Buy more documentary

[early morning]

I agree reducing waste is important, and really difficult! We recycle, but don't know if that is a help, or not. Try to watch packaging, and buy with less when we can. Try to use things for alternative purposes - cardboard and paper as mulch, compost (or just toss in the field) all food waste and some paper, use wood pellets for kitty litter which are then dumped in the field, etc. Anything large and usable we can't sell gets set out by the road - bikes, anything metal, flower pots, plastic lawn chairs, etc- and it's always been picked up by someone. In town, it'd be even harder for us. Don't know what we'd do without the field lol.

edit to add: that's a good thought, Tradd! All my newspapers are digital, but I like books, so it's the library for me. I did try an e-book reader, and missed the actual book. I'm sure I'd adjust if needed, lol. My SIL gets all her e-books from the library. Maybe I read too many post-apocalypse books. I want there to be reading material past the loss of the power grid, lol. And I have the FoxFire books, for that arcane how-to knowledge that I lack... Just in case.

[Tradd]

I had kept some books in case of power outage, but they were taking up too much room. There’s always my kindle, which is much more energy efficient than my iPad.

[early morning]

Do you have a solar charger? For that WCS....

[happystuff]

Early morning - your "setting out by the road" is our "magic sidewalk" out front of the house. LOL. Just put a moon chair out there that was originally taken from the school before it got tossed into the dumpster. So glad it moved on rather than ended up in landfill. I will admit - that is one of the problems I have working at the school. There is SOOOOO much waste! And perfectly good items are just tossed! I used to bring home more and more to try to donate/pass along, but it just got to be too much. And, yes, I have inquired - nobody wants to bother finding ways/places to donate. Sigh...

Anyway, we do a lot of the things already mentioned. Mostly it is just not buying stuff, as we really don't need "things" right now.

[iris lilies]

Our magic sidewalk was our alley. The pickers came by regularly. If you set out any metal appliances, they were gone within three hours. We never did that of course because DH hauled metal to the scrap yard for $$$.

[catherine]

Yup. We just put stuff out on the main road and they go. Just last weekend, we got rid of three barrels that way.

[early morning]

nobody wants to bother finding ways/places to donate

The solid waste facility in the county to our south takes reusable items, and county offices and the city schools etc are required to send them usable items that they would otherwise trash- often stuff purchased with county money. Books, trashcans, desks, classroom/office supplies, chairs, file cabinets, etc, etc, go there and are offered to teachers and school staff, county agencies, local non-profits, for free. They would pick up large items, and take any smalls that were ready to go at the time of pickup. In many cases, before we could order new bookshelves, file cabinets, etc, with county money, we had to check there first. I don't know how much cost savings there were, but literally tons of usable items were diverted from the landfills each year. I think that's a pretty good idea!

[Tradd]

What I like about Buy Nothing group is that people will pick up from me. I find it’s not people not bothering to find places to donate, but the donation places have gotten pickier. Especially with furniture. If you don’t have a vehicle or help to move big stuff, it’s a problem.

[Rogar]

I don't know how people get my name or address for catalogs, but it gets especially troublesome this time of year. I spent a few minutes today calling 1-800 numbers to get removed from mailing lists. I would think most everyone shops online and catalogs would be a waste of the companies money. I do get the Seed Savers catalog this time of year which I browse some days thinking of warmer weather and gardens. They send it in a timely fashion just when the cold spells start.

[catherine]

I don't know how people get my name or address for catalogs, but it gets especially troublesome this time of year. I spent a few minutes today calling 1-800 numbers to get removed from mailing lists. I would think most everyone shops online and catalogs would be a waste of the companies money. I do get the Seed Savers catalog this time of year which I browse some days thinking of warmer weather and gardens. They send it in a timely fashion just when the cold spells start.

Agreed. I sent my sister-in-law a gourmet snack box from a really nice company after my brother died, and now I get, not one, but two, catalogs from them every month.

I also agree with you on the seed catalogs. I keep the High Mowing Seeds catalog for the season. They're so much fun to look through!