One for me, One for my homies.

This no garbage thing isn't all that hard.  This past week I have been really into coming up with ideas to reduce waste.  I truly think it is possible to live a semi-conventional life style and avoid waste that cannot be composted or recycled.  It's all about convenience.  Look at commercials, for instance, its all about convenience.  Not need, just pure, unadulterated "wants".  Overall, convenience hasn't been getting in the way too much with our day to day life.  If anything, the "inconveniences" of this month are welcomed.   I enjoy doing things differently.

I'm having a good time coming up with new ways to live life with less waste, and I have come across a lot of good/practical ideas.  The last few nights for dinner we made everything from scratch.  Sunday night was pizza night.  I made a pretty killer whole wheat pizza crust (if I do say so myself), with homemade pizza sauce from fresh tomatoes, topped with peppers, onions, mushrooms, and other spices.  No canned food needed, and not very hard to make.  I really liked it, but I think Nicki would have liked it better with cheese. I'm toying with the idea of giving up dairy, but that discussion is for another day.

Tonight we made the rustic pasta we love so much from the Kind Life book.  I made homemade whole wheat pasta, and it turned out much better than I had expected.  I think next time I will cut the pasta to be a bit thinner and not as wide, but the taste was really good.  Last week I dabbled with dried beans to a mixed review.  I tried to make black bean burgers, but apparently I didn't soften the beans enough before mashing them up.  They really didn't form very good patties, but with a few tweaks, made for an excellent base for some black bean fajitas.  We also made our own chickpea spread with avocado, lemon, and other spices that made a really good sandwich...until the next day.  The leftovers really didn't keep much flavor, more of a green chickpea sandwich.

The only thing that we are getting from the grocery store that is adding trash is Nicki's clementines.  There are no brand of clementines that we have found that come without packaging, so we are opting for the brand that comes in a wooden box with a plastic mesh top.  We are going to reuse the wooden boxes in the baby room, but I haven't thought of any idea to reuse the plastic mesh top. (any ideas are appreciated)

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but Nicki is hooked on a neighborhood frozen yogurt place.  The bowls they use are recyclable and now I'm very good at remembering to pass on the plastic spoon before they put it in the yogurt.  I actually had a nice conversation with the lady who owns the store about bringing our own bowls that we can wash at home.  Not only did she like the idea, but she may start selling mugs that people can reuse when they come into the store.

Next on the agenda before the month closes is to make our own laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, and snicker bar for the one with the cravings.  We have discussed the possibility of making chapstick, but after some research, I think I will actually make more waste making our own chapstick than just buying a natural brand in a tin.  I'm up for other suggestions, please leave a comment and give me some ideas on homemade "stuff" that can be eaten, worn, or used around the house.

Now...for the homies.  I have been really appreciative of friends/family who have given me great ideas on how to make the transition to a more conscious way of living.  I have enjoyed reading others blogs, not only for the good information, but to realize that there are a lot of people out there who want to change things for the better, in their own unique ways, on both large and small scales.  I wanted to share a couple of other websites I think you should check out.

My friend *Kelli (* I may or may not be using his/her real name) has a friend in Chicago.  I don't know him, but I know the type Kelli hangs out with, and you should support his company.  He has a company called Ethically Engineered Vegan.  You can find vegan friendly bathroom supplies like shampoo, soap, moisturizers, lip balm, ect.  Stop by and peruse, buy something, or at least pass it on to someone you think may be interested.

Check it out here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ethicallyengineered#

Kelli also has a few things you should check out.  One of her projects is the Urban Folk Circuit.  For those of you in the chicago area, you should really check this out.  I stole this from their website to give you an idea of what its about.

"The Urban Folk Circuit is a simple practice:: we bring an old-fashioned awareness to a hip, urban market. We exist to support local livelihoods and reconnect mindful buyers to modern handmakers.

The Urban Folk Circuit, a craft-market series, was initiated in the summer of 2010 by two Chicago women,  veterans of the independent craft community, as a means to promote fellow, local artisans and neighborhood establishments in a way that is sustainable and beneficial to both."

Check it out here:  http://www.urbanfolkcircuit.com.

She also has an online store where you can buy her upcycled bags/totes, quilts, journals, and other cool and interesting items.  I would highly recommend her website, it's really well done, easy to navigate, and cool to look through

Check it out here: http://greeniebeanrecycle.com

Finally, my good friend Evan has this wife.  She is pretty much awesome.  I can't do any justice to what she is going to accomplish, so I will copy and paste an email I got from Evan about her organization "Allowance for Good".

As some of you know, my wonderful wife, Elizabeth, began work on starting a non-profit organization after completing her Master’s in International Education from Stanford University last summer.  After careful thought and planning, Allowance for Good (“AfG”) was born.  AfG provides funds to schools and communities in emerging markets to better improve the lives of students.  More impressively, these funds will come from teenagers!  Through a web-based giving platform, teenagers in the U.S. will be able to pledge funds from their own allowance and job earnings to help students in other countries get the education they deserve.  While AfG has come a long way since its inception, its goal of educating and engaging the next generation of philanthropists to improve education internationally is a lofty one.  This is where you come into the picture.  Below are several ways you can help Allowance for Good find success:

1.       Visit www.allowanceforgood.org and learn more about AfG.

2.       Sign up for the organization’s newsletter by clicking here.

3.       If you have teenagers in your family, encourage them to learn more about becoming a global philanthropist by clicking here.

4.       Spread the word – pass this message along to your family and friends.

5.       Consider donating by clicking here.  It’s easy, painless, and gifts are tax deductible (AfG is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) organization).

Junk Mail Killah

Almost 2 weeks in, and we have done pretty well with avoiding garbage.  There are less than 10 items in the garbage can, and we had to go out and buy a new "recycling only" garbage can.  Composting is pretty easy and we started our second bin earlier this week.   I have been trying to be more aware of how much waste I consume outside of the house.  I have been saving all my tea bags (and want to start saving the coffee grounds) from work.  When we go out to eat, we start by choosing places that don't use a lot of plastic or other waste, although last night we went out to eat with some friends and the restaurant served their food on styrofoam plates and only had plastic forks.

But we have been good otherwise, bringing home our napkins from lunch to be composted, not putting lids on cups, not using straws, and bringing home other leftover food that can be composted.  Some of our waste is unavoidable, like packaging for baby furniture.  But we have been reusing some of the packaging plastic bags and such.  We composted some of the cardboard and recycled the rest of what we could.

Nicki and I have been talking about ways to have less waste around the house, and I think junk mail is really wasteful.  I found a website that you can go to and fill out some info, including address and name.  It also asks for your SSN but it is not required you fill it in.  Once you sign up for the website you can manage everything from credit card offers, to catalogs, magazines, and all other junk mail.  It's pretty easy to do and it takes less than 5 minutes.

Check out the website.

dmachoice.org

I looked up some reviews on the company.  They are not supported by the BBB, but it seems that the USPS is affiliated with the service.

Wether you hate junk mail because it is a nuisance or just wanting to help the environment, you should consider signing up.  I've read that 1 million trees are cut down a year to supply the amount of junk mail you receive each year. (one site stated it was 2.6 million)  Junk mail also accounts for 1 billion pounds of landfill waste in the US.  Thats assuming 50% of junk mail is recycled each year, which the all knowing wikipedia says is at 45%.

For more information about the statistics about junk mail check out the website below.  It not only has statistics, but refers to the article or study where the information came from.

http://www.donotmail.org

Month 3

2 for 1 special tonight, so I don't feel so bad about being blog lazy.

This month is a continuation of last month.  A little penitence for not doing as well last month.  I want to take the no wasting thing a bit further.  Each month Nicki and I go through around 4 bags of garbage a month.  We are already doing a lot of recycling, but we still throw away a lot of garbage, mostly food.  My goal for this month is to throw away as little as possible, and have a half a can of garbage or less at the end of the month.

Our first step was to start our compost bin.  I had asked for worms this past christmas, but must not have been a good boy last year.  Apparently I'm a better husband, because I got some for Valentines day, along with an indoor composting kit from my lovely wife.  (also the DVD of the Phish show I was at this summer at Alpine Valley...pretty killer)  At this point we have pretty much filled up that first bin, I will update some pictures as we keep building it up.  The worms are pretty active now and we can see them squirming around.  I did some reading and found that our worms should double in population in three months, pretty crazy.  The worms came in a bag of 1000...that's 3000 worms, 1 baby, and 1 dog by June.

I'm not too sure how its going to go over with the Mrs. but I would like to try to cook everything with homemade ingredients.  It will help to cut down on the amount of stuff we have to throw away.  We are still good buying things in glass or paper because they can be recycled.  There is a lot at the grocery store we can buy in bulk like rice, beans, pasta, nuts, certain types of sugar, other food mixes...all in all a pretty good selection of food.  We can also refill our bottled cooking liquids like shoyu, olive oil, honey, tamari, and peanut butter.  Now it is just a matter of remembering to bring all the empty bottles.  

I'm still going to buy things that come in boxes.  I'm going to try to buy only items packaged in post-consumer materials, or at the least something we can recycle or compost.  If we can get really motivated, I'd like to try to make things out of any trash that we happen to accumulated to reuse...but I'm generally great at being lazy, so I doubt that will actually happen.

I'm going to go empty the garbage right now, and then start keeping track for the rest of the month.  Wish us luck. 

February low down

There is a lot of plastic in the world.  As the past month closed out, I got much better at getting rid of using plastic.  I had my occasional slip ups, but more times than not, I couldn't do much about it.  There were still instances when I would ask for water without a straw and the waitress would bring me a straw.  I guess I could have brought in my own water, but I didn't go hardcore about bringing my own drinks...maybe I should have.

One time, at the airport, I tried to do some homework and scout out places I could eat and not have to use plastic.  I found a mexican place that I could get with a paper boat to put my food in.  I asked the cashier to wrap my burrito in aluminum only without the plastic wrap.  I got my drink without a plastic lid or straw.  I was feeling pretty good about myself until i realized the only utensils they had were plastic.  After eating my burrito, I decided I would try to make my own spoon.  It actually worked out pretty well.

I was able to get rid of some more everyday plastic around the house.  I made my own toothpaste, so we don't have to buy the plastic tubes.  I haven't found any toothpaste in a metal tube.  I have a lot of friends suggesting Tom's of Maine and others, but I can't seem to find any toothpaste not in a plastic tube.  Even the aluminum tubes are lined with plastic on the inside with a plastic cap.

The toothpaste I made isn't fantastic by any means.  My wife noticed a peppermint smell the first time I brushed my teeth, but not since.  She says it doesn't smell bad, just not minty fresh.  My mouth feels clean afterwards, but it has a salty taste while I'm brushing.   The first time I brushed I was really surprised how salty it was, but when I rinsed my mouth I could really only taste peppermint.  The peppermint taste has gotten less and less since though.

The ingredients are:

1/4 cup baking powder
2 TBSP sea salt
2 TBSP peppermint extract

I think after this runs out I am going to give it another go, but I found a recipe with different extracts that also has a bit of hydrogen peroxide.

We also found All Natural Waxed Paper brand sandwich bags that are replacing our use of plastic ziploc bags.  We have also been using our glass jars to keep some of our pasta, trailmix, and nuts.  Now we don't have to buy these things in a plastic wrapped containers or bags.

This month I have also occasionally gone without anything to drink at a restaurant because I forgot to bring my own container and they only had plastic cups.  I had perused some stores for a no plastic water bottle, but outside buying a flask, I was again unable to find a non plastic alternative.  Every metal bottle I found had a plastic top.  I may still get one in the future, but I want to look around a little more to find one without plastic.

This month was definitely eye opening.  Its crazy how much plastic is wasted.  I think plastic definitely has its place.  Medical supplies and car parts are pretty crucial, but food gets a bit unnecessary.  This is another thing we are going to pay attention to, I hope I can get better and better with.