A thought on packaging...

Yesterday I decided to think about what I am throwing away. I always save anything I need to get rid of if it is in usable condition, and I have a yard sale and donate the rest. Thanks to mom, this is not a problem. Sometimes, where clothes are concerned, I try to remake them into new clothes or purses, or cut them up and use the fabric for other purposes, ever since I read stories about how our old clothes get shipped to poor countries who throw them away anyhow because they hinder their ability to have a clothing industry of their own. So unless I know it is going directly onto the floor of a local thrift store, I tend to reuse as much clothing as possible. Add to that the fact that I run a no-waste sewing operation by using scraps to stuff stuffed animals instead of buying fiberfill, and it's looking pretty good.

I recycle as much as I can, but I know I could do more research on exactly what my local recycling program takes besides the standard paper, plastic, glass, metal, etc. Also, though I started a compost bin last spring for the garden, it quickly filled up and now I find myself throwing away biodegradable waste. While it is by far the least worrisome thing to put into a landfill, but it could still be put to better use. I recently read up on the green waste program in my area, and I found that San Jose and San Francisco have an amazing program to turn food and yard waste into methane and other gases that will be captured and used to power the city. My apartment building does not have a green waste bin, but I am going to ask my landlord to get one for us.

My roommate and I re-use all the plastic containers we get that come with resealable lids as tupperware, which means we don't buy new tupperware and we use way less cling wrap and tin foil because the containers are usually good for small things. And we have done away with plastic baggies entirely, switching instead to unbleached waxed paper baggies which biodegrade quickly. And when I buy milk and yogurt, I buy the ones in glass containers that we return to the store for a deposit because they are simply sterilized and reused which uses much less energy that melting down old glass to make it new again.

We save all our junk mail and waste paper to be made into new paper, but truth be told our little bin is overflowing and we are due for a paper-making night. We also buy products from the Seventh Generation brand including dish soap, laundry detergent, recycled toilet paper and paper towels, and most recently biodegradable plastic trash bags.

So, it seems like I am doing as much as I can to reduce what I throw away, but indeed there is still more. Recently I have been very intrigued by the new eco-trend of a packaging-free lifestyle. There is a new grocery store in the UK called Unpackaged, where, you guessed it, nothing comes packaged and you bring your own reusable containers to carry food home with you. Now, I shop at Whole Foods and the local farmer's markets, and even though I bring reusable tote bags, I still end up coming home with plastic produce bags, thin plastic containers that we usually do not end up keeping because they are not microwave-safe, and a plethora of extra plastic and Styrofoam hidden inside cardboard boxes. I buy grains in bulk, which does reduce the cost because of reduced packaging, but I still have to fill a plastic bag to get the stuff to the checkout (and it is not a compostable plastic bag either).

This frustrates me to no end, and even though I re-use as much of these plastic bits as I can, I know that some of them may end up going into landfills, and I really don't want that to happen, so I have devised a plan. Last night I spent my time cutting out pieces to sew reusable shopping bags from organic cottons and lovely prints. Now, I know you can get bags for free or about a dollar from most major retailers today, but I find that I really do not like the design of those strange square-with-long-handles bags made out of some kind of creepy synthetic material. I had some of them for a while and I found I did not like using them. Then one day I got a free tote bag made of sturdy canvas in nice colors with short, comfortable handles and bang, there it was, I was using it all the time to carry all my groceries. Since then I have acquired a few other lovely reusable bags, and I find that the prettier they are the more likely I am to remember and enjoy using them. I find even if I bring the 3 bags I have, I usually end up taking home another paper bag or two, so I am sewing a couple more bags for myself.

Here is a fantastic list of free patterns for sewing, knitting, and crocheting your own reusable grocery bags, and I am sure that there are hundreds more out there on the net, so choose the one you like the best and go for it! Making your own bags makes you want to use them as often as possible to show off your handywork and be able to respond to compliments on your cute eco-friendly bag with, "Thanks, I made it!"

To add to these tote bags, I am going to sew some longish organic cotton drawstring bags which I will bring to the store and use to buy my bulk grains and such. They will not weigh too much more than the plastic ones provided, and they will be easily washable and reusable for a lifetime. Plus I will add cute prints at the top to encase the drawstings so they are lovely to use. I also plan to crochet from organic cotton some smaller-size mesh produce bags to use in lieu of the plastic ones. So there's the grand plan to phase out my dependence on plastic packaging altogether. Wish me luck!

Loving you...

It's true. I learned this a long, long time ago, and I try to remember it every day. But I find there are days when I only really like who I am, but not quite love. And that just plain sucks. There is no reason why I or anyone else should not love the people we are every second of every day. No two of us are alike, we all have unique thoughts, talents, and inner and outer beauty. Today, even though I feel like crap and I am lonely, I still love who I am. (Edit: I am feeling better and loved today.)

Everyone has things about themselves that they would like to change, the underlying cause of these changes, in my mind, is an effort to feel better about who we are; to love ourselves more. Some people battle with weight, some with fears, some with bad habits, and that is a good thing, I think. If we were always perfectly content with who we are then we would miss out on a lot of golden opportunities to learn and grow as people.

Some things I am committed to doing in order to love the person I am more include losing weight (not too much, just enough), finishing what I start, and helping strangers more often (good deeds in general). I get an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and the need to pat myself on the back whenever I help a stranger in need. I get a natural high every time I stop to help someone push a stalled car to a safe place. Recently, I have been thinking about how to help out the homeless people I see on my way to work every day.

I have mixed feelings about giving money to people on the street because it seems like you could be helping or you could just be furnishing their drug addiction or whatnot. So as a rule I never give money to someone who is smoking a cigarette, because I know right where that money will go. All in all I do not have a ton of money myself, but I still feel the need to help out my fellow man, so here is what I have come up with: instead of giving them my spare change, I am going to buy fruit with it and offer it to them. Sure, a dollar can get you a crappy cheeseburger, or you can buy like 4-5 bananas or apples or oranges with the same money. And if I do not happen to run into someone on my way to work, then I have a healthy breakfast for myself all the same.

What kinds of things do you want to do to show love more often? Any ideas?

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Good deeds this week:

* On Tuesday I got on the most crowded bus ever, which was driven by a very snarky man who made me laugh when we got to talking about how rude everyone always is on the bus. When I got off at my stop I told him You have a hard job but you do it really well, thanks for driving me to work today.

* I let my boyfriend do his own thing this week without complaining one bit. I do not want to end up being some nagging housewife.

* I listened to a wonderful violinist in the subway station and gave her all the change I had. Seemed like no one else had paid attention to her all day.

Day one.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the world we live in, where it is going, what my part in all of it is. I have come to see that what our generation chooses to do about the problems we face today will be the catalyst for great change or great catastrophe. While I have faith that our government is working hard to fix some things, the rhetoric and red tape makes the process painfully slow. But I know deep down, no matter how much I wish it was not true, that I cannot change the world. I am just one person, and even if I became such an outspoken activist as to rally thousands or even millions of people behind me, at most I would only succeed in changing the state, maybe even the country, but one person alone cannot change the whole world.

But that does not mean I cannot be a catalyst for change on a larger scale. I began thinking more inwardly about the problems I see around me on a daily basis, and what I could do to change them. And then I realized; if everyone sought to make their own worlds better, as in their immediate surroundings that they encounter from day to day, then the overlap between worlds would just keep spreading and eventually bigger change could be seen. It is something that everyone can do, because the steps are so small, and one could see immediate results that benefit you first and foremost and then radiate to those around you.

So, I have started a list of words that I think are important facets of change. Most of them are very general so that each individual has an opportunity to interpret the each one as an action that suits their own world. Some of the steps are not for everyone, but if each person did only one thing then at least it is something. And while I work through these words, focusing on one at a time, I am sure they will overlap and lead into one another like a web. This makes it easy for me to see that by changing one small thing, it changes quite a few more in an outward ripple of sorts.

I hope that this blog inspires you to try to change something in your world as well. Start small, and do not worry if something ends up not working out as you planned. If you have worked on some of these words, please let everyone know. And if you think of something to add to the list, share that as well. Good luck to everyone in their endeavors!