Happy Earth Day!!

I awoke in the night with a new project flashed onto my brain. I've been hearing so many talk about buying cloth bags to carry around (instead of using plastic), and so many cloth bag designs have gone through my mind. And yesterday my mil was asking if I want yet another shipment of her discarded t-shirts... well! the two came together and at 4 this morning I made a t-shirt bag. T-shirts are AMAZING inventions, really. You can cut into the shirt and you don't have to sew the cut, because it won't fray! So, two designs came to mind. First, you sew the bottom of the t-shirt closed, then you decide if you want your handles right in the middle at the top, like this:

whereupon you just sew the sleeves shut, cut the neck a bit wider depending on how big it already is (you have to be able to quickly get your groceries in that hole), make a handle size cut either side of the neck (try to make them line-up) and voila! You have a new cloth grocery bag! It's stretchy, holds a lot, and folds down to a nice neat size to store in your handbag or your backpack or your vehicle. So cool! Alternatively, you cut off the arms, and use the armholes for the handles, open the neck up a bit and you have a slightly different shape of bag (these handles are more like the ones on a plastic bag). I tried mine out this morning and couldn't believe how much i could fit into this one I made from one of my mum's old lovely t-shirts! You could start collecting thrifted t-shirts now to make really fun, easy, cheap, environmentally-friendly birthday gifts for all your friends and family.

Let me know if my description isn't clear. I love my new bag!

Cloth Family

I'm learning a lot from the No Impact Man blog, and one of the things we're incorporating is the cloth in everyone's pocket idea. This way we don't have to use papertowels when we're out, don't have to use paper napkins when we eat out, we can bring food home wrapped up in it, and it just comes in handy for so many things! If you want to read more, click here. I especially think the photo visual is inspiring...

Fix Stuff

So often we hear/think "it costs more to fix it than to buy a new one," like there's no more thought needed... I learned just how damaging this thinking is from reading "Living The Good Life." (do click! the photos themselves are inspiring!) Linda talks in depth about embodied energy. The definition: "the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of a [thing], from the aquisition of natural resources to product delivery, including mining, manufacturing of materials and equipment, transport and administrative functions" - T. Marshall, horitculturist and founder of The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture. Here's what really changed my life, in Linda's articulate words:
"Every product we purchase has a level of embodied energy beyond that of its physical self. For example, a medium-sized apple has around 80 calories. Yet there are estimates that for every one calorie of food it takes another nine calories (I've heard it's as high as 17 in Canada) of energy to produce it. The extra nine calories were consumed during the processes that occurred while the apple grew, such as spraying, weeding, watering, harvesting, storing, packing and transportation to the supermarket. The apple may also have a portion of energy allocated from the creation of the machinery that was used to implement these processes, such as the spray equipment and the refrigerated truck. The apple could have an embodied energy of 720 calories by the time it arrives in the family fridge.
Everything we own inside our house has an embodied energy, not just the food on the plate, but the plate itself, the bottle of detergent we use to wash the plate, the tea-towel and the dishwasher (which has a far higher embodied energy than the tea-towel). Incorporated into the price of any product is the cost of the energy it took to manufacture it; we take not just the product, but partial responsibility for that energy use. Most of that energy will be derived from fossil-based fuels, such as oil and coal."
So this is what I'm thinking -- only part of that REAL cost is incorporated into the price we pay for an item. In terms of dollars, the cost is there, in terms of the damage on the earth caused from the production of that product? not there. and THAT is more the responsibility I'm thinking of when I go to replace something on a whim. I'm so very aware of this responsibility and have been really striving for diligence in extending the life of my stuff. I no longer think only in terms of how much my toaster will cost to fix as compared to buying a new one, for example. It recently cost me $28 to have mine fixed, and the following day I saw really flashy new ones for $19.95. But the real cost to my planet of tossing mine into the landfill and buying new? Well, I can handle the responsibility for the embodied energy of ONE, I can't handle it for two. I took my favourite wallet to have the broken zipper replaced, and the leather worker told me it would cost too much and she wouldn't do it. I had to convince her with a prepaid bill to oblige. Yes, it cost $25. But again, the embodied energy of that wallet convinced me it was worth it. Besides, what if our local small appliance repair guy couldn't make ends meet and we LOST the ability to choose to have our toasters and kettles fixed? There's something to be said for keeping these skills alive in our communities... and to acquiring these skills ourselves!
Would you consider fixing your stuff? Will you give some thought to the REAL cost of the things you consume? Please try to find a way to love your stuff all over again...

Later Edit: And if you really want to be inspired, read what my friend wrote about this very topic here. It takes "living consciously" to a whole new level... I'm so inspired...

Great Mushroom bag

I reuse a plastic mesh bag (I think I bought some bulbs in it at one point) as my keep-in-the-bottom-of-my-purse mushroom bag. It works great because mushrooms have to breathe (which is why they have paper bags right there for you to put them in), it doesn't get dirty (and if it does you give it a quick rinse), and it twists up into a tiny little bundle when not in use.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive...

I ask for what I want. A LOT. Every time I go to my favourite fruit and veggie store I ask whomever is at the till if they're going to be getting more organic produce. I've asked the manager, and now I want him to hear from all of his cashiers that people are asking A LOT.
When I go to my favourite natural food store, I ask for bigger bags of flour, more local produce, etc. When I go to my favourite deli, I ask if each item has MSG or artificial colours or artificial ANYthing. And if they say "yes", I say "no thanks". When I go to my favourite bulk foods store, I ask if they're looking for more fair trade products. Now when I go in, someone usually proudly shows me a new fair trade item for sale.
I think the more we talk about sustainable practices, the more "normal" it becomes. The first time a stranger hears someone asking for flour in cloth bags, it might seem strange. But what if that same person heard it 3 times? They might begin to wonder about it and even seek it out themselves.
And I'm a big believer in "the consumer has the power." If we all spoke up more often and ASKED and ASKED and ASKED for what we want to see, it would happen. And combine that with our right to REFUSE to buy anything packaged in styrofoam, anything over-packaged, anything sold in containers that are not reuseable or recyclable, well, that's POWER.
Speak up. I will too. Together we'll change the world.

Make it Normal to be Sustainable

I've started carrying my own containers with me everywhere I go. I keep a bag of them in the car so if I realize I need to stop to get something, I don't find myself needing to use non-reuseable packaging. I keep 3 cloth bags in my purse (they roll up really tiny and I keep an elastic band around them, which I pop into the bag when in use), and some tupperware containers in my trunk. At first I was asking places if they would mind if I brought my own containers "next time" and wasn't getting very favourable answers... "We can't, as it could contaminate our product, which we guarantee", etc. So now, I just waltz into any store carrying my own containers and as I place my order, I just hand over my container like I've done it a thousand times. Much more favourable results! The sales people are a little unsure, but I think my confidence that it is just fine affects them! More times than not, I get my food, in my own container, without much hassle.
I get some looks from other people in the store -- especially at the deli where they're all standing around waiting their turn, watching what other people are ordering. But if they see it a few times, maybe they'll consider doing it themselves!

Retire your Dryer

I live in a climate where it's easy to use a clothesline about half of the year, so until recently I used my dryer during the winter months. I hadn't realized how easy it would be to unplug my dryer, until one day, inspired by a friend, I just took the leap and did it. I hung my clothes on the bannister around my stairs, and I was amazed at how quickly they dried. Now I've started using an old flower drying rack and I'm hoping my husband will mount it on the railing so that I can pull it up when in use, and fold it out of the way when I don't need it. It works GREAT! Even my sheets, folded in half, work on this set-up. I found my rack when being tossed out by a friend (and didn't know what I'd use it for at the time) but it would be super easy to make. You can buy sturdy dowels at hardware stores and you'd just drill same size holes in two 2x4's, insert and glue, and hang it over a stairwell like mine. Or, you could mount it on the wall somewhere and paint it the same colour as the wall so it blends in, like this one from the Jan/04 Martha Stewart Living magazine -->

Air-dried clothes smell better, wear longer, are easier to fold and don't emit greenhouse gases. Try it!

GREAT book: "Trash Talk"

This is an incredible book, written by Dave and Lillian Brummet, published in 2004 by PublishAmerica LlLP. It is chock-full of ideas for reducing our trash -- from refusing to buy over-packaged items or packaging that can't be reused or recycled, to creative crafting with otherwise discarded items, to thousands of fantastic ideas for reusing everyday items when the primary use has ended. Lillian has given me permission to share some of their great ideas on this blog, and I highly recommend having this book on your shelf for daily inspiration and great ideas -- it's the one you'll pull down off your shelf and lend to that friend or family-member who needs inspiration in the direction of sustainability!