Mindful consumption quest [Archive]

Chicken lady

1-10-17, 7:46am

So, I am trying to be a more mindful consumer. Some basic tasks I set myself (along with asking why I want to acquire this item) are avoiding items made in China or other countries with manufacturing standards I don't agree with and shopping locally, small business, used and direct when I can.

yesterday I blew it. I was at the gocery store and I stopped in the clearance section to pick up some fancy beaded ornament hooks (I use them on Christmas ornaments I make and sell and they increase sales) - 2 boxes, made in China. And I bought a snowman bottle wrapper on impulse - it does make me smile to open the fridge and see the lemon juice disguised as a snowman, but also made in China, and I could make one of those using materials I already gave in my house.

new challenge - think about making hooks.

meanwhile, so far this year, I shopped online for an apron, couldn't find what I wanted, and went to etsy, where I bought an uncut butterick pattern from the 40's. The plan is to get out my sewing machine, hit the fabric stash, and make the apron - after I catch up with all the other things that need to be done. So, I bought a project that is a solution.

Gardnr

1-10-17, 11:29pm

http://www.clark.com/american-made-in-the-usa

Great reference. I wanted new loaf pans last summer. I did not know Pyrex is USA. Yippee!!!!

We all have to be willing to pay more for USA products-prices usually scare folks off. Fair wage? Higher cost goods. IMO a fair trade.

Good on you for getting right back on your wagon!

Chicken lady

1-11-17, 6:58am

I got my youngest some Pyrex store and serve for Christmas. Made in USA, bpa free, union label and the box was made in Lancaster PA.

i'm more worried about the planet than the economy though. Sweden has excellent manufacturing standards - but the problem is the item is figuratively coated in oil when it gets to me.

dh is annoyed with me because I went to good guide and changed his shampoo. I changed my conditioner too, but I can't seem to do better on my shampoo without adding driving or mail order, so that's on hold.

i've been raising our grocery bill a little too, buying organic when I can, but since January is "winter vegetable" month it's not too bad. I'm starting to plan the garden with an eye to buying very little in the summer (putting the budget toward fresh fruit to eat and can!)

sweetana3

1-11-17, 7:12am

Cannot assume a brand is made in USA. http://madeinusaoreuro.blogspot.com/2007/12/dishes-corelle-pyrex-and-more.html

Chicken lady

1-11-17, 7:43am

If the product is labeled "made in the USA" that 's the best I can do right now. Please consider your local crafts people. Dh got me a beautiful baking dish. It was purchased in the building where it went from clay to dish, and the artist asked me for the recipe for the sweetbread I make in it.

20% of the sale price went to the small business owner who arranged the sale event (more actually, because he also rented the studio space to the artist and did the firing). Because he earns part of his living from firing other people's work, he has a vested interest in keeping the kilns well maintained and fired as efficiently as possible.

the clay and glaze ingredients arrived at the studio in bulk, and the finished piece went home in a piece of reused bubble wrap.

Chicken lady

1-17-17, 7:33am

Today I go out in the world and I go into stores.

Primarily, I need food. I will also be taking a few books and videos to the resale store because I pass it.

I know that my challenges are going to be:
clearance merchandise at the grocery
food packaging/ out of season
books at the resale store.

i have to keep in mind that all I need right now are food and seeds.

ctg492

1-17-17, 8:50am

I tried so hard a few years ago to do the NMiC. I did pretty well out the door. Hard work is required to surf the net, because for me I found looking at items in most stores was a waste of time. It meant No walmart or big box. Handmade as long as the fabric or yarns were local raised and made. I think I was able to do about 5 months of being strict. I even bought the most made in USA assembled in MI Ford I could buy at the time.

Now I try so hard to shop online with the intention of US or FairTrade or Sustainable or Organic as I can buy. We live Global lives now so the best I can do is what I can do. So I admire those that put effort forth to do the best that they can do!

Chicken lady

1-17-17, 9:05am

I don't know what "NMIC" stands for.

Tammy

1-17-17, 10:28am

None of these seem to fit:

http://www.abbreviations.com/NMIC

??? For me too.

iris lilies

1-17-17, 11:03am

I don't know what "NMIC" stands for.
My guess, Not Made in China.

ctg492

1-17-17, 6:01pm

yes
I learned that here about 4 years ago;)

Chicken lady

1-17-17, 7:02pm

So I have food. I bought the loose veggies loose - it's amazing, you can just put them in your basket and then unload them and then put them in your bag! And went to the case and asked the butcher to wrap dh porkchops in paper instead of getting pre-styrofoam trayed ones.

the deli still uses a plastic baggie, and the organic carrots come pre-bagged. I did buy clearanced pasta in plastic bags because it was 25 cents a pound - but only two pounds, it's white pasta, so it's emergency dinner treat food.

i bought bananas and grapefruit because there is no fresh in season fruit in Ohio in January, so I treat myself to bananas and grapefruit. Next year I will have frozen berries. But I get tired of homemade applesauce.

i accepted a call to sub for only an hour because I had to get groceries anyway, and the ten mile trip from the grocery store takes me past the resale store. (-11 books, +$6, didn't buy anything there!).

I went rent a lithe early which let me load the kiln and put out the compost containers in the lunch room (I take the compost home with me, so we only compost food waste on days I am there at lunch time.)

I dropped some styrofoam cups with lids in the office at work. dh made me buy them for an event he was involved in and they were leftover. Work is having a parent coffee on Thursday and wants to have them available for people who want coffee and don't bring a mug (yes, I teach in the kind of place where people being a mug to the parent coffee)

i did spend $11 on a big plastic shelf at goodwill, but it is the type I've been using in my studio for years and I find optimal. It will probably replace something else, which will then go to goodwill where someone else can buy used instead of new, but maybe not, I don't have the studio set up yet and may end up needing all my storage.

I think I did ok.

ApatheticNoMore

1-17-17, 8:25pm

So I have food. I bought the loose veggies loose - it's amazing, you can just put them in your basket and then unload them and then put them in your bag! And went to the case and asked the butcher to wrap dh porkchops in paper instead of getting pre-styrofoam trayed ones.

so let me ask this, if you buy veggies loose how do you store them? Ok that's easy for tomatoes, avocadoes, onions, potato's etc.. Those don't even go in the fridge. But what about things like lettuce and other greens? Do you just throw them in the veggie bin "completely naked"? Do you have special containers for them in the veggie bin? This is why I use the plastic bags for those types of things, so that I can better store them in the veggie bin by keeping them in the plastic bag. Otherwise I am afraid my veggie bin will turn into "rotting mystery vegetables"

i did spend $11 on a big plastic shelf at goodwill, but it is the type I've been using in my studio for years and I find optimal. It will probably replace something else, which will then go to goodwill where someone else can buy used instead of new, but maybe not, I don't have the studio set up yet and may end up needing all my storage.

I don't let things at the thrifts weigh on my mind as per mindful consumption at all. From the thrift they come and to the thrift they shall return (if I get sick of them, don't like them etc.). But I'm not really in any sense a hoarder (messy yes, but that's different).

Chicken lady

1-17-17, 9:04pm

It's all redistribution of resources. Now I have the shelf. Someone else does not have the shelf. Maybe they will go buy a new plastic shelf, so I should only buy the shelf if it serves a purpose beyond "just in case" or "I like it."

onions and and shallots and hot peppers went in the basket on the counter. Kale went in a bag, but sometimes I store it in the (dum dum dum) salad spinner. It comes twist tied. Next year it hopefully comes from the garden and I store it in the garden. I want to make some reusable washable leafy green bags. Sweet Peppers go in the crisper drawer loose. I don't use many of them in winter and I cook them within two days to be sure I don't forget them.

i did the math, after gas (estimate used), groceries (reciept), items bought and sold and after tax pay for the hours I worked, I'm down about $22 today. That doesn't count regular billings like electricity, water, property tax, etc. I kind of wish I had worked another hour, I'd be a lot closer.

ApatheticNoMore

1-18-17, 2:20pm

It's all redistribution of resources. Now I have the shelf. Someone else does not have the shelf. Maybe they will go buy a new plastic shelf, so I should only buy the shelf if it serves a purpose beyond "just in case" or "I like it."

I kind of figured stuff that doesn't sell at the thrifts often ends up in the landfills or shipped to a foreign country etc.. I mean have you seen the vast piles of stuff they get, just waiting for processing. I don't think they sell all of that, sad but true. This doesn't mean it is my duty in life to go around buying stuff from thrifts, or that I need to stop donating to them when I have stuff I don't want. Just why I feel very little guilt if I buy something from a thrift that I'm not entirely 100% sure of beyond all possible doubt.

onions and and shallots and hot peppers went in the basket on the counter. Kale went in a bag, but sometimes I store it in the (dum dum dum) salad spinner. It comes twist tied. Next year it hopefully comes from the garden and I store it in the garden. I want to make some reusable washable leafy green bags. Sweet Peppers go in the crisper drawer loose. I don't use many of them in winter and I cook them within two days to be sure I don't forget them.

yea I store onions, garlic just on the table in a bowl. If I was to store stuff in the salad spinner, well clearly one salad spinner is just not going to cut it then, I'll have to get another! :~) (I use the salad spinner for salad every day), I think I somewhat prefer to keep my sweet peppers in the containers they often come in. I haven't really found a better answer than the plastic bags for all the rest of the green stuff though. I mean this is what I can buy in one weeks grocery trip: several heads of lettuce, parsley, dill, green onions, a cooking green. So hmm.

catherine

1-18-17, 5:40pm

Maybe slightly OT, but I was at research the past two weeks with a new client. She's something else. Fundamentally, I like her, but she is one of these larger-than-life people that you run into now and then. BIG talk, BIG laugh, very intense.

In each city, the first thing she did was go to the book that holds all the area menus, and she'd pick what we would all have for dinner. This is not usual--typically, a couple of hours before dinner, we pass the menu book around and everyone gets what they would like. But she commandeered that whole process and would pick a place that served her vegetarian/vegan requirements and then order the food. LOTS of it. Like, after all ten of us had eaten there was probably enough food left over to feed another 10 people. And it all got thrown out (I did manage to bring home a full order that hadn't been touched of pad thai, and another of sesame chicken, and another dish of sushi)

I don't know what drives her to behave that way, but this was her modus operandi for all the cities we went to.

It just amazed me that she didn't seem to have the slightest inkling or concern that her behavior was unnecessarily wasteful. I'm not one of those people who thinks of "the poor people in China" when I'm eating, but my mind kind of went there then.

Chicken lady

1-18-17, 9:11pm

Aside from the apparent control issues, I'm trying to get my head around a vegan ordering you sesame chicken....

i went to a thrift store again. I bought a high quality king sized cotton sheet to make my apron out of (project and solution) and three bowls for slump molds in my studio/classroom. (I'll keep them in the studio mostly, but share them with the kids at school sometimes - hard to categorize those). It was under $5 total.

Ate at a restaurant tonight (vegetarian) where I had tapwater and we ate all but about 1/2 cup of food, which I left in the dish. - they use styrofoam take home counters but real dishes, flatware, and napkins and no straws. I tend to overeat slightly there, but mostly we try to order small enough to finish.

also today I brought home a three drawer plastic rolling storage thing that needs to be washed. It was out for the trash and the trash guy was about half an hour behind me. I'll wash it and either use it or take it to goodwill. (Straight up project). And brought the compost home from school again.

Teacher Terry

1-22-17, 3:30pm

Catherine, who paid for that food that got thrown away? If I was expected to split the bill I would not be happy. In addition not everyone likes Chinese food. That is really strange behavior.

Chicken lady

1-23-17, 7:13pm

Went out to eat locally (3 miles from home, 3rd closest place to spend money as they are next to the post office but on the far side and the post office is across the street from the tractor sales and service store.) Saturday night. Used paper napkins.

tonight I managed to scavenge up a dinner to keep dh from taking me out again, but he's going out to lunch tomorrow because we are out of meat. I need to plan better.

tomorrow I go out in the world again because I have a doctor's appointment. I need to buy food and I will pass an overwhelming array of shopping opportunities. But mostly, I need food. With minimal packaging and processing. Preferably local, seasonal, and organic. I already know I'm going to cave and buy the really good crackers in the plastic wrap that I can only get at the far away store I'm going to be two miles from tomorrow.

JaneV2.0

1-23-17, 7:24pm

I've vowed to postpone grocery shopping until I've cleaned my refrigerator. Good thing I have canned tuna...:~)

Chicken lady

1-24-17, 6:35pm

I bought only food (defining wine loosely as food). I skipped the crackers!

my doctors office has gone more electronic and my visit generated only two sheets of paper, a paper sheet, an exam table cover and a little plastic.

i took my bags to the store, but I bought some food that was pre wrapped. In part because I had no choice except to not eat that type of food, and in part to save money. I brought home 5 styrofoam trays in order to save a total of $8.85. I am now regretting that.

on the up side - the deli guy says the store takes the plastic deli bags back for recycling. I have been throwing them out. (I would love to wean dh off deli meat)

on on the way home I stopped at whole food and took notes of what I can buy in bulk that will store a long time because whole foods is rarely on my way anywhere. They will let me use my glass canning jars and lids.

Chicken lady

1-27-17, 7:18am

Chicken lady

1-27-17, 4:03pm

Today I took two of the styrofoam trays I should never have bought to the art teacher who uses styrofoam plates for paint trays (that's another battle). And I grabbed the (clean, dry, not broken) play dressing table and Barbie princess castle out of my neighbors' trash about 30 seconds before the trash truck arrived. The toys are in my car to be dropped at the goodwill on my way home. (I left the missing a drawer rolling cabinet and the needed new paint child's chair, since I have no way to know if the original paint contained lead.)

Chicken lady

1-28-17, 12:47pm

Took the cat to the vet. Three plastic syringes, one sharp, one plastic pill bottle, two pieces of paper, one ziplock bag.

Tybee

1-28-17, 12:59pm

Took the cat to the vet. Three plastic syringes, one sharp, one plastic pill bottle, two pieces of paper, one ziplock bag.

Am trying to follow what you are keeping track of. Is it things you are acquiring in life? Do you want to reduce the number of things, or is your aim to recycle things out of your life? Just trying to understand better.

iris lilies

1-28-17, 1:08pm

Yesterday I stopped at an indoor farmers market on my way home from work just to see what they had. I let the woman selling napalese food give me a sample in a plastic cup with a plastic spoon. - it just smelled so good! And it was.

i would like to stop and get dinner from her one day, but I will have to take a container and see if she will fill it, because she has styrofoam clam shells.
Ack I HATE those styrofoam take out containers.

On the other hand, I like some of the plastic ones used in restaurants around here. I reuse them many tomes for frozen meals I make at home. I use them until they break.

iris lilies

1-28-17, 1:29pm

Took the cat to the vet. Three plastic syringes, one sharp, one plastic pill bottle, two pieces of paper, one ziplock bag.
Our cat had surgery on Tuesday and have no idea what waste was generated from that. She is not dong well, we are giving her sub-q fluids at hme which is generating needles and one bag for the fluid. Fortunately i keep a very large stash of old towels and padding for pets, sick or healthy. We seld M use paper towels for pet cleanup events, but I do a LOT of loads of wash.

Chicken lady

1-28-17, 2:46pm

It's not about the things in things out, although I am still working on reducing the net volumn of things in my life while increasing the median value of those things to me. That is a seperate fight.

this is more about my place in the resource stream - being aware of the resources I am using, reducing the quantity of those resources, examining the type and impact of resources I am using, the justification for using those resources, and wether they pass out of my life as resources or waste.

it would have been better to not bring the styrofoam trays into my control. I feel better about releasing them to a location where they will be used one more time before entering the waste stream because that reduces the waste stream by two styrofoam plates.

i feel good about diverting the toys into my control, because they are now out of my life with a good probability of future use before becoming waste.

i find the waste generated by vaccinating and deworming my cat to be an acceptable trade off, but I feel a need to be aware of it. I actually intend to wash and reuse the oral syringe I brought home because I am familiar with the medication and I can safely use the syringe to administer oral wormer to goats 4 or 5 times before the rubber gasket degrades.

i am happy that the excellent vet I used is also the shortest drive.

sort of like your money or your life, I am trying to start with awareness, then evaluation, then change, but it's difficult for me not to jump ahead. Honestly, if you were doing the your money or your life plan, and you wrote down on day two that you just spent $6 on coffee, and you realized while writing that you do that twice a week and you don't really like the coffee, you wouldn't keep doing it just for the sake of not changing your behavior during the research phase, would you?

Teacher Terry

1-28-17, 3:37pm

I like the plastic ones from restaurants and I send guests leftovers home with them in these containers. Some seem to last a long time.

Mary B.

1-28-17, 4:50pm

Our cat had surgery on Tuesday and have no idea what waste was generated from that. She is not dong well, we are giving her sub-q fluids at hme which is generating needles and one bag for the fluid. Fortunately i keep a very large stash of old towels and padding for pets, sick or healthy. We seld M use paper towels for pet cleanup events, but I do a LOT of loads of wash.

Hope she'll recover, iris lilies. We did sub-q fluids for a cat for a while and i found it quite stressful.

Florence

1-29-17, 10:32am

iris lilies

1-29-17, 10:53am

I have a plastic container for leftovers that I take with me when we eat out. After we eat the leftovers at home, I wash the container and put it back in the van for the next time we will be eating out.
Yes, I need to get back to doing that. And then, I need to remember to carry it into the restaurant with me. Half the time I would fail at that.

Tybee

1-29-17, 11:30am

Yes, I need to get back to doing that. And then, I need to remember to carry it into the restaurant with me. Half the time I would fail at that.

That's a good idea, Florence, to take my own, since I usually ask for one and then have lunch for the next day. That way, the new item never comes into my possession, so I don't have to recycle it or find a use for it.

OP, it is amazing how many items come into our lives everyday, and I think I see now what you are trying to keep track of.

Chicken lady

2-2-17, 8:47pm

So today I got called in to sub.

on the way home I stopped at the farmers market and had my containers filled with salad and take out dinner. I did get some plastic sauce containers with lids, but I actually need those for my classroom. On the way home I stopped and bought more sauce container with lids for class at the grocery store. I also bought loose leaf tea in a refillable tin, one individually wrapped candy bar, drinks in recyclable glass bottles with recyclable metal lids, and vegetables, However, I forgot my bags in the car and ended up with half a dozen plastic ones.

i put the recycling bin out tonight but didn't bother with the nearly empty trash can.

Chicken lady

2-4-17, 8:47am

Yesterday I took a couple of grocery store plastic containers I couldn't recycle to a parent who asked for them and gave a broken styrofoam egg carton to another teacher to make a mancala game.

I stopped st the thrift store again (I'm keeping an eye out for an immersible blender because the one in my classroom is making 'motor burning out' noises) and I bought a small plastic spider mold and a giant cookie cutter for my classroom.

The number of paper towels that get used in my class is starting to bother me.

Chicken lady

2-6-17, 2:38pm

Went to the grocery store. Remembered my bags. Did not buy any styrofoam.

Chicken lady

2-12-17, 1:16pm

A phone book got dropped off at my house in a plastic bag. The plastic bag had instructions on the outside for how to opt out of all future phone books. Done!

Chicken lady

2-22-17, 7:03am

I have been doing very well. I got groceries yesterday and remembered my bags. I did accept a plastic sample cup and a paper sample cup. The paper one can recycle because it isn't coated.

i bought things in fully recyclable bottles and cans (paid an extra 50 cents for my maple syrup to get glass instead of plastic) plus there is plastic wrap on my cauliflower which can go back to the grocery store and get dropped in the plastic bag recycling, and there are stickers (trash) on my fruit.

i plan for this to be my last week of trash service. Dh intends to get a dumpster when we do the drywall, so between now and then, construction trash (mostly non recyclable packaging - Arg, and bits of wire cover) will go in an empty can, then we'll dump it in the dumpster.

purchases the last week have been food and gasoline. - oh, and my seeds came. The individual seed packs are paper, the bubble envelope will go to school for kids to carry work (pottery) home safely.

Gardnr

2-22-17, 7:56am

i plan for this to be my last week of trash service. Dh intends to get a dumpster when we do the drywall, so between now and then, construction trash (mostly non recyclable packaging - Arg, and bits of wire cover) will go in an empty can, then we'll dump it in the dumpster.

Construction dumpsters usually have strict rules on "no trash, construction debris only". There is a big cost here to intermingling. Might check this out before you plan to add your regular trash to it.

Chicken lady

2-22-17, 8:56am

Wire insulation and the packaging from electrical outlets/screws/etc. is generally considered "construction debris". I've noticed that around here the construction guys also throw their fast food trash in them. I don't plan to use it for "regular trash". "Regular trash" will be going into various public (when I pump gas, when I return to the grocery store to acquire more trash they give me no option to avoid, possibly in locations I support with my taxes such as public parks - we're not talking a giant trash bag, we're talking maybe a handful of stickers, gum, a sample cup and a plastic lid) and school trash recepticals as it is generally less than gallon a week total. (My boss told me to feel free to use the waste basket in my classroom - which would hold about three weeks of my household garbage on top of my classroom trash on any given day and gets emptied nightly)

Chicken lady

2-26-17, 9:47am

So, I wrote about the disposal issues in the zero waste thread in environment. Consumption choices are related, but not really the same issue.

in February I have used $20-$25 in gas every week. I actually should be tracking gallons, not cost, but I am working at preplanning/combining trips. I actually had a flashback to the 70's the other day when the ad campaign slogan "is this trip really neccessary?" Popped into my head. My dad quoted it for years afterwards when my mom wanted him to go somewhere.

since my last post I took my container to the farmer's market and filled it with mixed greens. I also accepted bread and premade salads (for my chickens) from the food bank that would otherwise have gone in the dumpster - resulting in some plastic to recycle and two small pieces of plastic film trash - but way better than all being trashed by someone else! I rescued a pretty artificial Christmas wreath from my neighbor's trash - I'll take that on my next thrift store drop, and I ate out last night and used a paper napkin.

It is possible that the paper napkin will be composted, but I don't know. The restaurant is focused on local, in season, and sustainable and has a greenhouse in which they grow a lot of their food and a compost system for pre-customer food waste. Dh did not finish his meat and they gave him a plastic take home container. I haven't checked to see if it is recyclable yet.

iris lilies

2-26-17, 11:02am

I was out to lunch with garden club people. Had a sandwich. Cut it in half, wrapped the other half in my used but
clean-ish paper napkin to take home.

---chicken lady, maybe you should not read this below!----trigger warning...

.
.
.
.

Then I left the table to go to the bathroom. Came back to find that my lunch mates had asked the waitress to put my sandwich into a take home container which was styrofoam. Oy vey. "Oh, you dont need to wrap that on a napkin, they have containers here!"

Gosh, yes, they do.

This was a restaurant in a strip mall out in nowheresville suburbia. So I am a restaurant snob, I will not apologize for that and I do judge restaurants by their take out containers. Styrofoam is the worst. Just call me Judgey Judgerson.

Tybee

2-26-17, 12:03pm

iris lilies

2-26-17, 12:20pm

You know, I wonder why restaurants don't favor the cardboard container of the type you find in Chinese restaurant and goldfish purchasing? Those would have to be cheaper, and they would be biodegradable.
That would be a possible campaign, to ask them to carry those.
Higher end, more with-it foodie places in my city DO use cardboard containers. Hence my snarky comment about strip mall, suburbia, etc.

Alan

2-26-17, 12:29pm

You know, I wonder why restaurants don't favor the cardboard container of the type you find in Chinese restaurant and goldfish purchasing? Those would have to be cheaper, and they would be biodegradable.

We looked at cardboard/paper vs Styrofoam as part of a corporate sustainability effort about 5 years ago. We found that in the entire cycle of production, distribution, use and disposal, Styrofoam was a much cheaper choice. The biodegradable argument was a wash when modern landfill techniques were taken into account. It seems that virtually nothing degrades in modern landfills.

Personally, I prefer paper over Styrofoam although I've come to realize it's just a preference with no basis in anything bigger.

Chicken lady

2-26-17, 12:34pm

Iris lilies, I would have taken that as an opportunity to explain my approach to my friends. Of course, I don't have very many friends....

otoh, it might have an effect. I collect the compost from lunch on the days I work. One morning, one of the littlest kids very carefully opened a container from her lunch box, came over to me, and presented me with a banana peel, saying "I ate this for breakfast, but we do not compost at home, so I brought it to you." (My heart melted)

iris lilies

2-26-17, 12:58pm

We looked at cardboard/paper vs Styrofoam as part of a corporate sustainability effort about 5 years ago. We found that in the entire cycle of production, distribution, use and disposal, Styrofoam was a much cheaper choice. The biodegradable argument was a wash when modern landfill techniques were taken into account. It seems that virtually nothing degrades in modern landfills.

Personally, I prefer paper over Styrofoam although I've come to realize it's just a preference with no basis in anything bigger.
The cardboard ones I am thinking of can be recycled, or rather they can be put into the recycling bin. Did yours go into recycled stuff?

Whether or not they are actually recycled is knowledge thats beyond my pay grade. They sometimes have grease stains, so that probably precludes them from re-manufactured. And some types have a waxy coating, so those probably arent recycleable.

Chcken Lady, I was out with people who are my betters, so to speak. i am a student judge, they are full fledged judges. i wasnt going to lecture them about anything since I need their goodwill to complete my credentials.

Tybee

2-26-17, 12:59pm

IL, that is interesting, about the higher end restaurants.
Alan, that is also interesting, about your company looking into it. Like you, I prefer the cardboard, because I take it and throw it into one of our own compost bins, and we end up with soil at the end.

Chicken lady

2-26-17, 1:07pm

Yeah, see, I still would have said "oh, thanks, I appreciate the thought, but I know they have containers. I'm trying to avoid styrofoam" (now to be followed by "does anybody want this clamshell? I don't have trash service.")

and the styrofoam would have been left on the table.

dh says I often make life harder for myself. It does help a lot if you enjoy being viewed as just a little bit insane.

beckyliz

2-27-17, 2:39pm

Our recycling service doesn't want cardboard that has food on it (e.g., pizza boxes). I like the plastic containers that Olive Garden uses - I can wash them out and recycle them. I do like the idea of bringing our own containers. I'm sure it would mortify my teenager daughter, though!!

Chicken lady

2-27-17, 3:08pm

Worked at the foodbank again today. We labeled flats. The labels are temporary and written on sheets from a notepad. I don't think they've ever seen anyone cross out the old label, flip it over, and write a new one before, but they let me do it.

i brought home a gallon of orange juice (they had seven left at closing that had to be thrown out if they weren't taken today. I'll recycle the gallon jug after we drink it.

i wish I had taken a second one (the last one went unclaimed even by the volunteers) just to pour out and recycle the jug since I knew I didn't have fridge or freezer space for it or anyone to give it to, because the facilities chief threw it in the dumpster. I really thought someone else would claim it at the last minute.

iris lilies

2-27-17, 3:37pm

Chicken lady

2-27-17, 4:05pm

Well, the only food "we" (I feel like "we" already) "throw out" that isn't expired is bread. We get a ton of it, and when "new" (yesterday's unsold day old bread) comes in, we send all the "old" bread out to people's chickens. We also send actual expired stuff to chickens (and fruits and veggies that technically don't have expiration dates, but look expired). Sometimes the chickens send back eggs. Meanwhile, clients and volunteers are allowed unlimited bread.

the juice was actually "sell by" feb 22nd, and apparently we can't hand it out more than a week past the "sell by" date - it's the refrigerated kind, not the shelf stable kind. And the food bank is closed until Thursday.

iris lilies

2-27-17, 5:59pm

Probably Chicken Lady should not read this, too!

Today I found 20+ towels in the dumpster by the animal shelter. They were freshly laundered and folded. Three of them had tags on them, they were new. They came to my attention because the dumpster was filled to the brim in the lids were sticking up. Well we do not know for sure that the animal shelter tossed them, it's pretty likely they did and were probably recent donations. Thenproblem was that these were in the Recycling
dumpster and that is not an approved item.

I did mention this to one of the volunteers. Anyway…

I took 16 of the towels home with me, I'm currently washing them just to be sure and then they will be my towels. I use a fair number of towels with dogs although at the moment My dogs are not big pee-in-the-house dogs except for random ti,es t mark territory. It is a bulldg the ng, what can I say. Thats while I pile towels on our furniture.

So in the end these towels will be used by us.

Tammy

2-27-17, 9:04pm

I love rescuing things like that from the landfill. And free for me.

The trick is to not try to rescue the whole world. Just my little circle of influence.

Chicken lady

2-27-17, 10:16pm

I'm trying to become Tammy.

Iris lilies, it's good for me to read stuff like that because it reminds me that I am not alone and I don't have to single handedly save the whole world.

sweetana3

2-28-17, 5:32am

GRRR about the towels. I am positive that there are other rescues out there that could have used them right in the same area or give them to fosters. Sometimes all they have to do is ask or be creative. Maybe the shelter needs to set up a sharing circle.

However, I do know several animal groups that are too concerned only with themselves.

We finally trained one person in charge of a large and growing group that all she had to do was ask and many things would magically appear. Once she asked for a used file cabinet and got over 10 offers. Once she asked for a forklift and a perfectly good used one appeared. Later that same forklift went to another not for profit so it continued its work. She also learned to pass on to others if they needed it. Things like clean litter buckets are saved from the landfill because our pet food pantry distributes food in them.

Our shelter loves towels, sheets, etc. We even got a truckload of used but clean nursing home linens when they bought new ones. But to throw out useful items makes me so mad.

Chicken lady

2-28-17, 5:11pm

So, I met with the designer about the kitchen again. This generated a lot of paper, but at least she has a bin under her desk to recycle hers and I will recycle mine (I'm still using it). Also - printer ink. And an associate brought us bottles of water. I mindlessly accepted even though I try to avoid bottled water, but I will recycle the bottle. And when I opened mine and took a drink, so did the designer, so she was probably thirsty and I wouldn't have wanted to make her feel like she couldn't have a drink because I refused one. (Or we are just mindless monkeys...)

Stopped for a few groceries in reusable bags on the way home. I was parked next to the cart return and in no hurry, so I peeled the stickers off my fruit and dropped them in the trash can there. Still have recyclable glass, metal, and a ziplock deli bag.

Chicken lady

3-5-17, 10:24pm

And then dh went to the grocery store. Sigh.

sometimes it is hard living with someone who doesn't share some of your goals.

He brought home lamb sealed in heavy plastic, a plastic bag of pretzels, a plastic container of hummus (that I had a $1 off coupon for) a plastic box of spinach, rosemary in a plastic box (I have Rosemary in a pot on the kitchen windowsill!) and expensive imported non-organic apples, all packaged in lots of plastic bags. He threw off both my budget and my consumption goals (I think I will have two quart bags of trash this week - one is going to the grocery store can by the cart return with me tomorrow because it has the meat plastic in it.)

sometimes I have to remind myself that dh generates far less waste living with me than he would on his own, but it still frustrates me that he doesn't really notice or care. He is at least noticing now though - after he cut the meat out of the wrapper, he looked at me and asked "ok, so now what am I supposed to do with this (wrapper)?"

Chicken lady

3-6-17, 2:56pm

And then I went to the grocery store...

i took my bags, but I bought frozen fish in plastic bags (it's lent, this is when I buy fish) and frozen edamame in plastic bags, and another plastic bag of walnuts.

we are now $21 over budget to date, but a new week starts Wednesday, and I spent $21 on a new giant can of olive oil which will last us a really long time, so not a big deal.

i want to start buying nuts in bulk as they are one of my main sources of fat and protein, but I need to get ahead on the grocery budget because the most economical way to do it is to lay in a 6 month supply (which would make shipping free) and I don't have the wiggle room for that right now.

My ziploc bag wasn't full, but I walked around the yard and picked up little pieces of plastic construction debri and got it close. Then I threw it out at the grocery store. I also collected all the product wrap and torn plastic bags at the foodbank this morning and dropped that in the recycling at the grocery store. That usually goes in the dumpster, so I think my "net plastic effect" for the week is positive.

Chicken lady

3-8-17, 9:12pm

Dinner out tonight. Dd picked the restaurant.

straw, paper napkin, and my dinner was way too big, so I bit the bullet and came home with a styrofoam clamshell.

also brought home the compost from school and the wrapper from my classroom paper towels to recycle.

Chicken lady

3-13-17, 2:49pm

Bought a slightly more earth friendly brand of shampoo today. And organic potatoes. Both in recyclable plastic

i remembered my bags and my dishwasher soap was in the usual recyclable box.

also bought ham wrapped in plastic, walnuts in a non-recyclable plastic bag, and a stack of (100% recycled) foil pie plates because dh wants to take pie to work tomorrow and I don't trust him with my pie pans (they were my grandmother's and I love them)

working at at the food bank is increasing my personal garbage production because they keep giving me food that is past human consumption for my chickens and some of it is in non-recyclable packaging.

otoh, I am now recycling water bottles, aluminum cans, and case wrap that they would have thrown out, plus food to chickens, so net trash is down.

i threw out about another quart of trash when I went to the grocery store.

spatula

8-22-18, 3:22pm

i've started buying more and more of my clothes from the thrift store....

the clothes are still really nice and i can get a nice top for only $3 :0!

it feels so much better than plunking down $50 dollars at bannana republic just so some big corporation can profit.

Chicken lady

8-22-18, 4:01pm

I love the thrift store!

interesting seeing this thread refreshed.

i am still struggling with food bank bounty, and the walnuts still come in a plastic bag, but I have switched from shampoo to homemade bar soap, and am now getting the deli to put the meat in a reused container.

iris lilies

8-22-18, 5:33pm

Thrift store shopper here all the way, baby!

SteveinMN

8-22-18, 8:36pm

Goodwill was my haberdasher for years. However, I am finding that, for very specific items, Target's clearance rack or on-line vendors offer the chance to buy what I really need.

For example, I wear a not-popular waist-inseam size for pants. I can go an inch longer on the inseam, but I destroy those pants fairly quickly because the longer inseam gets caught underfoot. I'm sure I could find the color/style/waist/inseam combination I want in a thrift store somewhere. But it's already not a common size and I don't have/want to take the time to sort through rack after rack in store after store. So I'll order those on-line and just be done with it.

iris lilies

8-22-18, 9:07pm

SteveinMN

8-23-18, 8:12am

Also, summer shorts are easy.
Oh, yeah, shirts, certainly (unless I need something quickly like "dark blue/black T-shirt, size L" or "white Western shirt, no embroidery, good condition, size L"; then I'm tempted to just go get it somewhere. Simpler (and still a mindful acquisition) but not as green. Shorts would be easy, too, but I don't wear 'em. Nobody wants to see these legs -- not even me! :~)

Rogar

8-23-18, 9:52am

This would almost make a good topic to apply a sticky.

I pick my battles when it comes to consumption. I can do quite a bit of grocery shopping by bicycle in the good weather months and limit pleasure driving and driving in general. I rarely eat meat, fish, or poultry. In terms of prioritizing where to put efforts, those are big ones for me. It seems to have fallen out of favor, but in the old carbon footprint tests I rate fairly good, at least for a person living in the U.S., which seems to invoke a large penalty regardless of anything. I buy good quality clothes new and wear them out, but don't pay much attention to where they are made. I could be corrected on this, but plastic bags that are recycled at the store probably get re-purposed, unlike normal plastics that go into recycling bins and may end up who knows where. My glass is also separately recycled. I use a few Ziplocs in addition to reusable storage containers. Unless Ziplocs are terribly gross, I rinse them and hang them on the clothes line in the sun to sterilize and also dry my clothes on the line in almost all seasons. So I try to be conscientious with most things, but devote my energies to certain priorities.

iris lilies

8-23-18, 10:56am

Oh, yeah, shirts, certainly (unless I need something quickly like "dark blue/black T-shirt, size L" or "white Western shirt, no embroidery, good condition, size L"; then I'm tempted to just go get it somewhere. Simpler (and still a mindful acquisition) but not as green. Shorts would be easy, too, but I don't wear 'em. Nobody wants to see these legs -- not even me! :~)
Well, DH won 3rd place in a Mr. Legs contest decades ago, so shorts for him are ok, and just this week I rattled on to him about how cute he looked in a certain pair of shorts.

Tybee

8-23-18, 11:46am

Mr Legs--is this a NOLA thing? My gosh, what a resume builder.

Teacher Terry

8-23-18, 11:56am

We try to be mindful too but I read that industrial pollution is a much bigger issue than what people can do. Our society used to use paper bags, glass bottles for milk that had to be returned, etc. Too bad we have done away with all that. We also enjoy thrift stores. I got 8 crystal wine glasses that were brand new 10 years ago. I did pay 20 which is steep for thrift store but they were in the box and high quality. I have 3 left:))

spatula

9-25-18, 12:52pm

Just a warning for everyone here

I think it’s great to want to buy stuff made in the USA and support Americans. But the corporations have figured out a way to LIE!!! To americans AGAIN. They now use prisoners in jails to make stuff so that it’s “technically” made in america. But it’s a prisoner making 5 cents a day rather than a free american.

Just watch out!! Thankfully it’s only big companies doing thiss…

You don’t have to worry about small companies. If your suspcicious just ask to see pictures of their workshops or factories.

SteveinMN

9-25-18, 4:25pm

"Made in the USA" long ago was corrupted, even beyond prison labor. Large components of finished products can come from elsewhere, or the raw materials can be from outside the country, or the product can merely be put together in the U.S. and it all counts as "Made in the USA". I'll let others discuss whether paying prisoners a specific wage is morally upright or another brick on the road to perdition. But, sadly, buying "made in America" long has called for an unusual amount of diligence.

Chicken lady

9-26-18, 7:24am

Buy work from living artists, dead ones don’t need the money....

seriously, if you are trying to buy local and ensure fair wages, your best bet is to get as close as possible to the hands that made the product and talk to the maker.

farmer’s markets, craft fairs, small local businesses (the wood for our addition came from nearby states and Canada by way of a local mill. - the Canadian stuff is sustainably harvested, the more local stuff i’m Less sure about.)

if you can’t fix stuff yourself, hire local people to do it instead of buying a replacement.

my milk is in mason jars. ;)

Ultralight

9-26-18, 7:38am

Buy work from living artists... DIY, I says!

catherine

9-26-18, 7:55am