Last week's accomplishments:
-Mailed styrofoam packaging to a place in Erie, PA, the closest one to us, for a mail-in recycling program.
-Mailed old books to one of those online places that buys used books. Not a way to get rich, certainly, but a nice way to pass on books to other owners.
-Bought a plastic barrel, out of which we are going to make a compost tumbler. Just need a few more supplies to complete the project.
This week's goals:
-Make the compost tumbler. This is primarily Ryan's area of expertise, but I've been helping find materials to keep the cost to a minimum.
-Buy some environmentally-friendly paint & paint stripper. This will take some research, but I'm confident it won't be too hard to find. Our bathroom is in desperate need of a makeover, and the previous owners of our house painted over the fabulous gumwood trim on the second floor. We want to strip it and return the wood to its natural charm. More our style.
-Buy our fruits & veggies, and who knows what other surprises, at the local farmer's market on Thursday night. We keep missing it but it's such a great way to support local growers, and get good food for cheap.
-Investigate & experiment with giving up paper towels. I read it on another blog, and found the idea intriguing. Ryan isn't as thrilled, but I'm convinced we can make this work.
Four goals is realistic, I think. I'll let you know how it goes!
5 comments:
im totally in love with your blog! and, im learning! i like to consider myself conscious, but everrrrry time we go to the store i drive my bf nuts talking about how wasteful produce bags are. it never even crossed my mind to save them and bring them back. thank you for solving one of my biggest pet peeves!!
Hey Kate, you should try those "sham-wow" things from the infomercial instead of paper towels. I've heard they really work. Otherwise just get lots of towels and sponges for the kitchen. Towels are good because you can wash them, and even sponges you can put in the dishwasher or microwave to get the germs off so you can use them longer.
Oh, by the way, what was the name of the place in Erie where you sent the stuff?
Jen, I'm so glad you like it! There's SO much information out there, and not all of it is right, so this is my attempt to sort through it and hope that my friends learn from it too! I'm happy you're gonna start using the produce bags again!
Katie, I've read product reviews that say the Sham-wow specifically isn't great but a real chamois is the way to go. I have a biodegradable wipe cloth that I bought as an experiment, and I like it, but Ryan doesn't, so I have to come up with a compromise plan.
Also, here's the link where I got the mail information:
http://www.epspackaging.org/pdf/National%20Mail%20Back%20Locations.pdf
I don’t use paper towels because they are too expensive. I just got a bunch of cheap white shop towels (the red ones bleed on everything in the wash). That way if they get really yucky, I don’t feel bad about tossing them in the trash. Have you checked Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/ for reusables online? LoveForEarth.etsy.com has reusable produce bags and moocowmomma.etsy.com has towels, sandwich bags, and swiffer sweeper covers. Check out Wallypop at http://living.wallypop.net/ for some of the same things. Hope this helps a little.
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