Blogging Through the Bundle- Strawsome Glass Straws

One of the things I was most excited about in this Healthy Living Bundle was the bonus offer credit towards glass straws. I have been wanting to try glass straws for a while. You think I would have them already, considering the "low waste" factor, but I could never really justify shelling out the dough for them when I could always just you know, drink out of a cup without a straw.

The number 1 reason I wanted to try glass straws was for smoothie drinking. (Smoothie pictured above made green by the addition of collard greens, and idea from the "Green Smoothie Challenge" Book.)

The only container we have large enough to hold our monster green smoothies that we have are ball mason jars. And while I am perfectly capable of drinking it straight from the jar, what tends to happen is I get smoothie gunk on my nose where the rim of the jar hits it, as exhibited in Crappy Selfie.

Crappy Selfie

I was very excited to use my $15.00 credit to Strawsome. I ordered a "straw sample kit" which included one short straw, one short smoothie straw, one tall straw, and one tall smoothie straw.

The tall smoothie straw fits perfectly in my ball canning jar and allows me to sip the green goodness without worrying that I might have gunk on my nose. It is also really easy to clean. They provided a little cleaning brush with it, but I have been just putting it in the dishwasher.

Verdict: Awesome! Why didn't I try this sooner? Oh yeah, I'm cheap.

If you want to try Strawsome, check them out here: Strawsome

I am not affiliated with them, but I am a satisfied customer who uses her smoothie straw every day!!

YUM!

Low Waste Endeavors as of Late

I am not blogging much, but here is what I am doing in the "low waste" homefront.

1.) Composting.
Don't know why I didn't start years ago.

2.) Forgoing the Air Conditioner
Even in the 90's we've managed to only use the unit in the bedroom at night. The hottest the house has gotten is 89*F. Time to find a fan?

3.) Cold Showers
This makes it fast.

4.) Local organic farm co op
We joined with my mom and sister. I am really enjoying the fresh fruit and veggies!

What are you doing to reduce your waste/impact?

Low Waste Baby- What did I actually buy and need?

If you read my blog before, you might remember my plans before baby to have a "minimalist" approach this time around with my second child.
Now that he has been here for six weeks, I decided to take inventory of what I bought new, second hand, and got for free and what I actually use.

What I Bought New:

1.)  Baby Bath Sponge - $7.19

I got this to go in the kitchen sink when I wash him. The little tubs in my opinion are not needed. I could have skipped this and used a towel, but it does make bathing in the kitchen sink a bit easier, and was not expensive.

2.) Cloth Diapers/Wipes/Diaper Sprayer - $275.00

I bought half of my cloth diapers used, the other half new. Once again, I probably could have bought them all used, but this kit came with an attachment for the toilet to spray them off, plus cloth wipes. Fancy stuff I *could* have done without. ( And my loving husband has yet to attach the sprayer, go figure.)

3.) Wet Bags $20.00

A Large one and a small one- I use these in lieu of a diaper pail to hold dirty diapers. The whole thing goes in the washing machine. These are awesome! I also carry one in the diaper bag.

4.) Sheet for co-sleeper- $16.00

5.) Nursing Pads - $20.00

6.) Stroller - $179.99

I had not planned on getting a stroller, but it is compatible with his car seat and makes walking to the bus stop everyday with older son easier.

7.) Nursing Pillow - $12.00

Impulse purchase. I do use it but I think regular pillows are fine.

Total for New Items : $530.18

What I got Second Hand:

8.) Car seat- My sister had a baby last year, and he out grew his infant car seat and she passed it on to me, along with a winter car seat cover. - Free

9.) Bouncy Chair- Leftover from first kid- Free

10.) Bottles- a friend of mine gave me a box of glass Dr. Brown's bottles she was done with. - Free

11.) Clothes- all hand me downs. - Free

12.) Baby K'tan  Carrier- bought on Ebay- $30.00
I use this a lot!

13.) Cloth Diapers- I purchased some second hand cloth diapers on ebay, a lot cheaper than new. - $80.00

Total Second Hand: $110.00

Gifts:

I received a lot of baby gifts. While I did not really need anything, people really like to buy baby stuff.

14.) Blankets- I already have a ton of blankets and received more as gifts.

15.) Co-Sleeper- my parents bought this as a baby gift, I asked for it. I am torn on this, so far the baby is 6 weeks old and has yet to actually sleep in it- he sleeps with me in the bed. But, it does give me peace of mind that if he were to somehow roll over out of the bed, he would roll into the co sleeper. Although, I do not think one needs to spend $200.00 on a co sleeper when a bed rail would probably suffice. I know not everyone is into co-sleeping, but I sleep better knowing he is near me, and it is quite convenient for nursing. Our first son slept with us until he was about 5. Given a choice, he would prefer us all to have a giant family bed :)

16.) Pacifiers/Soap/Toiletries- a lot of people gave me these things.

Total Gifts: $0.00

Grand Total: $640.18 <-- Not too bad, and a lot of that stuff I really did not even need.

So, you really don't need to buy much stuff for a baby, and if you have friends and family, you will receive a lot of gifts. Especially clothes. And blankets.

What were essential purchases in my humble opinion? Well, cloth diapers and wet bags. The baby bath sponge. The Baby K'tan carrier. Oh, and nursing pads if you are breastfeeding!!

                                              "I love my Fuzzibunz!"

Katie

A Simple Holiday

The winter holiday season is upon us, and while I am Christian and celebrate Christmas, I am open to all holidays. The area we live in is primarily Christian and Jewish, although I think we have a larger Jewish population that most of the United States, as I grew up thinking everyone was either Christan or Jewish, and the determining factor was whether or not you hung Christmas lights or had a menorah (yes, I was a bright kid.)

Everyone seems to be talking about "simplifying" the holidays, and really I have found it isn't hard, even if you have kids. This year I have been forced to simplify, because of having a newborn.


To get into the advent season and foster the spirit of giving, we are reading a daily book called Charlie and Noel with our older son. We also talk about how the true spirit of Christmas is giving, and we will be doing a gift drive through my son's school.

I personally am reading "Let's Go Straight to Bethlehem" . I have needed a lot of prayer as of late.

What do gifts look like for us? Well, the good news is my 7 year old son has never gotten very many presents, as we started off as broke college students (and now we are just broke 30 somethings :) So his standards are not terribly high. We have a second hand toy store nearby, so that is the first stop for gifts like Lego's. I do think it is good to have at least one item on his "wish list" for him to receive from Santa - (fact, before I had kids I thought Santa was dumb and I wasn't planning on doing the "Santa" thing, but oh how kids change us). My general response is "make a list, but remember Santa cannot get you everything on your list." I also reiterate that 3 gifts were what Jesus received, so 3 gifts is what you will receive (although we do tend to buy more than 3.) We do a toy (this year is is a video game), a book (this year we are giving God's Dream by Desmond Tutu and Whoever you Are by Mem Fox, a game ( this year I am thinking Apples to Apples Junior, and Super Mario pajamas.
My husband and I don't exchange gifts. We do get something we both want, usually a game or something for the house. ( I actually asked for a new dust pan and a pair of slippers. I live the high life :)

I will do absolutely 0 shopping outside the home- my husband will hit the thrift stores and the rest will be ordered online.

Oh yes, and we have an artificial tree. Another concession I have made in my adult life, I was a die hard real tree enthusiast, my husband grew up with artificial. 

What holidays do you celebrate? How do you celebrate them?

Katie

I tried it! - Homemade Dishsoap

I make a lot of homemade cleaning products, and I am always looking to find things that fit this criteria:

1.) All Natural
2.) Cheap
3.) Effective (as in, they work!)

Dish Soap was something I hadn't tried yet- it just seemed complicated to make anything "liquid", so up until now I have been buying Seventh Generation Dish Soap, which unfortunately comes in a plastic squeeze bottle.

I have been reading a lot of one of my new favorite websites, Trash Backwards, and found they had a list of 100 Things you Never Need to Buy (be still my beating heart). Lists like that get me excited. I love not buying! One of the things on there was dish soap, and the recipe was ridiculously easy : baking soda and essential oil ( I used a few drops of lavender). Baking soda comes in a cardboard box, and essential oil in a glass vile, so we have plastic-free dish soap!

I was skeptical, I didn't think it would work. My husband even said, "If baking soda cleans dishes, why are people spending all this money on dish soap?" to that my response was, "marketing?".

I didn't even have to nail holes into a jar lid as she recommended, because I had an old glass paremsan container just waiting to become a dish soap container.

The verdict? Holy guacamole! This stuff works! Even I was surprised, with a sprinkling of this and a scrub  brush my oatmeal pot (pictured at left) was clean! An you know what it's like to scrub gummy oatmeal...

That just made my day. I love finding cheap, natural cleaning recipes that work : )

Do you make your own cleaning products? Would you try this?

True Confessions: Low Waste Fails, and Giving Myself Grace

Hello all. I am in week 36 of my pregnancy, and I am large, tired, and cranky. Not much longer to go.

And I have to confess. I have not been diligently living a low waste lifestyle.

I have been too tired to making yogurt, and resorted to buying it in a plastic tub.

My dryer is running. It is cold a damp and I took the easy route.

I have not made the 14 mile trek to the bulk foods store. We are eating cereal out of a box* and almonds in a plastic bag.

*(The box is cardboard, and the bag is wax paper. I reuse the wax bag for other things around the kitchen, and the cardboard gets recycled).

I feel like a failure. I am upset with myself. But, I am trying not to drag myself down with guilt and showing myself a little grace.

This stage of life isn't forever, and I am trying to do what I can at any given moment.

Low Waste Gift Idea

Yesterday was my Grandma's 92nd birthday. She's still going strong, living in her own house and driving.
Today we are having a party for her, and I have been thinking a lot about what to give her. She always says she does not need anything, (and you can imagine, after 92 years of living and accumulating things, my grandma does not need any more stuff). So I decided on a delicious, decadent fudge recipe that is super easy to make. Food is a good gift to give/receive, it allows you the pleasure of giving something, and then not having to store anything (once you eat it up!)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

(It is Gluten free, but by no means healthy. This is a rich treat, or as we say in our house, a "sometimes food". :)

Ingredients:

1 pound of butter (2 sticks)
3 heaping tablespoons of smooth peanut butter
1 pound of confectioner's sugar
3 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:

Melt butter and peanut butter together.

Mix powdered sugar and cocoa in bowl.

Pour melted butter/peanut mixture into sugar/cocoa mix.

Add vanilla and stir.

Spread into an 8 x 8 dish.

Refrigerate until firm.


That's it, easy peasy lemon squeezy. I then cut it up into squares and put it in a tin/container. I save containers if they are cute so I have something to give my food gifts in.

Do you make homemade/low waste gifts? Please share your ideas!

Katie

Photo Friday

Hello all!

Happy Friday! I have to confess, I am a horrible picture-taker. No, I don't take bad pictures. I just don't take any pictures at all.

The last birthday album I made for my son was for his 1rst birthday. He's 7. (I do have some pictures on the computer..)

And my blogger profile picture? I think that's about 5 years old, conveniently the mug is blocking half of my face. (I am not a fan of having my picture taken.) M and I like to say we "live the moments" rather than "record them". ;)

I don't have aspirations to become a photographer, or even a scrapbooker but, I am challenging myself to take at least one photo a week, and post it here. Because there is some really great stuff out there to take pictures of.

There's my clothesline, sporting some second hand pocket diapers I picked up for our future baby (due in about a month). I thought the little cloth diapers looked so cute hanging on the line! ( I have to say, despite what the er, hold, I find cloth diapers to be extremely adorable.)

This is the view from my deck. Not to shabby if you discount the ramshackle fence. Ah well, were not all perfect :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Katie

Thoughts on Medical Waste

My son had surgery on Monday. Nothing serious, it went well, and he is doing great.

But, sitting in the waiting room at the hospital got me thinking about all the trash that generates from the medical field.

It's a lot.

I would love to hear every one's opinions on this, because as far as I can see a lot of medical waste cannot be avoided, and that is one area I'm willing to let slide.

I was looking at his IV bag and tubing, what could be a replacement for that? Hm, maybe the bag could be something else that they reuse. But, the flexible tubing that connects to the IV needle- I'm not sure what could replace that. And I don't know that I'd want it re-used.

The medical instruments used for the surgery are reused. They are mostly metal (I'm assuming?) and sterilized in the enclave sterilizer. At least they aren't disposable (yet).

He had to wear special surgery pajamas the hospital provided. To my surprise, the hospital takes them back and cleans them for the next patient. (My son was disappointed, he wanted to keep his surgery pajamas.)

The prescription bottles are an easy fix. They could be glass, washed, and refilled. Or, we could save our plastic prescription bottles and bring them in to be refilled. Especially if you have a drug you take regularly. Does anybody do this? I have yet to find a pharmacy that does this. My son's albuterol comes in single doses in plastic viles. That's an easy fix. Put the liquid in one big bottle and measure it out. ( I should get my letter to the company started).

All in all I was actually impressed at the minimal waste in this particular hospital (and of course how well they did with my son, we are blessed to live near the best Children's Hospital in the country (CHOP).

What are your thoughts on Medical/Hospital waste? Do you think it is inevitable?

Katie

The August No Electric Dryer Outcome

For the month of August I finally stopped using my clothes dryer. I wanted to see how much electricity/money I could save (I explained in this post). Our electric bill was outrageous in June ($134.00).

My husband hung some rope we use when we camp to hang out clothes, and my mom had a container of clothes pins I was able to snag. So, the cost of the line drying operation was free.

Between the thermostat being turned down 2 degrees (this post) and not using the clothes dryer, my electric bill was $90.00 this month. But, most of the savings was from turning up the air conditioner.
The dryer only saved about $10. $10.00 is $120/year, which is better than nothing!

Even know it wasn't a big chunk of change, hanging wash out on the line is surprisingly cathartic. I like being outside, and being out there hanging clothes gave me time to just be. Finding beauty in the everyday is so amazing. I would take my time to stare at the sky, feel the grass in my toes. Things I don't normally do, especially when just shoving clothes in the dryer.

I plan on hanging my wash outside until the weather is no longer suitable, and then I will hang it inside (I hang all the undies inside. I'm not there yet). But, I know once the baby comes I might be turning on the dryer.

Do you line dry your clothes?

Katie

September 2-8 Plastic Waste Tally

This is all my plastic waste I saved from last week. A total of 11 items, all of them food related except for 1- I received a Vegetarian Times magazine wrapped in plastic in the mail (I have cancelled the subscription). But, seriously folks, do we have to shrink wrap a magazine in plastic? I mean, really?

Not pictured are 2 meat wrappers (bacteria!) and 2 cups (one from Panera bread, and one from King Smoothie). The cups could have easily been avoided. I could have said no or brought my own.

I need help refusing things.

The food waste is a bread bag, a corn chip bag, flaxseed bag, rice bag, lentil bag, 2 produce bags, and a deli cheese bag. Oh, and a cup of Ritz Bits. Someone gave them to my son, and I am sorry to say, I ate them. (Yeah, yeah, they're not good for you).

I know all of this stuff could be avoided. The nearest Bulk Food Store to me is 12 miles, and I have plenty of Grocery Stores/Farm Markets in walking / biking distance. It is a constant toss up- waste gas or waste plastic? Right now I choose to waste plastic, because I just don't feel like driving.

Did you participate in Zero Waste Week?

Katie

Zero Waste Actions So Far This Week

I have been very conscious of my waste this week for Zero Waste Week. Here are some things I have done :

1.) Made yogurt out of milk that was past it's sell by date.
(didn't smell funky, but no one really wanted to drink it. voila, yogurt!)

2.) Put some tired apples in my homemade cinnamon apple oatmeal.

Tired fruits and vegetables (which is what I call mushy wilting things but are not moldy yet) are a lot more appealing cooked. And, it tasted great!

3.) Re used a plastic bread bag to pack a sandwich for my son.

4.) Packed a zero waste snack for me- a banana! Bananas are such a great snack, they come in their own package!

5.) Just received my order of Econobums cloth diapers for baby.

(I had to watch a you tube tutorial of how to put them on and practice on a doll, I am embarrassed to admit.)

I am also still reading Garbagology by Edward Humes. I am taking a long time to get through it (especially since we all just started back to school!!)

Are you participating in Zero Waste Week?

Katie

Zero Waste Week

This week is Zero Waste Week. Head on over here to sign up!

I am taking this week to re-examine all my waste. It is very easy to become complacent with the amount of waste we consume and giving in to convenience. I know I am guilty of this.

We are all headed back to school next week, so letting go of convenience for less waste options becomes more common when my husband and I aren't home like we are in the summer.

I will be setting up our compost bin this week and keeping track of all the plastic waste I consume. I will share the results end of next week!

Katie

Low Waste Baby- What I have so far

It seems every where you go you hear about how expensive it is to have babies. That's why for me it is always refreshing to see articles like this one :What do babies really need?
We got a lot of unneeded stuff with our first child, and we had an over abundance even though we were financially challenged.
So, this time around I plan on have a "low waste/minimalist" baby. This is what I have acquired so far:

1.) Clothing
I lucked out- my sister had a baby boy in January and has bagged up his clothes as he out grows them and given them to me. If this wasn't the case, I would scout out friends, free cycle, craigslist, and yard sales for baby clothes before I bought anything. People seem to be happy to give you their baby clothes they no longer need anymore.
Cost: Free

2.) Food
I plan on nursing so I haven't actually bought any food. But, I am preparing myself in the event nursing is difficult (as it was for me with my first). A friend gave me a box of glass baby bottles she no longer needed anymore which made me super excited! I wanted to use plastic-free bottles. Once again, if I had not gotten these from a friend, I would have scouted the Internet for second hand glass bottles.
Cost: Free
Nursing pillow- this is one thing I bought and I don't know why. I bought it when I was first pregnant on impulse- (no one's perfect right?) We'll see how this works out.
Cost: $12.00

3.) Shelter/Bed
We currently live in a 900 square foot carriage house and have no plans on moving, so no additional cost there. My older son's crib has since been recalled, so we are debating the sleeping situation. My first son never slept in his crib (he slept in his pack and play or our bed), so we are looking at pack and play and mini crib options. My older son really wants a bunk bed for him and his brother- we'll see about that down the road!!
Cost: estimated between $60-$100

4.) Diapers
I plan on cloth diapering. So far the least expensive yet not total pain in the butt option I've seen is the pre folds with covers. I am purchasing this econobums sample pack and possibly a couple of pocket diapers, just because they get a lot of good reviews. I am flexible to find something that works for me.
Cost: $100-$300

5.) Car Seat
We will get a car seat- but I am still driving my 2002 Passat and my husband has a 1998 Camry. The Camry just keeps on truckin'. Word to Toyota. Anyway, you do not all the sudden need a 7 passenger SUV when you have 2 kids. With 3 kids, sometimes a mini van is necessary because 3 car seats don't always fit in a sedan.
I still scouting out family and friends for a car seat, but if not we will buy one.
Cost: around $100

6.) Baby Seat- Leftover from first son. I am not buying any swings or seats unless I know this baby really wants to sit in them. A blanket spread out on the floor with some toys is usually just as fun for baby. My older son hated the swing!
Cost: Free

So that's it so far. I know I might need to adjust once he arrives and I adjust, but there isn't much you really need for baby.

What do you think?

Katie

Better for the Environment and Your Wallet

I tend to put saving the environment above saving money. Not because I love to spend money or anything, (spending actually tends to make me nervous) but you know, good planets are hard to find.

I attribute this also to my strong INFJ Meyers Briggs, ( This postwhere Jacob from ERE describes "NF" personalities and their "save the planet/save the animals stop consuming " describes me to a T.)

But I know you're like okay, get to the point. I have been experimenting to lower my energy usage while simultaneously lowering my outrageously high electric bill of $134.00.  So last month (July) I took it upon myself to push it to the limit of how far we could go temperature wise. My family was not totally cool (pun intended) with letting go of our window box air conditioner (for reference, I live in Southeastern Pennsylvania, temperatures around here in July are usually between 85*F-95*F and loads of humidity). But, our air conditioners do have thermostats, which have been set at 80. I bumped them up to 82*F for the month of July.

It wasn't very comfortable at first, but surprisingly the new normal becomes comfortable quite fast (especially coming inside on a day it is 90 out with 100% humidity.) My already wild curly hair rivals a crazy rodent's nest.

But, my electric bill was $35.00 less this month (and I was still using the clothes dryer in July in case you were wondering, I stopped using it August 1.) I consider this a definite win.

Plus I consumed less, so it wasn't just a win for me, but a win for the environment. Score!

P.S. What's your Meyers Briggs?

No Clothes Dryer August

One of my guilty pleasures is the dryer. I hesitate to even call it a pleasure, because it's not like I love using it. It's just what I have always done. I know it's bad, and it's been sheer laziness (and the awful humidity, I tell myself) I haven't sought out other options.

But, getting my electric bill last month ($134!!!) (combined with this article) was the kick in the pants I needed.

My husband actually got us this drying rack for Christmas (we're romantic like that) and the time has come for us to use it.

I am rigging some rope up outside (from our camping stuff) and borrowing a bag of clothespins from my mom (total cost of outdoor laundry line: free). If my neighbors are offended by my unmentionables, I will pull out the trusty by laws of our association, which ALLOWS laundry lines. Luckily I don't live in a snooty neighborhood, so I don't anticipate complaints (but have heard stories of people receiving them elsewhere!!)

My hope is that this will have some impact on our outrageous electric bill by the end of this month. That, and thankfully the temperatures here are no longer in the mid 90's (Fahrenheit) with 80% humidity and I no longer need to run my window box air conditioners. (They were clicking on constantly even set at 81*F last month. Really enjoying the more mild weather now.)

I anticipate clothes drying to be like my other habits I've developed, maybe slightly annoying to do the extra step first, but soon to be ingrained into my normal repertoire. (Just like reaching for a rag instead of a paper towel :)

I will report the electric bill next month and let you know my savings.

Katie

Low Waste Baby

I have mentioned before that I am pregnant. 5 1/2 months along, with boy #2.
Being low waste is harder with kids. It is. It is a lot easier to control my waste than that of someone else.

Right now I want to talk about low waste babies. In the baby and toddler years, you pretty much have control of everything going in and out of your little one's life. When I was pregnant with Boy 1, I was really young (21) and so was husband (24). To say we had no clue is probably an understatement. We were just to college kids embarking on having our own kid. Scary.

So, when I was pregnant with Boy 1, I went along with the flow of things. My family threw me a baby shower. I remember walking into Babies "R" Us to make a registry, wielding that scan wand thingie at everything the people told me I would need. Bottles, bottle warmer, bottle sterilizer, plastic tub, basically any plastic junk marketed toward baby. Cloth diapers were not even on my radar.

I got a lot of it. Unfortunately, most of it turned out to be plastic junk that I really did not need. At the time I swore I would never have another kid, but if I did,  I was not doing it this way again.

And now, 7 years later, I am pregnant again, but older and wiser. I will not be stepping foot into Babies "R" us. I am not under the delusion there will be no waste, but I am shooting for minimalist/low waste baby.

In the coming months, I plan on sharing what we will do (and get), and what works (and what doesn't).

As of right now I plan on cloth diapering, nursing, and using cloth wipes. Clothes are all coming used from family members and friends with babies. We have not yet figured out our sleeping situation. Boy 1 never slept in his crib, we pretty much co-slept until he was 5 (unintentionally), but I am thinking we will get some type of sleeping apparatus for Boy 2.

Stay tuned for my chronicles of raising baby minimalist/ low waste! Have you been successful in minimalist/low waste child rearing?

Katie

Week 1 Plastic Tally

About 2 weeks ago, I saved every all of my plastic trash that I used for a week. It includes everything I used, and things that my family used that I used too. It does not include just things my husband and son used. I am also posting it here Show your plastic.

So, without further ado :

I filled 1 plastic grocery bag with plastic trash. Just for a week! It is hard not to feel discouraged, although I will say that most of this plastic is from things I bought before I got on board with the plastic free/low plastic lifestyle. Most of my plastic waste is from food products :

And much to my dismay my nearest loose bulk food store is 12 miles away, which is discouraging when I like in biking distance to a town less than a mile away with plenty of stores. My nearest Whole foods is a 45 drive (uh).

Followed by bath products :

The hair products are an easy fix. I am going to try some shampoo bars, as there is no bulk shampoo near me, and the baking soda/apple cider vinegar thing made my thick curly hair a nightmare. The other thing is a floss pick (guess I only flossed once that week, oops!) which, so far I have not found any replacement for dental floss. I tried thread, and that was a nightmare.

Lastly is my junk mail plastic envelopes:

I have listed my name on all the stop junk mail websites. Hopefully this will help.

I have to say participating in this challenge has depressed me. I am hyper aware of all the plastic waste around me. Every time I see someone slugging a plastic water bottle I cringe, and I just want to cry. It feels like one person's reduction isn't going to make up for the millions of others.

But, I keep on, with that classic Gandhi quote, "you need to be the change you wish to see in the world." It's a start.

Katie

My Low Waste Shopping Trip and Shopping for Special Diets

Today I went shopping and focused on trying to purchase things with as little packaging as possible.

We belong to a CSA, so I have been lucky I haven't had to buy many vegetables. (And they are all plastic free!!)

Unfortunately, when I used Bea Johnson@ZeroWasteHome.com 's "Bulk" app, the nearest Bulk food store to me is 14 miles away. Uh. I didn't feel like driving all that way, so  I went to a local farm instead.

I bought 3 glass (returnable) bottles of milk (whole, 2%, and chocolate. The 2% is for yogurt making, as I have not been able to find "bulk" yogurt). My son really enjoys the chocolate milk. The milk is from a local dairy (hormone free), and at $2.50 a bottle (after the initial bottle deposit) it is a good buy.

The bananas were lose, in the front bag  (bags are cotton produce bags purchased at amazon here: produce bag. I have been very happy with them, they have the tare printed on them and are machine washable.  2 pints of blueberries are in the front bag, the back bag has 4 ears of sweet corn. Next to that is 1 container of yogurt (starter for the homemade yogurt, but I won't have to buy any plastic cups of yogurt once I get the first batch started) a box of butter, and a pound of deli cheese. Cheese has been quite a problem, other than plastic I have only found cheese in a wax coating, and the only flavor available in the wax is cheddar (which my son doesn't like).

After the farm I stopped at Great Harvest Bread Company, a bread store chain we have in town. The girl was more than happy to put a naked loaf into my bread bag. Score!

My husband (and many people out there these days) is gluten free (celiac). I am having trouble finding any gluten free products (flour, bread, pasta etc.) not packaged in plastic. Most regular flour and pasta can at least be found in paper bags/ cardboard boxes, but it seems all the gluten free items come in plastic.

Also, the issue with bulk bins and cross contamination with gluten containing items I have not looked into this too much, as I said before the nearest bulk store to me is a good half hour drive. This will be something to look into.


I'm off to enjoy my local blueberries. Happy Monday :)

Katie

Low Waste Goals for July 2013

I think it is very important when you take on something in your life, to set a goal to reach. We are trying to lower our waste. It is also important to have a goal that is attainable, so that you can reach it and not give up out of frustration. That is one of the reasons I am embarking on "low waste living" as opposed to "zero waste living". It is not that I do not want to be zero waste (or aspire to get there eventually), but I need a starting block to get there.

I have had many conversations with my husband about lowering our waste, and I am lucky as he wants to be a team player in this. When you have a family member/friend/loved one who supports you, it always makes reaching your goals easier!

So what goals am I setting today? My goal for the month of July is to only fill 1 kitchen size trash bag per week. Now, if we don't fill it, great! But that is what I am aiming to reduce our waste to this month.

This week I am also collecting all my plastic trash (just mine, not my husband or child's) and at the end I will post it here (and on "MyPlasticFreeLife.com" under the "show your plastic" tally. Just so I can get an idea of what I am producing.

I would also love to get a composting system going. We currently do not compost. Composting would cut down a great amount of our outgoing trash (obviously). I have to say I do not know anyone personally who composts. ( I live in the North Eastern part of the United States. We seem to be behind the West Coast on this).

So there are my goals for July. I will update my progress on here!

Katie