Get out the good china!

Living rich by living simply:

Recently, in a FB group, Jacob posted this:

I asked him if I could share it with you, because I loved the message. What items do you think you might not need? What items are collecting dust that might be used?

WASTE alert- Amazon's new Dash button

What does Amazon's latest buy-everything-within-reach method look like?

These little buttons are the Lorax's worst dream realized. Plastic, a battery and a wifi connection to facilitate one single action-reordering one product. What about when they stop working? How many people will take the time to recycle them properly? (Answer: no one because good recycling programs are based on *enough volume* of a given product that has *enough value* to actually be recycled...so, yeah, no....) Not to mention that recycling is not really all it's cracked up to be, anyway, even if you *could* recycle these puppies! Which you can't.

People are up in arms about the K-cups? Dash buttons are far worse, in my opinion. At least with the K-cups, I can make the argument that they *might* be saving coffee from being wasted, which, when looked at from a lifecycle view, is actually a really good thing. But these little buttons made of multiple materials? Nope. I can't think of any redeeming quality, as far as the planet and its limited resources are concerned.

To me, these represent everything that is wrong with consumerism, laziness and our addiction to convenience. I just can't think of a single nice thing to say about these.

How often are you buying detergent? You might be
using more than you need. In fact, if you see this
and think to yourself: "You know, I could really
use that." you are almost certainly using more detergent
than you need to. Which means you could be saving money
by cutting back a bit. #JustSayin'...

Ok, maybe one thing. Someone has already figured out a way to hack these little babies to help track data on his little baby. That's kind of cool. But, that's all I got.

PurJuly 2015

Train of thought: My arms are flabby...must look into one of those 30 day arm challenges...those are sorta fun...*Google Image arm challenge*....Suns Out, Guns Out, that looks like just what I need...What's this? Conquer the Clutter? I've been wanting to do that, too....40 bags in 40 days, huh?...well, I don't really follow Lent, obviously....but, I could revive the PurJuly Challenge. I've been thinking about doing it anyway....*Posts on FB asking if anyone is interested*....whoa! There's a ton of interest....*Thinks about it for the next 24 hours solid*

So, that's how PurJuly was revived! I tried the PurJuly Challenge awhile ago, (Whoa...just figured out it was 4 years ago...) but didn't really stick with it. What I did do was pretty awesome, though. So, without further ado, here is the PurJuly Challenge for 2015:

1. For every day of July, you must *make an effort* to spend 30 minutes tidying, sorting, organizing, etc *1* spot in your house. If you'd like, fill out your name in the PurJuly area planning doc and start filling in your 31 spots.
2. That's about it for rules. I know that guilt is a poor motivator and since that's not really how I roll, I want this to work for you. Think about a goal that you've set for yourself in the past. What "rules" did you put on yourself to get there? Use those. We're all different and have different motivators. For some, it's competition (that's so NOT me...) Whatever works for you-use it!
3. If you want to take pictures and send them through to me, that would be awesome. You could also be awesome and fill out data on your purged items using this tracking form. Or not. Whatever works.

If you are going to be posting pictures for the PurJuly Challenge, please tag them with #PurJuly so we can create a tagboard later on. The pics on this post are some of the terrible areas that I'm posting so that I will be forced to see this through.... Scary!

If you need a little motivation, I'll be posting various blogs and resources throughout the challenge, but for now, check out this one that one of my good friends and colleagues, Erin, posted when I was asking on FB if anyone was interested in this.

Scary? Hell, yes. Needed? Again, hell, yes. Do I think I'll actually stick with this and post every day in July? Probably not. Do I care? Not really. It's the thought (and effort-however imperfect) that count. Come be imperfect with me? (and perhaps a tiny bit tidier/less stressed/calmer?)

Four-minute, no-sew modesty skirt

Spandex may be a privilege but everyone has the right to be comfortable.

So, some of you know that I quit my "day job" back in November and have started my own business promoting sustainable consumption. Some of you also know that I've been working a part time job to help make ends meet in the mean time. That position consists of organizing and running clothing collection events. What's appropriate attire for this position? I should probably wear jeans, but then I have to unload the clothing (sometimes 10,000+ lbs!) later that day. My compromise has been to wear spandex/yoga pants but then also wear one of my 2 Sweet Spot Skirts over the top. It makes me more comfortable (and probably everyone else at the event) while still giving me enough flexibility for the unloading workout that is entailed at the end of the event.

Fast forward to last Friday when I hadn't done my laundry in awhile. What to do? I had a somewhat brilliant (if I do say so myself...) idea. I cut the bottom of a too-big t-shirt off, flipped it upside down and added some elastic. Voila!

While it's true this wasn't nearly as cute or well made as a Sweet Spot Skirt, it served the purpose well and was super quick/easy. I might even make a few more.

It's easy to reuse the original hem by
slicing a small hole and threading
the elastic through there. The new "bottom"
 of the skirt will roll and doesn't need hemming.

After I wore it for the event, I went ahead and replaced the safety pin that was holding the elastic with actual sewing (this could be done by hand, but of course my sewing machine was much faster.)

Here's the original T.
I simply cut it off under the armpits,
flipped it over, and threaded some elastic
 through the original hem.

An epidemic of disposables on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Why does it have to be a plastic water bottle?  

I'm a geek. I've talked about it many times on this blog before. I love me some scifi. I've watched just about every major science fiction show you could name. Moreover, I really love me some Joss Whedon. I'm a Joss fangirl, I guess you could say. Heck, 3 of my dogs have been named after Firefly characters. He's done no wrong, for me. Until now. 

Now, I know it's probably not fair to pick on Joss for the epidemic of plastic water bottle portrayal on ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Man, that's a bitch to type....) However, it really is an epidemic. Check it out: 

Thirsty after a long workout with your ridiculously handsome "SO"? (that's supervising officer, not significant other) I get that you need a little drink of water, but perhaps next time you can take a cue from another super hero show and use a reusable water bottle? 

Perhaps the most interesting thing, though? When the show wants to show a serious "moment" and get out the good stuff, do they serve it in disposable cups? Of course not. 18 year old booze deserves (and gets) something a little more classy: 

Hey, SHIELD writers, props people, director (I'm talking to you, Joss!) I can get you some reusable water bottles for your show and they're even made here in the United States. Really. Just please stop portraying plastic water bottles as perfectly acceptable and normal, because they really do some damage. Sincerely, -The Reuser

Young Reusers

This morning, I got a text from my sister in law saying my nephew had creatively reused a gum package and then said, "{Aunt Reuser} would be so proud of me. I reused it!" 

I really am. 

Creatively Reuse a Canoe as a Duck Pond

What do you do when you have new ducks that need some H2O to play in? You build them a pond, of course. Might as well use some things you have sitting around, taking up space..

Earlier, I wrote about one of my colleagues that sends me his creative reuse projects and I also mentioned that I liked this one even more. One of the things I really like about the way in which I got this email was that I got to read the whole thing and then click on the picture. I was more impressed than I even thought I was going to be. Now, I've already told you in the title of this post what he used for the pond, but here are his words, straight from the email I got. It should properly set the scene for you:

My new ducks LOVE water.. in fact they need it ... they are waterfowl after all...
Two of these birds (the females) are supposed to lay about 300 eggs a year.... that's better than some chickens!
And the Drakes here quack a little.. but they don't go cock-a-doodle-do all day long.. so they are legal in the city... so I can make baby ducks next year too!
Anyway... I needed a quick pond... so I improvised with an obsolete item that has been sitting for a few years..
Then I found these cute little boardwalks in the woodpile out behind {Name of business redacted, just in case}... they make the perfect poop deck for hanging out next to the new pond...
Then I went to the restore and got all the plumbing (CHEAP!) to put a drain in... and it works!  So I water plants with the dirty water (nutrient rich water that is, for plants)...
So there's my reuse project from last weekend...beats buying a cheap Chinese kiddie pool... which just cracks eventually anyway...
B

Heh heh heh...Poop decks, indeed

I hope I didn't ruin the surprise too much for you. So cool... 

How to Creatively Reuse Box Springs

Boy am I excited to bring you these next two reuses.

A colleague of mine sends me emails from time to time about all the fun creative reuses he employs at home. This first one is great because who hasn't found themselves with an unwanted mattress or box spring before?

Bob decided to put his to good use. Here's what he has to say about this project:

I know Reuse is your thing…. So I had to brag about my last reuse project… but I will use pictures instead of words… 

Before

After

In addition to the finished product.. I scored 9 long 1x2’s for garden stakes or other future uses.. a little bit of firewood, a huge piece of cardboard that went into the garden for weed barrier.. and just a little trash, that fit in my trash can and didn’t require a big trip to the transfer station… plus it kept the kids busy and off of the gaming… 

What do you think? 

What do I think? I think it's ingenious! I need one in my garage.

To see all the "process" photos, go here.

Readers-what do you think? Does this inspire you to creatively reuse something you'd otherwise be throwing away? The more I "get into" this creative reuse thing, the more I see fun ways in which to use "trash" that is all around us. Nice job, Bob!

Stay tuned for the next one. I think I like it just slightly more than this project. But, that could be a function of it having to do with animals and I'm sucker for animals...

Grimm Consumption Series #2

Bike commuter on the show Grimm

I was really pleased to notice this little moment in the show. In Episode 9, Juliette is heading home from work(?) and instead of showing her driving, they decided to show her riding her bike:

Bike commuting is very authentic to Portland.
In fact, it was named America's Best Bike City
last year by Bicycling Magazine 

Notice her super cute red coat? I'll mention that again
in a second. 

If you're gonna ride, you should wear
a helmet, so kudos again to the show for modeling
positive behavior!

Here, we see Juliette set down her backpack (durable!)
and get another glimpse of that pretty red coat.

I'm pointing out the coat because Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) wears it in a ton of scenes/in quite a few episodes. Again, it's realistic/authentic (It rains a lot here-feels like 11.5/12 months out of the year.) It's also sustainable consumption-she doesn't have a different coat on every time we see her on-screen (ala Sex and the City.)

Have you seen any examples of good/not so great consumption in your favorite shows?

Grimm consumption series 1

Sustainable consumption Wins and Losses on the TV show, Grimm

I recently have become interested in consumption examples in TV shows and movies. Grimm is filmed near my home, so I thought I should probably take a look. (We had always meant to watch the show anyway, but I, traditionally, have a hard time with "scary" shows (I have nightmares) and we missed some of the episodes when it first aired, so we never watched it.) I really enjoyed the first season-it's fun to see places and references you know. Now, I'm totally hooked!

This is the first in a series of posts that looks at some of the highs and lows, consumption-wise on the show.

I didn't have to wait long to find something to comment on. These screen shots are from the second episode in the series. Juliette brings home some food-take out and Voodoo Donuts. Unfortunately, the take-out is in a plastic sack. I'm curious to see if they'll use plastic disposable bags again this season, seeing as Portland has banned them. Let's hope not! (And if they do, perhaps they need me to come on set and help out with some more sustainable consumption choices for the props?)

Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) brings home take-out
and Voodoo Donuts for Nick  (David Giuntoli)

She sets down the bag.
The useful life of the average plastic bag
is estimated to be less than an hour. 

Already forgotten? At least there's Voodoo Donuts!
AND donut boxes compost, so there's that...

If the TV show needs some reusable bags that are authentic to the Portland area, I can certainly hook them up. Stay tuned for some more glimpses of sustainable (and not-so-much) consumption from the show. 

Why won't you guys take my rigid plastics anymore?

A primer on China's "green fence" and reducing consumption.

Q: Why won't recyclers take rigid plastics anymore?
A: No market for the material. All recycling decisions are based on whether or not there is a market for the material. If you, as a recycling processor, don't have anyone buying the stuff from you, you'll quickly be swimming in it. Ewww...

Q: Why isn't there a market anymore?
A: China's Green Fence Policy. In February, China erected a virtual "Green Fence" and became more stringent with enforcing regulations governing contamination in bales of recycling.

Q: How long will this last?
A: Hard to say. Some are speculating at least until the end of the year, others are saying the changes are here to stay.

Q: So, then, what do I do with this stuff?
A: Put it in the garbage. Until new recycling markets open up, these materials are "true trash." (See above about recycling decisions being based on markets.) All of the answers here are for our market (Clark County, WA) and I would urge you to always check with your own local hauler for questions about recycling. 

Q: But, isn't it bad for the planet to throw stuff in landfills?
A: Not really. Landfills, while not perfect, are the best disposal option we have at our, well, disposal (pardon the pun) at this time, given how much waste we create.

Q: I don't love these answers.
A: We don't either. But, without a market for these materials, these are the best, truthful answers we have for you at this point in time.

Q: What can I do about this? Who has control over these decisions?
A: Honestly, the best, most expedient thing you can do is to REDUCE your consumption. Everyone likes to focus on recycling (we've been taught to) but recycling, even at its best, is not a silver bullet for all our waste woes. You, as a consumer, have immediate control over one thing: how much (and what) you buy. Need to take cookies to a meeting and don't want to have to throw away the clamshell? Make them yourself or buy them in bulk from your local bakery. 

Clamshell packaging does not
have a strong market currently.

Beyond reducing consumption, an investment in domestic markets is also, arguably, needed. Perhaps writing letters to local and/or federal decision makers, urging them to invest in green jobs would be a worthwhile use of your time? The other way to help is to vote with your dollars-make sure that what you do buy has post-consumer recycled content. If you are buying stuff made from recycled content, you're signaling to the markets that the cost and effort of recycling will be worth it. (But, again-only what you need!) Finally, Thurston County (our neighbors to the north) have a great page all about what can be done (in general) about waste.

Q: Any silver linings to all of this?
A: Absolutely! 

1. There is evidence that when recycling is readily available, consumption increases. So, when we find ourselves in a situation like this one, it's reasonable to extrapolate that consumption may decrease and that's certainly a good thing. 
2. The end of readily available markets that weren't too stringent about contamination may mean that domestic recycling infrastructure investment (that doesn't get to take shortcuts) becomes more economically viable. 
3. This article addresses some of the pros/cons of Operation Green Fence for domestic recyclers.

Bottom line: if you aren't buying the stuff, you don't have to worry about the end-of-life of the stuff. 

Q: What is the worst item mistakenly placed in recycling carts?

The answer may surprise you.

Then again, maybe it won't. Hopefully, by this point, you've heard that plastic bags are a huge issue for recyclers. Try this test at home: twist a plastic bag until it becomes like rope, then try to break it. Surprisingly strong, no? Plastic bags and other types of plastic film get clogged in the sorting machinery that separates all the paper products from the containers.

When the machinery gets clogged, it has to be shut down and cleaned by hand, as seen in the photo below. How often would you guess this cleaning takes place? Once a week? Once a day? How about every two hours. This cleaning accounts for more than a quarter of labor costs at sorting facilities such as the one in Clark County.  If you only care about one thing when it comes to your recycling cart, let it be this. Your recycling handler and your planet thank you.


-The Reuser

Modeling the norm on the show Arrow

Felicity uses a reusable water bottle while working out.

TV show Arrow does it right when drinking water.

Recently, Not-hubby and I watched the first season of Arrow.

I noticed this moment where Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Dig (David Ramsey) are training. (Felicity's character had gotten into a few scrapes in earlier episodes and she's starting to get her badass on...) When they've finished, Dig picks up a pink reusable water bottle and hands it to Felicity. The show could have easily used a disposable water bottle but someone (production, props, actors?) decided to use a reusable water bottle instead. Nice job, Arrow!

Modeling the norm

An open letter to some of my favorite celebrities:

I might make this into a series, but for now, I'm going to pick on two of my favorite shows, Mythbusters and Castle.

What is modeling norms? Simply put, it's the concept that you model the behavior you want to see from others. For too long, people who care about the environment (including me) have tried to use facts, figures and, frankly, guilt to get people to change their consumptive habits. You know what works better though? Living your life in a way you're comfortable with and letting the others around you see that. To that end, I'd really like to include celebrities and entertainment in this. Sure it's great that I carry my own utensils with me so that I don't have to use disposable ones, but how much larger of an impact would it have if millions of people tuned in and saw Castle hand Beckett a reusable coffee mug instead of the disposable ones that are a part of seemingly every episode?

Now, with Mythbusters, this is the moment that really got me: In Episode 183-Battle of the Sexes, they had men and women grill various food items to see if one gender is better behind a BBQ. The unfortunate thing, though, is that they used paper plates and plastic utensils to try to eat steak! If you go to a fancy restaurant for steak, you'd probably leave if they tried to serve it to you on a paper plate with a plastic knife. Why not use REAL plates, knives and forks, Mythbusters? If it's a question of budget, I'll come shop for you guys. I'll buy you some durable knives and plates from the thrift store. Problem solved!

While trying to find some pics/gifs of Castle and Beckett with their coffee cups, I came across this discussion. It's...interesting. I'd like to think that they use real mugs now because I tweeted Nathan Fillion awhile ago to ask him to do that. (see below) However, even though I think those folks have way too much time on their hands, I can't argue with this logic from the top comment:

Recall what Raglan said about ceramic mugs and how they warm your hands. Ceramic is more solid and comforting than paper cups. More real, not disposable. Castle and Beckett's relationship is real. They are 'in it to win it', not a disposable relationship.

In other words, symbolism of the relationship or no, ceramic mugs and real steak knives (durables) are always more elegant than their disposable counterparts. I know we have an addiction to convenience, but if I can make changes in my life (like carrying my own utensils) so can these characters, right? And think of how much good it might do!

@nathanfillion Nate, LOVE Castle. Pls consider using reusable coffee mug when bringing Beckett morning coffee. #lessWaste #beTheExample
— Terra Heilman (@waste_not) April 17, 2011

The Pope hates food waste

Here, an almost full bottle of
tomato juice is seen in a recycling bin.
Food waste is a major issue for
our society, never mind this
being a completely unacceptable
item for recycling carts.

This new pope and I seem to have a lot of the same concerns*. Now we can add food waste to the list. 

*We certainly don't agree on lots of issues, but I'm liking this guy more and more.

Lonely shoe reuse

What do you do with a bunch of single shoes? Connect with an amputee organization, that's what!

I stumbled across this post from 211 info and thought it was a cool and creative fix to what could have been a "waste" problem.

Worst infographic I've seen in a long time

Yesterday, I was working on a new presentation and I was looking for an old infographic that I had seen awhile ago about plastic bags vs. paper bags. As I love infographics in general, I ended up clicking on a bunch that weren't the one I was looking for, but stumbled across this one that is truly hideous. It's things like this that make me realize why people find recycling so confusing. I've dissected the infographic for you below, as I don't want anyone to mistake the original for something that could be used in its entirety. Content managers-PLEASE-if you're going to write about something that is not your normal area of expertise, find someone whose area it is and have them review it!

*Some people may think I'm being overly pedantic when it comes to calling out this infographic on the basis
of using a drawing of a full water bottle. The thing is, though, that we've found time and time again
that when you use a picture like this, people will then assume that liquids are fine to throw in to curbside carts.
Let me assure you right now, liquids are never acceptable in curbside recycling carts. I also think it's irresponsible to try to have a list of "recyclable items" and use only a few pictures. This is not an exhaustive list and the lists vary by area, widely. (I've written about this extensively.) It just seems arbitrary and therefore unnecessary, to me.

You can *reuse* trophies, but I don't know anyone that recycles them. Moreover, they've just broken the cardinal rule of recycling outreach and that is to say that something is "recyclable" without qualifying how/where to recycle it. Trust me, if you don't specifically say how/where, these items are going to end up in recycling carts. There are very specific items that your curbside carts can accept (with good reasons) and if you start throwing in random items, those items are likely going to be a taking a long trip to the landfill. Also, juice boxes are acceptable in our recycling carts (but not many...) See why it's a bad idea to make generalized lists of what's recyclable and what isn't?

Ok, here's where the author *really* lost me. I believe what happened is that she read somewhere that paper can be recycled into the items listed (kitty litter, greeting cards and egg cartons.) But, then, in the translation, it became that these things can be recycled into paper.
PLEASE do NOT stick your kitty litter in your recycling cart. We CANNOT make paper out of it. We're not magicians.

I believe this table is an oversimplification of this info. The problem with any resin code info dump is that it perpetuates the myth that the resin codes tell you something useful about the type of plastic and its recyclability in your system. I've written before (a couple different times) about why this is an erroneous approach to take.

Bottom line? If you're wondering what is acceptable in YOUR curbside carts, seek out localized info. Your city or county governments should have some good info (and/or try your hauler-the company you pay to pick up these materials.) Please read infographics like the one mentioned above with a heavy dose of skepticism...

*The Reuser grumbles, "Paper from kitty litter...geez..."*