I like to think of myself as a pretty decent recycler. I put paper, bottles, cans, and appropriate plastics out for curbside recycling. I decline plastic bags at stores and use my cloth bags instead. I take a reusable water bottle to meetings. I take #5 recyclables to Whole Foods. I compost. I even collect […]
Living Lightly
Susan Vogt on living more simply but abundantlyBrowsing Posts in Waste-Less Lent
April 22 is Earth Day. This reminds me of the importance of decreasing our carbon footprint by the familiar formula: reduce, reuse, recycle. Many families, including us: Typical recycling: Put paper, cans, glass, plastic bottles, anything with a triangle (Δ), into our city’s curbside recycling service Compost vegetables and yard waste Take reusable cloth bags to the […]
Rejoice! Easter is here and I no longer have to measure trash. Of course Easter is first and foremost about the resurrection of Jesus and the hope that gives the world. I don’t want to in any way trivialize this holiest of days. Still, my practical Lenten sacrifice side reminds me that I no longer […]
Wait, wait, let me explain. I know it looks like I’m really back sliding this week but here’s the back story. We had 12 guests stay with us over the weekend for the Pig Town Fling contradance. Actually our friends are very conscientious about the environment and make very little waste. But 12 extra people […]
As I mentioned in Week #1, much of what a person can put out for curbside recycling varies from town to town. We found that our city (Covington, KY) takes all plastics labeled #1 – #7. Cincinnati, OH (15 minutes away) does not take #5 and #7. BUT, they do have a school that does […]
Bottled water is my nemesis. I avoid it unless I’m in a 3rd world country or camping without access to clean water. Thus I was discouraged to attend a recent non-profit dinner that only had bottled water. I decided to put water from the water fountain in the Styrofoam cup meant for coffee. I then […]
Oh oh. I got worried this week when Jim replaced his 3’x4’ chair mat. The old one had a hole in it and would never fit into my 1’x4” red capped container. After a bit of research I found that the chair pad was 100% vinyl PVC recycling number 3 and the manufacturer said it […]
Perhaps it is wishful thinking but I do believe that we created less waste this second week of Lent than we did the first week. This may be due to us learning more about what we can recycle, the fact that Jim was away for 3 days, or maybe we’re just wasting less. My photo […]
Although Jim usually does the grocery shopping we both went this time to make joint decisions and so I could take some photos. 10 NEW THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT PACKAGING & GROCERIES Girl Scout Cookies: Upon entering the store we were met by several Girl Scout cookie sellers. The packaging around the cookies couldn’t be […]
Well, it’s been one week of watching my waste. The biggest challenge was grocery shopping since we need food and often the packaging can’t be avoided. I’ll chronicle what we learned from grocery shopping tomorrow. Today, I’m focusing on measuring our garbage and learning a lot about what we can and cannot recycle/compost in my […]
I interrupt this story of giving-away “S’s” because Lent has just started again and I have a new plan. In 2010 and 2011, I was giving things away. In 2012, I ate on $4.50/day. This Lent I’ve decided to waste less. It’s my attempt to create less trash as a way to honor God’s creation […]
