Tag: four weeks

Thirtydays

Trash less

I went through my drawers and cupboards looking for ways to trash less. I came to the conclusion that in order to figure out what needed to be recycled, reused or reduced I needed to pay more attention to what I was putting into the trash can. So I looked in my garbage and I found :

food packaging

tissues

junk mail

paper towels

paper plates

plastic slider/zipper bags

food waste

We have already covered paper towels and paper plates so I guess we can talk about the plastic slider/zipper bags. Okay, I’ll admit it. I love them. They aren’t just for food. I use them for traveling, craft storage, organizing random things, rocks and sweat towel storage for the gym. I don’t really throw them away. Probably just the ones I use for lunches. So from now on I will use a reusable container instead.

Junk mail. It’s mostly advertisements for services I am not looking for. It either gets ripped into tiny pieces, shredded or sent back from whence it came. If they send me a postage paid envelope I will send it all back to them with a note to take me off their mailing list. Does this work? I don’t know but it makes me feel better knowing that it’s not going into MY garbage can lol.

Tissues. Yes I use them to blow my nose in the morning. What is the alternative? Good old fashioned handkerchiefs. I am going to try these but no guarantees. Lol. I don’t know if I can do it.

Food waste. Most of my food waste consists of banana peels, coffee grounds, avocado shells, onion skins, lettuce and egg shells. These are things that can be composted so I got one. More on that later this month.

Food packaging. Wow. I didn’t realize how most of the things I purchase are contained in plastic. And it’s not small or recyclable. Orange juice, laundry soap, body wash, apples, condiments, the list goes on. I will be researching alternatives. Wish me luck🤞🏽

Thirtydays

Trash less

Trying to trash less is difficult.

Yesterday I went into a store to get some household items and dog toys. Dog toys to replace the ones that Krystal’s dog, Sunny killed a few weeks ago lol.

I got to the register and the cashier asked if I wanted to purchase a bag for 5 cents. Of course not. Did I bring my own bags? Of course not 😂. Luckily I shopped without a cart so everything I was purchasing I was carrying. 10 items😂 Ugh I need to train my brain to grab those recycle bags on my way into the store. In my defense, the bags are in the back of the car. I guess I should just put them in the front seat but I hate clutter lol.

Less garbage:

I bought some reusable paper towels. Not that I am getting rid of the real thing altogether. I will still keep them for dog barf and grease clean ups. The reusables are 12×12 inches and made out of cotton flannel. They roll up around a cardboard tube. You can take them off one by one. I got them from Amazon but they are actually made in Eugene Oregon, Marley’s Monsters reusable unpaper towels. A little spendy but over time I hope to use less of the real ones and this is more about the environment. I guess if I wasn’t so lazy I could make my own. They are just flannel squares serger stitched around the edges.

Cotton balls. I use at least a bag of cotton balls each month to remove my eye makeup. I know, they are tiny but everything adds up over time. I found some reusable makeup removers from Wild Minimalist that are basically just like the unpaper towels but double layered. These are also made in Oregon. They measure 2×2 and are cotton flannel. I just squirt some makeup remover on them, use and toss them in the dirty clothes. They wash up perfectly and again I could probably make these lol. Spoiler, maybe that’s what’s coming for Christmas….😊

I hate to admit this but I use a lot of paper plates. I was reaching for one last night and reminded myself I should be using the real plates. Most of the paper plate use is for cooking/reheating in the microwave of greasy stuff. So it’s a toss up between them and paper towels as clean up afterwards. To explain, I am not connected to city sewers and I have a septic system. I definitely don’t want to wash any grease down the drain or it could cause a grease plug and a back up of the system. And yes I am speaking from experience 😂🤣

Thirtydays

Well, it’s 2021. I survived 2020 and I’ve been thinking about my New Years’ resolution. Yeah, the one I never keep. I guess a whole year is way too long for me to keep a promise to myself. I think I am going to try it thirty days at a time. Four weeks. One month. It’s not that long. I think I can do this.

I compiled a list of twelve things that I would like to improve upon. Twelve things that I should or should not do. There are the standard resolutions in there and then some off the wall. With that being said, my first pick is a tough one. No online shopping for January 😲. I feel like with the pandemic and Covid I got into the habit of buying stuff online. Which doesn’t really help the local economy. Not anything I really needed. Just stuff. Garbage I could do without. Things that caused clutter. So, day one. No Amazon or any other websites that Facebook and Instagram think I need to see. Which is a whole other problem in itself that I won’t get into right now. Wish me luck😊