You may have noticed things look a little bit different around here. Super Simple Zero Waste is now known as The Little Castle on Mercury! While I will still be writing about sustainable and zero waste living, I decided I want to expand my horizons, leaving myself open to writing about crafting, music, cooking, parenting, and maybe even go on the occasional long-winded rant about whatever comes to mind.
What brought about this change? Our family recently moved into our forever home: a lovely Queen Ann Style house (complete with a turret) located on--you guessed it--Mercury street. Hence the name, The Little Castle on Mercury. I can’t believe our good fortune that we actually found this house (and in this crazy market, no less!). However, I truly believe it was meant to be. Not only was it our dream house aesthetically, but it also turned out to be the best option from a sustainability standpoint. We had been planning to buy land and build a home, but this turned out to be much better for the environment because…
We didn’t need to use resources to develop land and build a house (and building a house takes A LOT of resources.
The house is within walking distance of work & school for the entire family (less driving=a big win for the environment)
The house has already had solar panels and energy-efficient updates!
Caring for and preserving what is already in place aligns with the 5 R’s of zero waste living, by reusing what has already been made and reducing waste.
Of course, moving is never fun, even when it’s just across town. In fact, it might even be worse, because it’s way too easy to be less organized. It was far too late when I realized that I probably should have taken normal measures like labeling our boxes before throwing them in the back of a truck and driving them across town. And of course, trying to unpack with a one-year-old in two is less than ideal.
They either:
A) Want to be held the entire time, making it physically impossible to carry boxes and a baby at the same time, so nothing gets done. Or...
B) Run around like crazy, putting everything in their mouths, tearing through boxes, and emptying out ever you manage to fill (I’m pretty sure all of my kitchen supplies will just permanently live on the floor now).
Of course, my deciding that we had to take a total detour on our second day in the house to pick up an antique piano probably didn’t help. Six people, lots of cussing, and several hours later, we did eventually get the piano into the house, but we did not get many boxes unpacked. In my defense, it seemed like the logical day to do it because we’d already rented a truck.
Despite all of the chaos and craziness (and the fact that I went three days without a shower because I couldn’t find our soap and conditioner bars), I feel deeply grateful for our new home, for the extra space, and for the extra time I get with the kids by walking to drop them off at daycare instead of driving across town. During our new commute, we sing, admire the flowers, and simply get to be together in a different way. I’m grateful that because we get home so much sooner, we have time to sit on the swing and play in the yard instead of barely having time to make dinner before going to bed. I’m grateful and still a little stunned and not quite sure I’d really believe it all if I didn’t see our names clearly written on the property deed.
It’s a new beginning for our home--which, having been built in 1900, has probably seen lots of new beginnings--our family, and for this blog. I can’t wait to share more of our journey, but for now, I’m just going to sit and bask in gratitude for good fortune.