We will track how often the kids empty our 5 gallon trash bins.
We will also go vegetarian every other month, so February, April, June, and see how that feels. Going all meatless felt great, but we definitely ate more carbs, which isn't a good diet for us. I do have some anti-histamine allergies and can't eat legumes, nightshades and soy - quinoa seems to be one source for protein, but we pretty much reduced what we buy to chicken, turkey, salmon and shrimp on the months we do eat meat. We are also looking for a plug in hybrid to replace our old loyal minivan. We don't want to buy anything new and phev are not often to be found used yet, so we will need to wait for the right opportunity.
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We reuse all of our gift wrapping for every occasion. Once in a while I pick one up from Good will if I run out of a specific size. We received some Amazon gift wrapping these Holidays, so we will have some new bags to add to our gift wrapping box.
It feels really good to reuse them in a very intentional way and most of our friends do the same and even return the gift bags after unpacking. Sometimes bags stay behind at another house but then return with a gift with the next visit. And yes, I also reuse the stuffing paper and keep a bag full of it, so I won't have to buy any anytime soon. These are all the gifts Sarah received. So, all gifts like the lip balm kit, bath bombs, painting supplies and basketball on the left side are all from Goodwill, I scorched after seeing the on Sarah's wishlist. The middle in the back are all edibles. The clothing was also from Goodwill (Forever21), so only the cat items and the journal we got new. So, about 20/80 % retail/thrift.
Main item she wished for was a Hydroflask she picked herself at PCC - which will accompany her for a while after she outgrew her grade school water bottles. Still a luxury item, but at least with many many future uses. Wasn't fun to have to buy one of these huge plastic jugs every time for cat litter. Found this refillable container at Petco. There is a big sandbox set up with some scoopers and it also costs a little less than a new jug to refill this one.
To replace paper towels in our kitchen we have 2 baskets on the counter with towels. There are also some fabric snack bags and wax wraps in their. Got inspired by my friend Alexandra who does this for at least as long as I know her. If they are dirty, they just go in the next wash.
In the back are our rechargeable batteries we use for our headphones. Shared on facebook:
I love shopping at PCC. Got Salmon put in my container from home. Got some granola from bulk. A free pound of pears in paper. Some bulk carrots to cut up (kids are used to baby carrots, trying to cater). Refilled the yogurt container from bulk. Got some yummy lasagna and tofu in my own containers. Gummibears in cotton snack bag. Milk in deposit glass. Pretzel and bread in paper. It really gets easier every time. Having a couple routines down definitely helps. My favorite is refilling the original store containers with the same stuff from bulk. Oats, maple syrup, honey, olive oil, vinegar, shampoo, flour, peanut butter, bagels, chocolate covered dried fruit, grapes, eggs. We got our plastic trash down significantly. For November we are trying out going meatless. We still will shop eggs and fish, but no more meat. The entire year we reduced our shopping to 90 % chicken and turkey as meat to further reduce our carbon footprint.
FAO announced 18% of global emission result from livestock people have talked about the climate benefits of reducing meat consumption. http://css.umich.edu/sites/default/files/Carbon_Footprint_Factsheet_CSS09-05_e2018_0.pdf |
AuthorChallenge of family of 4 living the WWMFD ('What would Michael Foster do?') way. Inspired by our friend, the Climate Warrior Michael, we are doing our part to reduce our carbon footprint at least 10 % each year by going plastic free, travel less, being a more mindful consumer. Archives
December 2021
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