My Name is Betty and I am an Addict

I can’t go for more than an hour without ChapStick.  My ChapStick of choice is the ChapStick brand original moisturizer in the royal blue tube.  It’s thick, it feels great, and I literally need it. I have one next to my bed, on the end table by my spot on the couch, in my purse, in my desk, and other places I can’t think of at the moment.  The problem is that you can’t recycle the plastic tube through most municipal recycling programs. Since I’ve learned that these either end up in a landfill, in the ocean or inside of a bird, I realized I need to change my ways.  I have spent a lot of time looking for something that will work for me and I haven’t found something that fits all of my needs. In the meantime, I have made the switch to Burt’s Bees because they partner with TerraCycle and I can send them my used tubes to be recycled at no cost to me.  I have to be honest and say that I don’t like Burt’s Bees as much as my precious ChapStick but not all changes are going to be easy.  If you are wondering what I mean when I say “inside of a bird,” Google plastic pollution and you will see what I am talking about.  

My dearest ChapStick,

I miss you and I hope you can work on yourself and we can be together again someday.  I'll remember you fondly, like how smooth you always were and how moist you always made me. I'd tell you it's me and not you but we both know that's not true.

All My Love,

Betty
XOXOXOXO

You Must Be The Change You Wish to See in The World

Gandhi is credited with this famous quote although some argue he never actually said these words. Regardless of the origin, the message remains the same. I want to be the best human being that I can be.  I am flawed, like everyone else. I’m told I’m weird, I’m annoying, I’m a b!tch, I laugh at my own jokes too much, I’m a pain in the butt, I'm insensitive, I'm ugly.  I’m also told that I’m funny, I’m beautiful, I’m generous, I am a kind person, I’m loyal, I’m honest, and that I’m a leader. Some or all of these things may or may not be true.  What I know to be true about myself is that I care. I care so much that I started this blog to try to make a change. I see a need for change and if I can get my message to touch just one person, it’s worth it to me.  Since embarking on our journey of less waste, my kids have responded in a way I didn’t expect. I thought it would be a challenge for them but to my surprise they not only are embracing it, but they are also pushing me for what’s next and telling me that I’m not doing enough.  [Pause for epic Hallmark moment.] I made some changes at work (as mentioned in Zero Waste Work? Not Even Close) but made no mention of it to anyone at the time. My coworker noticed one of these changes and she was inspired to buy a set of silverware for work instead of the plastic “disposables.”  You might be thinking, “oh Betty, it’s just one knife, one fork, and one spoon.” Maybe it is just that. Or maybe, just maybe, one person can make a difference without saying a single word.  Actions speak louder than words my friends, and together we are capable of great things.  

You Must Be The Change You Wish to See in The World

-Mahatma Gandhi (or maybe some other guy)

Cotton Rounds, All Around

Each night before bed, I use astringent on a “disposable” cotton round to cleanse my face of oil before I go to sleep.  I toss the cotton round into the trash since it can’t (or shouldn’t) be composted with the chemical on it. When I realized the waste I was creating in both trash and money, I looked for an alternative.  On Amazon, I found many reusable options and I ordered a set of 14 (plus a small mesh laundry bag) from Wegreeco. They can be used for astringent or as makeup remover pads. They are made from bamboo cotton and are designed to be washed and reused. They work great and I just toss the bag in with my whites in the laundry and I dry them in the dryer. I never run out and I’m saving money. Hooray for everyone, except the company that makes the disposables, I suppose.

The Great Purge of 2018

According to Bea Johnson, (author of Zero Waste Home) one of the steps towards Zero Waste is to take an assessment of what you have.  Since I’m already OCD and hate messes, clutter, and all things excess, I delighted in this step. I do a spring and fall cleaning every year that results in donations and a plethora of trash.  I took an inventory of our home like never before. We lovingly referred to this as "The Great Purge of 2018." We donated, sold, recycled, or gave away hundreds of things. We had fewer belongings than the average family, to begin with but we still had so much stuff. Cleaning out the kitchen drawers, I laid out all of the utensils and contents. We had 13 spatulas, 3 ladles, 2 egg slicers, 25 towels, 3 pizza cutters, 2 ice cream scoops, 4 wine openers, 2 knife blocks full of knives, and even more. Kitchen cupboards offered countless plastic cups, tall glasses, short glasses, wine glasses, mugs, thermoses, insulated coffee cups, shot glasses, plastic plates, cute plastic fire truck and dump truck plates with matching silverware for my son, small plates, large plates, serving plates, serving platters, small plastic bowls, medium plastic bowls, regular bowls, serving bowls, mixing bowls, etc. It used to make me angry trying to dig around for my favorite spatula or mixing spoon in the drawer that had so many. Emptying the dishwasher was a lesson in anger management for people unloading because you had to wrestle the cups, plates, and everything else back into the cupboard. I took a long hard look at our excess and packed it up to donate. We repeated this process in every room of our home and in the garage. It feels like a waste of money at first but if you learn a lesson about not buying so much, then really it is a priceless lesson we all truly need. The house has so much less in it and we have never been happier. Cleaning is easier, putting things away is easier, finding things is easier, everything is easier.  We have learned not to buy things we don’t truly need. We were never big shoppers but we no longer go to a store “just to look.” Society tells us that we need bigger, better, newer, and just more of everything. Why must we do everything in such excess? We are fortunate to be learning that less really is more. If you take a moment to look around at all that you have, you might decide that less could be more for you and your family too.

The Charcoal Bar Will Wash Away Your Sins

I love the Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser by Biore.  I was running out and since it is in liquid form, it comes in a plastic bottle with a pump.  I looked into the Pore Penetrating Charcoal Bar by Biore but it comes in a cardboard and plastic box.  I’m not certain, but the bar itself appears to be wrapped in plastic. Well, I refuse that! Small steps are important and as we run low on things we purchased before, I search for a suitable replacement.  After a lot of research, I stumbled upon the Purifying Detox Facial Bar with Charcoal and Volcanic Ash by The Seaweed Bath Company.  It comes in a box (no hidden plastic) that I can recycle or compost and the product itself is amazing. I have very sensitive skin and I haven’t had any issues.  I love it and I’ll continue to buy this product. It may not wash away my sins but it does a great job on my face and it doesn’t trash the planet.

You’re The Jerk, and so am I

“I don’t need anything, except this.”  [picks up an ashtray] “And that’s the only thing I need is this.  I don’t need this or this. Just this ashtray...And this paddle game.  The ashtray and the paddle game, and that’s all I need...And this remote control.  The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that’s all I need...And these matches.  The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control, and the paddle ball...And this lamp. The ashtray, this paddle game, and the remote control, and the lamp, and that’s all I need.  And that’s all I need too. I don’t need one other thing, not one...I need this. The game and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches for sure. Well, what are you looking at? What do think I’m some kind of jerk or something!  And this. That’s all I need.” [walking outside] “The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, and this magazine, and the chair.”  [outside now]  “And I don’t need one other thing, except my dog.”  [the dog growls at him]  “I don’t need my dog.” -Excerpt The Jerk, 1979

We are all like Navin R. Johnson in one way or another.  We are all wasteful and buy too much without even realizing it.  We all want bigger, better, faster, the latest, and more of everything.  We are fixated on objects that bring us no real happiness.  We need to slow down and think about buying quality items that last.  We need to stop indulging every single day and tossing out everything in our path.  I’m just as guilty as everyone else. I recently got a new phone just because I wanted it.  My “old” phone was three years old and had nothing wrong with it but I wanted to treat myself, even though in reality I get just about everything I want when I want it.  The planet doesn’t belong to us and we all need to do better, starting with me.

Reusable Produce Bags Can Carry Your Melons

After we made the switch to reusable shopping bags it seemed counterproductive to still be using the plastic produce bags. I turned to Google to crack the case and it turns out that once again Amazon had the answer to all of my produce bag problems. I ordered the Naturally Sensible 5 pack of bags for about $15. I could hardly contain myself waiting for them to arrive. The first time I used them at the store my daughter Harriet (not her real name) kept looking around because she was uncomfortable with what I was doing.  I asked her if she was embarrassed and she said she wasn’t but since I’m embarrassing most days of the week, I expect that my divergence from the norm was indeed an embarrassment. The good news is that she got over it and now I’m back to being generally embarrassing all by myself.  Reusable produce bags won’t actually fit your melons but you don’t need a bag for them anyway.

Cannibalistic Cows Demand an Appetizer of Plastic

What the f**k are we feeding our cattle?  I used to snub my nose at organic meat because of the cost. What is so special about the animals used for such overpriced meat?  Were they of particular high intelligence or did they descend from bovine royalty?  How do you justify the cost? Now I know you don’t have to pay what they want at the store for healthy, ethical meat.  If you take the time to research your area, you will find local farmers that take good care of their animals and feed them properly.  What that means is they have access to pasture and are either all grass-fed or they may be fed grass as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables.  Because they are taken care of, they are not laden with antibiotics to keep them well enough to get to slaughter. If you buy direct from the local farmer you will save a great deal of money.  Most people like to save money. I took the time to research my area and found Grazing Acres. They feed their cows fruits and vegetables, in addition to all the grazing they do. The price I paid per pound is far less than factory meat from the grocery store.  If you research what factory or “regular” cows are fed, you will be shocked. They are fed candy, feces, road kill, euthanized cats and dogs (in the form of animal feed,) feathers, hair, skin, hooves, plastic, and other cows. I’m not sure which of these things disturbs me the most. They are fed plastic as a replacement for fiber because their diet is so poor. How did we get to this point? We got here by demanding more for a cheaper price. As Bea Johnson says in her book, Zero Waste Home, "shopping is voting." If we all refuse to accept the practice of factory farms, there will be change.  We need to demand better. Shopping is voting; and now I'm giving my vote to healthy cows that were treated well. Please read this article from Organic Consumers Association by clicking here.

TerraCycle is My New Best Friend

I can’t recall how I heard about TerraCycle.  It has been on my list of things to check into and I admit I have been putting it off.  The best solution for our trash problem is to refuse and reduce what we buy and use. Obviously we need some products and the best products we buy are ones that can be infinitely recycled.  I’ll talk more about recycling in another post but it’s important to know that plastic is a finite material that can only be downcycled so many times before it is laid to rest in a landfill for all of eternity.  Lots of plastic can’t be recycled at all. Giving up plastic is very difficult. It’s like trying to give up sugar. It is everywhere! As we get close to running out of a product that is not sustainable or packaged in an eco-responsible way, we look for an improvement.  Sometimes we find an improvement that is sustainable, responsibly packaged, and made in a way that is in line with our values. Sometimes we are not quite there in options that will work for us. Remember that it’s all about making small changes that work for you and taking baby steps.  TerraCycle is our friend during this transition and beyond. They specialize in recycling everything, and I do mean everything. They have a program for prepaid boxes for hard to recycle items that are not accepted by your municipal recycling program. They also have paired with manufacturers that care and want to do the right thing by recycling the waste of their products.  I signed up for the FREE recycling program for Burt’s Bees, Garnier, and Tom’s of Maine. You will be put on a waiting list but when it’s your turn, they send you a free shipping label and you send them back their stuff that would have ended up in the landfill. It’s easy and FREE. When I can’t find a suitable sustainable product, this is the next best thing. For now, in our home, we will try to make a point to choose these brands because we want to support manufacturers that care about the environment.  We all need to do our part to produce less waste in the first place but we also need more companies like TerraCycle.

Canning is a Family Affair

Once upon a time, I thought store-bought spaghetti sauce was the shiznit.  My mother in law ruined that delightful fallacy when she served me her homemade spaghetti sauce for the very first time. Curse her and her delicious concoctions! Ignorance was bliss. Now that I had the lust for this amazing sauce, I had to have it.  Store bought sauce now tasted like ketchup to me. For a while, my mother in law would keep me stocked up on her home canned tomatoes but then I decided to try growing and canning my own.  What was I thinking? Gardening is most things that I loathe. I don’t like being outside, being hot, being in the sun, sweating, getting dirty, and I friggin hate bugs. I've been told I'm a bit of a princess. I feel this is an excellent time to mention that raw tomatoes are near the top of my most hated foods list. In their natural form, they taste like what I imagine poison must taste like. If I was being tortured to give up valuable intelligence, I would hold up to waterboarding but crack when force-fed raw tomatoes. I might be exaggerating a little but tomatoes are a disgusting fruit. Before we moved to our current home, we tried our hand at gardening at a community garden. The tomato plants grew huge and we canned, and canned, and canned. We now have four gardens at our home. We use tomatoes in homemade spaghetti sauce and in homemade chili.  Most years we even make and can our own salsa. I only can tomatoes that I grow in my own garden. There is something so rewarding about starting something from seed, planting it, harvesting it, and eating it, that it seems to taste better. The very best part is that the kids get excited about the gardens we have and they love helping to pick and can our harvested fruits and vegetables. Gardening and canning is time well spent with those you love most.