The No-Microwave Challenge

Have you ever stopped to think that your microwave might be dangerous? I had been having doubts for some time, but microwaves are so convenient I sort of ignored the issue. Then after my son was born, I decided it was too important to pass by any longer. And so I faced up to the white box in the kitchen that made my food taste so very strange and spongy, yet nice and hot. I did a lot of reading on the issue, and of course there are two sides to every story. But to be feel good about myself, I needed to be safe and not sorry. Microwaves use radiation to cook and the bottom line is that was not natural to me. There is certainly much information out there to explain why this unnatural cooking means is hazardous to us. One article I liked very much is the following by Mercola. While I do not agree with all his views, I think this is a telling read:

http://www.mercola.com/article/microwave/hazards.htm

After my mind was made up and my husband agreed, I was not sure what to do with the microwave, but I decided that I could not trash it. What if there were some unfortunate people out there that did not even own a stove? I know, a bit of a stretch, but still. So I put it up for free on Craigslist. A lady contacted me and said hers had broken and she did not have enough money for a new one- she had a whole story. You get the idea. She came, my husband brought it down for her and she asked him, " Why are you getting rid of this?"

He couldn't exactly say, "Well, we don't want cancer". So he errred and ummed and the lady said, "Are you going green?"

"Yes, that's it," said my relieved husband. And she proceeded to tell him that before she saw my ad, she posted looking for a free microwave and another woman wrote her to tell her she should not get one because they are dangerous. Well, at least she was previously warned!

So here I am, microwave free. It's been a year, at least, and we are very glad that we gave the microwave the old heave-ho. I am no longer worried about radiation due to the microwave (just don't get me started on cell phones, wireless Internet or the like) and my food no longer tastes like mushy cardboard. It does not take much more time to heat up food in a pan or in the toaster oven as I feared. Yet I do feel like food preparation is much more mindful this way. And that's the way I like it.

So can you do it? Try the no-microwave challenge for a week or so and see how you fare. You may just realize that you no longer need your microwave either. Or maybe that with all the potential dangers that it was never worth it in the first place!

Not Going At It Alone

In my day to day activities I talk to a lot of moms. Friends, family, mothers in my son's playgroup, members of the Yahoo groups I belong to- even the occasional random person at the supermarket. All moms, all from different walks of life, yet it seems natural living is important to many of them.

One thing I hear frequently is "I want to do (fill in the organic, natural thing), but my husband...."
Ah...but my husband! My husband says it's too expensive to eat organic. My husband thinks OTC cold medicine is just fine. My husband won't change a cloth diaper. So it got me wondering where it leaves moms who want to change things, but are running up against some resistance- or at least not getting the support they need. (Surely this could be the opposite scenario too- I merely encounter moms reguarly, not dads!)

Of course each husband is to be dealt with differently, but I thought, what kind of general advice could I give a mom who was having this kind of issue? I have a husband who happily got rid of our microwave, changes cloth diapers and encourages all his friends to get them, scrubs the bathroom tub with baking soda while commenting on how natural cleaning products are the best and brings raw milk (he calls it "real milk") and raw honey to the office in glass containers for his tea. But it was NOT always this way. My husband used to smoke, eat indiscriminately and had no penchant for natural living.

So I tried to remember, how did things get to where they are today? That experience could servce as general advice to others. Yes, it was me who began talking about change. I think that was the first step. I would talk to my husband about different things I was learning (bringing up the topics whenever I could) and sent him articles- whether on the benefits of organic food, raw milk, the dangers of vaccines...anything to get his mind moving in the right direction. And little by little he himself would talk about something HE saw in the news or hear from someone. This information push was a big help in changing his mindset. Because he was never against natural living- it just wasn't something on his radar.

The next thing I did was take things step by step. People (especially some men, I think!) don't like change. So when I wanted to get rid of as much plastic in our house as I could, I slowly replaced it with glass. Or when I wanted us to stop eating processed food for the most part, I didn't empty the cabinets all in the same day. I think by taking things one at a time, my husband wasn't overwhelmed and in fact he probably didn't notice mostly.

Although when it comes to money, husbands notice! So when you really want to start buying organic (or replacing all the Tupperware in your kitchen!), but don't want your bank account to take a steep decline there has to be an action plan. Like a budget. If you already have a food budget (which is just good sense) you can assure your husband that you'll work inside of it to buy organic. If you don't have, it's time to make a budget. Now I can't say my budgeting has always been perfect (some months I go over a little), but I belong to a fruit and vegetable coop (http://www.localharvest.com/ is a great resource for this), I shop wholesale a lot (you'd be surprised at the organic food you can get at Costco), and I have other money saving ways (which I will blog about next, I hope) which reassure my husband that eating well does not mean we'll go broke- in fact I can almost bet I spend less than the "average American" does because processed foods carry such a high price tag (for little or no nutrition, how ironic!). The moral of the money story is by making a budget, you can reassure your husband that not only is eating organic important to you, but so is your family's money.

To carry over from money- living naturally, your family will most likely not get sick as much, therefore decreasing the cost of health care. I find this very true with us. I cannot remember the last time we have seen a doctor (thank God!). You will be saving on copay and medicines, not to mention feeling good on a daily basis. Which I find to be another selling point. My husband always comments on how great he feels because of our lifestyle and how he's never felt better. So capitalize on each little change and how it makes you, him or the kids feel good...eventually you will see even him noticing and commenting.

Then there will come a time when your husband is finally "on board". He will no longer be just a bystander. I think the time frame for each person is different, but the key is not to give up. No one wants to go at it alone and once you have your husband's support in living naturally, it is a wonderful thing. I am often surprised at what an advocate my husband is concerning our lifestyle when I hear him talking to other people- but know it didn't just come out of thin air.

And finally, if you think something needs to be changed to fit your ideals of natural living- just do it. I will push for things I think are important. I have found that my husband later thanks me.

I wonder, what experiences do others have with their husbands concerning this?

UPDATE: My husband read this post and commented, "Is this how to get your husband into natural living or how to brainwash him?!" Ok, I had to laugh! And for the record he maintains that before I was into natural living that he was the one who refused to take synthetic vitamins way back when. So score one for him - and I'm sure there were other incidents, he's a smart guy :)