, it’s a mini-van, but that’s similar to carpooling, using less gas per our 5 than those 3 households would use for their three cars. Our town supplies each household with the same sized trash and recycling cans. So, our family puts less trash out on trash day than those 3 families combined would. When we watch TV or eat dinner together, we are using less appliances and electricity than those three households combined. We are under the same light bulbs, using the same heat or A/C, and fitting more clothes into a wash load. Right there is much less of a footprint from the beginning.
As a larger family under a similar income as the neighbors, we need to watch our spending more. We have always tried to get the best deals on groceries. We buy more fresh, local foods as they are cheaper and easier to get. A lot of larger families can stretch leftovers into several other meals, and have very little, if any, food waste. Bulk cooking becomes the name of the game. We grill our meat at the beginning of the week, and warm it up throughout the week or eat it cold, saving energy. I bulk cook eggs and granola at the beginning of the week for breakfasts. When one of us boils water in the kettle for tea or hot chocolate, the others come to use that same hot water for their drinks. Again, compare all of this to three more households doing the same thing. We use less energy overall.
When my kids were younger, I used cloth diapers and washed them myself. I was able to use the same cloth diapers for the next few children, replacing a few at a time as they started to wear out. This saved us money, and children wearing cloth potty train sooner than children in disposables. Much less waste than disposables, so much better for the earth. I breastfed exclusively, with child-led weaning, which saved on formula containers and waste.
We shop garage sales and thrift stores for clothing. This follows the green concept of reuse. I also would refashion clothing as they grew, utilizing up-cycling techniques. And with four girls, of course we had hand-me-downs! Even our son received hand-me-downs from cousins. So, this was a lot of reuse, and less waste, as well.
And the cost of vacations?! First of all we don’t fly to our destination! The road trip was part of the vacation! We packed containers of cut fruits and veggies, each child packed a backpack with books and activities, we played games, and watched videos. We stayed in vacation homes rentals, not hotels, and we bought groceries when we arrived to cook our own food. The food cost about as much as it would had we stayed home.
Granted a lot of these frugal acts can be and are done by smaller families, as well. However, it becomes more of a necessity and way of life in larger families. Having a large family challenges my creative and frugal mind. We work as a team to find more ways to save. The concept of “reduce, reuse, recycle” is a more necessary way of life. It often becomes the case that the larger the family, the smaller the footprint.
So how are you managing your world?
What ideas have you found that work for your family?
Please, share!
Comments