Have you ever noticed when you do one thing, several other things fall into place at the same time? It’s kind of like the above quote, “A Manifesto for a Simple Life;” when we stress less for instance, we laugh more. Recently, it occurred to me that by becoming a more sustainable family; growing our own food, making our own meals from scratch, concocting our own cleaning and household supplies, that we are naturally moving in the direction of becoming a zero waste family too. And going in the direction of zero waste, melds perfectly with a vegetarian lifestyle and minimalism. And all of these things naturally move us in the direction of supporting our earth.
Now I don’t want to give you the wrong impression; we are still far away from where Bea Johnson’s family, is at, check out her book called, “Zero Waste Home,. But we have come a long way from the days of ordering two large pizzas every Saturday night and putting out two cans of garbage each week. (P.S. even though those pizza boxes went into the recycling, you know darn well, that anything with cheese stuck to the lid is going to end up in the landfill.)
If you are reading this blog, you are probably like- minded and jive with what we are doing and like us, have stopped using plastic water bottles long ago, in favour of reusable ones. You probably have invested in a good quality hot beverage cup, and even take it when you visit your favourite coffee shop; ’cause most places give you a discount when you bring your own cup now. You probably bring cloth bags when you shop and have ditched the tetra juice containers for your kids too. They were never the healthiest choice anyway. But I’m wondering if you have taken your zero waste to the next level? (I know some of you have, as I spied my sister C’s bamboo toothbrush on a weekend retreat last fall. She has always flowed in the green stream)
I thought I would share a few things that our family has chosen to do, which are not drastic steps but easy- peasy ones that anyone can incorporate. You may already be doing them. Bravo! They do make a big difference in our garbage output.
Five Easy Things to Help Our Planet Earth
Stop using paper towels. Instead, cut up old bath towels and kitchen clothes and turn them into rags to clean with. I use old socks that have lost their partner, (if you are a large family, you can relate) to dust with and I have some great micro fiber clothes my sister B gave me. You just wet them, wring them out and clean; only elbow grease is required.
Get rid of the kleenex boxes. We use homemade handkerchiefs instead. I actually feel so pampered when I have a runny nose and use one of my beloved hankies to blow my nose with; like I’m a princess. It’s such a relief on the pocket book and the recycling bin, not to fill it with empty kleenex boxes. Remember, just because something is recycled, doesn’t mean it’s the greenest way to go.
Paper Napkins are a thing of the past. We only use cloth napkins now, or as my eight year old says, “my sleeve works great too!” This was an easy first elimination and several years ago, my sister J, gave me some lovely cloth napkins that we use all the time, but you can easily make some from fabric scraps.
Paper lunch bags and Plastic Sandwich wraps. Again, this was an early change for us. Each family member has a reusable lunch bag, and when I have old sheets, I whip up a new batch of snack/sandwich bags. In the old days, or so I have been told, a hard boiled egg, or baked potato etc, would be wrapped up in a cloth napkin and tied and that would be lunch. When I help out at my children’s school, I’m always so surprised to see so much packaging; granola bars, goldfish crackers in little bags; and don’t even get me started about the packaging involved with the lunchables! We can do better, all it takes is some planning and some reusable containers/bags.
No more plastic garbage bags; You know those white ones that we put in our household garbage cans? I don’t know what your set up is, but we have a black garbage bin attached to the cupboard under our kitchen sink. When I open the door, it swings out and I dropped my garbage inside.
I know too easy and eventually I want it gone/empty, but until then, just getting rid of the plastic white bag is an easy first step in eliminating some plastic. Every day I just dump the contents into our main garbage can in the garage and put the pail back under the sink. Did you hear about the story of the young sperm whale that washed up off the coast of Spain in February? The whale was found to have 64 pounds of garbage in his digestive system; including plastic trash bags. If we all just stopped using plastic bags in the world that would be a huge step in saving our planet…and the animals we share it with.
As EARTH DAY approaches (April 22nd), join me in thinking about five more things that we can give up in favour of a healthier life, a healthier planet and a richer experience on earth. On this journey, I’ve discovered that I still have far to go before I’m living the life that I have imagined, however living mindfully inspires me to do more. I feel empowered knowing that we all vote with our consumer dollars and I’m consciously aware that change happens only when we start using those dollars wisely.
And before I close I wanted to share a recipe that I made recently for a healthy, triple berry muffin, without SUGAR! Talk about doing something and then there being another spin off. I love baking for my family but I’m passionate about eliminating crack , oops, sugar from our diet. I think we can do one thing and allow something even bigger to come into our lives. Good health! Happy Children! a Blessed Planet!
Triple Berry, No Sugar Muffins
2 1/4 cups flour…I like to use 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp orange rind grated
1 cup mixed frozen berries
2/3 cup butter melted
2/3 cup liquid honey
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk…I use almond milk
Directions
In a small bowl mix the berries with the cinnamon.Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the rest of the dry ingredients, along with the grated orange rind.
In a medium bowl, mix the butter and the honey. Add the slightly beaten eggs and the milk.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture.
Now fold in the cinnamon and berries.
Remember to only mix until combined…muffins do not turn out well when over mixed
Spray muffin tin…and for regular sized muffins, spoon the batter filling each tin about 3/4’s. ….however I like mine bigger.
Finally, if you want a bit more of something….try a sprinkle of cut up walnuts…a healthy addition too.
Bake in preheated oven 400 degrees F for 15 to 18 minutes
Although this recipe makes 12 regular sized muffins…I like them big so I double the recipe and it makes 18 muffins for our family….but oh, they go fast so get ready to make another batch soon.
Since I will start work later this week at my seasonal gardening gig, and this will be my last blog post for the week, I thought I would share a YouTube video called, “Earth Day.” I hope it inspires you to take a moment and look around your part of the world…and bless it. This is our home, let’s take good care of it, if not for ourselves, for our children and their children, and all the creatures great and small who we share the world with.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope