Unsolicited Waste

Little did I know what a difference this sign would make on my waste! 

It has nearly eliminated all the brochures that used to clutter my entryway, and reduced all the unsolicited advertisements!  

I no longer have to take responsibility for the laminated advertisements hung on my door or waste my time disposing of them!

Zero Waste Picnic

All packed up for a Zero Waste picnic and scavenger hunt at a local park and trail! 

Reusable beverage containers, reusable snack and sandwich bags, kids washcloths for napkins, an insulated reusable lunch box, and sandwiches placed in some handy reusable takeout containers.

Fresh Mint and Watermelon Juice!

My dear friend offered me a branch of fresh mint from her garden along with half a watermelon.  

I juiced them together this morning with help from the kids and it is DELICIOUS! 

We cut the red flesh from the watermelon and placed into a bowl and just tossed the mint leaves into the bowl.  Using a small cup, the kids scooped watermelon and mint leaves and poured straight into the juicer! 

Waste free donations?

The Center for Missing and Exploited children offers a waste-free option for donating to a good cause! 

No paper or packaging required!

Text SAFEKIDS to 20222 and donate $10 to NCMEC. Standard messaging rates apply. Must be 18 or older.

Give with confidence

NCMEC meets all standards of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance.

Healthy batch of compost

That's a pretty healthy batch of compost!  

Since I only have one bin, I have to stop adding for 2 more weeks.  

Yesterday's scraps were placed in an airtight container with layers of paper shreds.  Let's hope that works until this batch finishes cooking!

Round two

In California, we have the luxury of good gardening weather nearly year-round.  The initial plantings this year in March included sweet corn, romaine lettuce, radishes, carrots, and yellow squash.  The lettuce and squash are doing well.  The radishes and corn were harvested, and the few carrots that grew as well.  

I have just planted some bok choy, bush beans, more carrots and sweet corn.  Let's see how this works now that we've added some compost to the soil and learned a little bit about caring for these plants!

I can't wait to get my raised planters so I'll make do with what I have for now.

But I can say that this time around, the soil seems much more suitable to grow corn in!

New purpose

You know those little measuring cups you get with children's liquid ibuprofen and acetaminophen?  We keep them and reuse them and sometimes even give them another purpose. We can use them to scoop powdered laundry soap out of a reusable plastic container before sending them to be recycled.  This saves two items from being recycled and all the energy consumption that goes with it and avoids another plastic container from being purchased (laundry soap- we make our own from borax, dove bar soap, and washing soda).  

Can you share any ways you can repurpose items before sending them to be recycled?  

Doing more of what makes me happy

Zero waste is keeping my family home for meals, getting us more fruits and veggies, more time together, basic learning experiences for the kids without paying through the nose.  The kids know what composting is, enjoy adding to the composter and viewing its progress. They enjoy watering the plants, examining the progress in the garden and eating right from the garden!  The also enjoy learning activities like making homemade applesauce, a great zero waste activity. We peeled the apples, cored and chopped them, boiled them with cinnamon and puréed them. Scraps for compost, natural applesauce, time together, a creative activity with my hands, nothing goes to waste. We even reused a jar we already had. Sure beats picking up a plastic container of applesauce at the store!!!!

Repair and reuse

One of my favorite tops was coming apart at the seams, literally! So I decided to have it repaired at the dry cleaner my husband uses.  It only cost $5 which is cheaper than a new top and its as good as new to me!  

We have been accumulating wire hangers from our dry cleaning so I asked if we could return them.  The woman there was really excited about taking them back and explained to me that the price of hangers had recently gone up!

Thrift store finds

I really got a deal at the thrift store today! I got a kids grocery cart, toy car, purple moon sand set, food grinder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, and three 3 pint Ball jars- all for under $15!

The whole family is happy with their new toys and we didn't go broke getting them!  What a great day of keeping it out of the landfill!  

Reuse before recycle

Bea Johnson of The Zero Waste Home blog established a 5 R's hierarchy -in this order- refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot. The other day I mentioned that I had reduced my waste and had a significant increase in recycling.  I decided I would reuse some items before just tossing into the recycle bin, consistent with the 5 R's hierarchy.  

I collected a couple glass juice jars from store purchases and sterilized them just like I would do with a baby bottle.  

I took all the ripe lemons from my tree and juiced them for my own home made lemon juice. I get fresh lemon juice from my garden, reuse something instead of recycling it, and avoid the purchase of a plastic lemon juice dispenser!  Oh, and my kitchen smells like fresh lemons!

I found some Ball brand jar labels from Amazon that wash right off the jar!

My first batch of compost

My garden has been showing signs of nutrient deficiencies.  We have coastal clay soil and it is really difficult to work with.  To avoid having to enrich the soil with purchased topsoil or compost, I made my own out if kitchen scraps, yard waste and shreds of paper.  I applied it to the ground surface as a mulch. Let's see how this helps the garden!

Approaching waste at a different level

I've mentioned before that in my house, it's a question of waste, recycle or compost. Now we have gotten to the point where we have very little trash, a lot of recycling, and very little green waste (thanks to the composter). 

The reduction of waste relates to the increase in efforts to recycle and avoid purchases of difficult to recycle items. This includes prepackaged coffee, for example.

The increase in recycling quantity relates to better conscious efforts to recycle everything possible, learning what can be recycled and what can't.  

Now, we have an opportunity to make a better use of the items we could be recycling.  This is important because a lot of energy is wasted during the recycling process.  Choosing g items we consider safe to reuse is a better option.  That means avoiding purchase of plastic containers, reusing them when possible, or finding alternative materials.

To get to the next level, I am going to try making certain things of my own and using reusable containers.  

For starters, applesauce can be made at home and placed in a glass jar from a previous purchase.  The bonus being all natural ingredients, no added sugar or preservatives.   

I have made my own liquid soap from bars and placed in pump dispensers.  The process is simple and only takes a few minutes of your time.  Next I want to try making my own laundry detergent, and placing in the plastic bucket that came with dishwasher detergent packets.  This way I reuse the plastics I already have and divert them in their original form from the recycling facility -at   least- as long as I can.

Garden fresh!

This year I have been struggling to get my yellow squash! I finally got a perfect little one, brought it in and sautéed it with a zucchini from the farmers market, a little oil, salt and pepper.  My LO really loved this healthy snack! 

I cannot wait for the current batch of compost to be ready for enriching the garden!  

Zero Waste: One step at a time

One of the first things I did to start reducing my waste was get a composter.  I found the one that suited me best on Amazon called the Lifetime 50 gallon compost tumbler.  I anticipated some resistance by my husband.  His assumption was that composting involves a smelly pile in the yard that looks awful to visitors.  I proved him wrong.  In reality, it is an enclosed system that only requires turning the tumbler from the outside, holds in potential odors, and accelerates organic breakdown by insulating heat within.  People don't even notice it along the side of the house unless I point it out to them.  It is extremely easy to compost and anyone can find a system that suits their family.  It's an excellent way to reduce trash going to the landfill and reduce the production of methane gas at the landfill.  Furthermore, it is a great way to enrich your garden soil.  For my family, we like using the OXO Good Grips Countertop Compost bin in the kitchen for collecting compost scraps and we transfer it to the outdoor compost tumbler every 2-3 days.  I just got the gardener (who comes once every 2 weeks) to add the grass clippings to my composter for me.  That's just one more step toward reducing waste and having a zero waste lifestyle!

Why did I start this blog?

I was inspired by Bea Johnson of www.zerowastehome.blogspot.com. Her lifestyle and approach to waste spoke to me as a busy mother. I was inspired by how she was able to find a happy balance to achieve multiple things that I was seeking. For example, a beautiful home without spending a ton of money, time to enjoy the activities she loves, reduced clutter and time spent cleaning. And the BONUS was the environmental benefits.  

To clarify, the environmentalist approach was not the original thing that spoke to me. I wanted simplicity, happiness, beauty and time. Who doesn't want that? And who doesn't like knowing they're doing something good for the world at the same time? 

So as I got energized about trying this lifestyle I started to see the benefits and little ways I could improve my life, the life of my family, and the earth! How did Bea do it?  She demonstrated qualities if a great leader: she inspired through her actions, spoke to my motivations to inspire me to share the "goal."  

Now I hope to inspire others through my actions and demonstratethe idea that if you believe you can make a change to your behavior to improve something, you are more likely to make that change.  The biggest barrier to achieving this lifestyle is not believing that it can be done in our current culture within Orange County.  

I am about to prove that it can and is being done. And you can do it too!

First attempt at corn!

I just harvested the first ear of corn! It was small, but delicious right off the stalk! 

Have you tried growing corn? Why did the ear end up small? What should I do to improve my corn growth next year?

Please post if you have advice to share!

Leftover radish greens

I used the leftover radish greens from my radish harvest as a soup starter. I boiled them with potatoes, green onions (also from the garden), spotted purple sweet potatoes (from farmers market), carrots, celery, and bok choy and seasonings.

Afterwards, I blended it and it turned out pretty good!

Have you tried using radish greens in a recipe? If so, please share!

Leftover apple pulp

Took a recipe for apple strudel muffins and used leftover apple pulp from my juicer! They turned out dense but delicious.  Muffins don't stand a chance at making it more than two days in my house!  

How do you use juice pulp in recipes?

Leftover shredded wheat cereal

I noticed about a half cup of remnants at the bottom of my shredded wheats cereal jar. The question, as always, around here is: Trash, recycle, or compost. Well compost is good for most food except meat, dairy and grains.  And I'd hate to trash them. Recycling isn't an option, unless you consider adding them to a recipe!

So I found a recipe! Here's what it started as: 

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/post-banana-raisin-wheat-muffins

I modified it with mini chocolate chips (no raisins in the pantry at present). They turned out great and I got the kids to eat bananas too! 

Would you have another use for the remainder of the shredded wheat remnants?  If you do, please share it!

Donate your old eyeglasses

I found out that several locations near me collect used eye glasses for www.onesight.org. Target optical, Sears optical, Pearle Vision and Lens Crafters all participate!  I had several pairs here that went to this donation and I'm happy to know they will be distributed to patients around the world who desperately need them.

Do you have any old prescription glasses who could help someone? Let me hear about your donation if you make one!

Garden pest solution

I went to the garden center for a snail and slug deterrent. These pests are doing a number on my garden. 

I found two choices safe for organic gardening, children and pets.

Which one did I buy? I examined the packaging.  Plastic jug vs. foil-lined bag. I instantly assumed the plastic was recyclable while the other was not.  However, when examining the package it stated: offer for recycling if available! Plus it was half the price! Awesome!  

Time to look into the recyclability of foil-lined packaging!

Do you have a packaging hierarchy when you shop?

Farmers Market Fridays

Fridays are my farmer's market day. I skipped this week because I loaded up last week. I saw the egg guy and he pleasantly placed a dozen of his local free range eggs into my empty paper carton. I still have yet to store his name to my memory, but I'm sure he and I will become familiar over time. He's my only source for local eggs without packaging. Perhaps next time i'll buy one of his cartons and be able to exchange the container instead of transfer the eggs? In a pinch, I'd get eggs at a store in a paper carton rather than styrofoam, because I can easily compost it!  

When I go to the farmers market, I come with my tote, my containers for blue berries or raspberries, and produce bags for loose fruits, vegetables.  It's been taking a while to figure out how to eliminate plastic, particularly when buying berries.  Rarely are they packaged in paper cartons.  In which case, I would place in a reusable produce bag.  So far, vendors have been happy to refill my containers.  

My trip is very efficient and productive because I don't get derailed at booths with pre-packaged goods at high prices. Before I go, I know whether I need eggs, berries, fruits for juicing or fresh vegetables.  

Do you regularly visit your local farmer's market?

Medical waste

No, it's not what you're thinking... 

I went to my usual pharmacy today to pick up two prescriptions, one old, one new. My goal today was to bring in my old prescription bottle to be refilled and figure out how to eliminate packaging for new prescriptions for next time. I had spoken with the pharmacy staff in advance about stopping automatic refills so I could do this and they were willing to accommodate my request.  

I wasn't surprised to find the new prescription packaged in a bag which had papers (detailing information about the medicine) stapled to it. The total packaging then included a plastic bottle, a cardboard box, a plastic container, a paper bag and papers stapled to it.  

Unfortunately, my old prescription had been prepared in the exact same way.  That defeated the purpose of bringing my old container in for a refill while I wait.  

I was pleasantly surprised, however, after kindly explaining my desire to reduce packaging and waste, that the clerk offered to take the paper bags back and REUSE them!  There is hope that others will take the opportunity to meet us half way.  It was a great opportunity to get someone thinking of solutions to our waste problem!

Would you consider reusing your medication bottles for routine medications? 

Garden harvest

Not bad for a first try, but its home grown and I'm all for that!

Thrift store finds (keep it out of the landfill)

Deep sea adventure toy, crayola coloring book, a banana republic purse, leather shoes, a recycling bin, and a package of cloth handkerchiefs.  Grand total: $15.01

 

Why not stop into the store next time you have a donation?

Chasing arrows

I am trying to avoid using disposables, especially plastics. They're just not good for the environment, often end up in landfills for years on end rather than being recycled, and have potential health consequences. 

Yet plastics can be hard to avoid. im becoming conscious of the plastics I buy and am learning more about what can and can't be recycled.  Ever notice the chasing arrows triangle on plastics? Our local waste management company accepts all with symbols 1-7.  At the very least, if I cant avoid buying these, I can make sure these go in the recycle bin, not the trash.

Do you examine your plastic containers for recyclable chasing arrows?

Haste makes waste

So this is the one thing that takes a little planning to get used to.  We live in a society where everyone is rushed, has so much to do and so little time to do it in. I'm having to structure myself in some ways to reduce waste. For example, I need to give myself enough time to gather the basics I'll need for my day. I got a purse that can hold everything but the kitchen sink, including many of my purchases. If I go out for the day, I bring my reusable glass water bottle and microwaveable reusable coffee cup. I always keep my bamboo silverware/chopsticks set in my purse (which came in handy at the Korean BBQ last night).  This way, I no longer use styrofoam cups, plastic ware, or even disposable chopsticks.  We have reusable snack bags for packed lunches instead of disposable zip-top bags.  One of these days I will add a metal straw to my set to eliminate my use of plastic straws.  When I go to get ice cream I get it in a cone (no cup or spoon to waste or recycle, just sometimes a paper wrapper that I take home to my composter).  Finally, if I need a snack, I grab the loose fruit from the cafeteria, it's about the only thing without packaging and its healthy!  Plan ahead, don't let haste make waste!

It's catching on!

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of my husband for what he did the other day. A gesture in the right direction! He had just picked up a few things from the hardware store that had price tags attached with plastic zip ties. Just as I was contemplating whether they were recyclable (looking for the triangle of arrows) or trash, he asked me to grab a zip tie from our garage. He wanted it to hold the outlet covers closed outside so our toddler would stop opening them. I excitedly retrieved the ties from the trash and handed them to him! He didn't even question it! Success!

Gifting from what already exists

So it's teacher appreciation week and we decided to bring flower arrangements from our garden to the teachers. And I found a cardboard box and packing paper from a recent delivery to transport them! My gracious neighbor gave me some unwanted shoe boxes for a school project! Went through the play room for toys to donate to the school. Decided to donate perfume samples, hand sanitizer and airline travel hygiene kits to the homeless.  And I benefit from reduced clutter. A win, win!

The beginning

So, why did I start this lifestyle, you ask?  I found myelf with the same daily challenges: clutter, time constraints, and cost-consciousness.  I wondered what to do with the disposable batteries we had accumulated and vowed to find out the right way to dispose of them.  I ended up at www.earth911.org and found a drop off site.  Between the accumulation of dead batteries and the hassle of disposal, I eventually I decided to go "rechargeable!" 
Continuing on my search to find out how to dispose of old unused and unwanted medications in my home, I decided to systematically unclutter my home and get rid of everything unneccesary.  Frankly, I decided, "I have too much stuff."  And this is where my Back to Basics lifestyle in OC began. 
Gone are my days of excess.  I want to spend less time rearranging the overabundance of things I own.  I don't want an organizer for my plastic bags, I want to eliminate them from my home.  I want to spend more time doing the things that I love to do.  I want healthy habits.  I want to my food to be natural, not packaged, whenever possible.  I want to touch the produce I buy, not the plastic it is packaged in.  I want my family to eat healthy.  I want to do what's good for the earth.  I want to garden.  I want to live a sustainable lifestyle and reduce how much waste I create.