Launch of Our New Blog Website!

I made the leap to WordPress yesterday. Okay, I am a bit intimidated. No actually downright scared but we're going to give it the good college try!

Here's the new site: www.littlehouseonaplasticplanet.com

Yesterday, we began a month long series on the Minimalism Game. Join us!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Almond Scones

One of the first things out of my children's mouths when they crawl out of bed is, "What is for breakfast?" My five and six year old children have BIG appetites in the morning.

Our typical food cannot be poured out of a box. This recipe is one of their favorites to request. It was one of the basic recipes in my kitchen before we discovered our food allergies and can be made with conventional ingredients also. I hope you enjoy the following breakfast recipe:

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Almond Scones

1 cup fine brown rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 TB baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter substitute, chilled & cut into small pieces

1 TB almond extract
1 egg (or egg substitute equivalent)
1/2 cup almond milk (or other dairy free equivalent)

1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

2 TB almond milk
2 TB sugar

Whisk the first 7 dry ingredients in a medium or large bowl. Using a pastry blender, add butter substitute and blend until the mixture resembles small crumbs. Combine almond extract, egg substitute, and milk in a small bowl. Add wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix gently with a fork until all of the dough is wet and combined. Take care not to over mix to avoid the scones getting tough. Fold in the chocolate chips.

On a floured surface, using your hands, gently form dough into a circle and cut into eight wedges. Transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Brush the tops of the scones with dairy free milk and dust the tops with sugar.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes until slightly browned around edges. Enjoy!

To Start The Day On The Farm

I awoke this morning at 6:00 am before the heat and humidity set in to complete the glorious task of mucking out the chicken house. It is not the most enjoyable of tasks but nevertheless a productive one.

I am reminded of the quote by Winston Churchill, "An optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. A pessimist sees difficulty in each opportunity."

While shoveling chicken manure is a dirty task, the results are valuable for my gardens. I am left with a rich, zero waste fertilizer that is already composted with cedar shavings brought to our homestead from a local lumber mill. There are no plastic fertilizer bags left to dispose of. There are no questions about how many chemicals are contained in the fertilizer, if it is harmful or beneficial. We have kept the waste of one aspect of the homestead here and turned it in to something productive. That is an accomplishment! Nothing was sent to the landfill in the process. How can I expand this idea of turning waste into something productive on the homestead? Only time will tell. The task was much more fulfilling than I had anticipated when I got out of bed.

We each have tasks that aren't our favorite to accomplish in our lives. However, the next time you catch yourself thinking "Do I really have to do that?" stop and see the opportunity that presents itself. It's an opportunity to grow - minus any procrastination - and find the opportunity in the perceived difficulty.

Show Your Plastic Challenge: Week 7

SHOW YOUR PLASTIC CHALLENGE - WEEK 7

Total - 53 items, 12.2 oz.

THIS CHALLENGE IS ABOUT NOT CONSUMING NEW PLASTIC.

How would you handle the challenge of receiving of plastic gifts or gifts generously packaged in plastic? While secondhand plastic gifts would be more in line with our goals, the feelings of the giver must be considered. We don’t want to stifle the generosity and happiness of the gift giver. My children were kindly given gifts this week by loved ones that fell into this genre of consumption.

A debate could ensue whether or not this plastic is consumed by our family or by the gift giver. I have chosen for the purpose of this project to include such plastic if it is new packaging and has no further reuse. This week 9 pieces of our consumed plastic resulted from the gifts we received.

I’ve come to the realization that I have been addicted to Ziploc bags. They’re creeping out of every corner and crevice in the house. Boo! It’s me – the Ziploc bag! It has been over two years since I purchased a new box of bags and my two last boxes were made from recycled plastic. I have a weakness for organization and the Ziploc bag has been my best friend for many years for this purpose. I now must deal with the aftermath of my organization fetish – a plethora of Ziploc bags in the house that are nearing the end of their useful life. The bags have been washed and reused until holes present themselves.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE RETIRED ZIPLOC BAGS?

I’m beginning to go through them slowly and retire them week by week. Who knows how many I have accumulated between the four walls of our home. My freezer is still full of many more from pre-project foods. Any new food put into the freezer is being put into glass canning jars or other glass containers as opposed to plastic bags. Hopefully, by the end of this year plastic ziploc bags will be a thing of the past.

They can be recycled along with other plastic bags at your local store with a plastic bag recycling program. Remember though, refuse, reduce and reuse come before recycle. We must reduce our consumption of these items. Recycling is not a perfect solution since pollutants are off gassed in the recycling process and they can only be down cycled rather than made into the same product again like aluminum can.

PLASTIC FREE PROGRESS:

• We finished week 2 without buying any GF cookies & sweets. 
• Now I have to work on chips! I made one batch of homemade tortilla chips from homemade tortillas this week. They were yummy - but its a trick to get them thin enough.
• Today we're submitting our almost plastic free, bulk produce order from Azure Standard to be delivered next week: a case of: peaches, oranges, apples, and grapefruit. Sometimes they don't even have produce stickers on them. I haven't been able to order potatoes or onions plastic free yet. I don't have ideal storage conditions yet for ordering those items by the case.

SUMMARY:

Month 1 Summary - 205 items, 3 lbs 15 oz

Week 5 Total - 37 items, 12 oz

Week 6 Total - 61 items, 25 oz

Week 7 Total - 53 items, 12.2 oz

GOALS:

• Begin tracking how long a standard 13 gallon kitchen garbage bag lasts in our home before going to the landfill.
• Source local honey in my own refillable jars.
• Make homemade crackers.
• Make another batch baby wipe solution.

I CHALLENGE YOU THIS WEEK TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE PLASTIC BOX!

Literature That Has and Continues To Inspire Me

Since this blog is to be a record of experiences and inspiration I thought it appropriate to record some of the writings that have affected me over the years. I think you can learn much about a person by examining their interests.

1. The Bible: The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
2. Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich
3. G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide by Elisabeth Hasselbeck
4. Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck
5. Minimalist blog by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
6. Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too by Beth Terry
7. The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living by Scott Nearing

8. Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine

9. Miss Minimalist: Inspiration to Downsize, Declutter, and Simplify by Francine Jay

10. Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern

Maybe you've enjoyed reading some of the same titles. What book has inspired you? Please comment so that others can savor it too.

The Television is History!

This week was a first for us...we decided to take the television off the wall and put it out of sight. Did we die of boredom? Nope. The opposite came true. In my mind, I was more relaxed. The kids didn't have as many spats amongst themselves and I think the week was just all around better.

Isn't it true that sometimes the technology around us changes our thinking patterns. We know instant gratification is right by the 'ON' button. It's there lurking, waiting, waiting...will you do it? Will you? You know that it will make you feel better. It promises to help us forget our troubles and live in someone else's home, their life which inherently looks better than ours, right? 

The grass is always greener on the other side, until you realize that it's only synthetic grass!

Why not try to live without your television for a week and choose to refocus on the little pleasures life grants you? 

My Plastic Free & Minimalist Baby Diapers

Most of you know by now that I had my third child in May. He's a beautiful, bouncing boy! Meet Jonah...

He along with my older two children are a great source of joy. With babies come more "things" and most of those perceived needs are commonly "plastic things." The most prolific plastic baby item is definitely diapers. The average child will use more than 2,700 diapers in the first year alone, which can add up to more than $550 (based on an average price of $0.20 per disposable diaper). The average baby will use 3,500 - 4,000 diapers before potty training is completed. 

I have an intense dislike of disposable diapers for many reasons. The first one that comes to my mind is that they really don't seem to do my baby justice to contain the 'leftovers' that his body can produce. If you've changed many diapers you know exactly what I mean...the leg gussets aren't sufficient or the waist band. It always seems to escape the hatches up the back, out the legs. GROSS!

My beautiful mother cloth diapered four out of five of her children during the 1980s and 1990s. I remember her hanging the cloth diapers out on the clothes line. Such a fond memory. When we were expecting our first child I informed my husband of my desire to cloth diaper our baby. At the time he had just retired, due to a medical injury, from his career as a professional fire fighter. You can only imagine the things that he encountered during his daily duties in public service. However, when it came to changing baby #2 diapers he freaked out. I still remember him using a spatula to remove the solids from the diaper in the toilet while holding his nose. Holy cow, if he got pooped on by the baby or the baby's tummy was upset, the neighbors could hear his screech a mile down the road. Three babies later, we're still cloth diapering and his screech has lessened. His dislike of changing poopy diapers will always be there no matter how many he changes - cloth or disposable.

The beautiful thing about cloth diapers is that the waste rarely exits the diaper unwanted. When I first made the decision to cloth diaper, I purchased my cotton pre-fold diapers and organic Little Beetle wool diaper covers. The initial cost was an investment. It cost around $500 for the whole shebang - diapers, cover, pins, wet bags, etc. This investment covered the entire diaper experience for our first and second child. I finally decided to part with my cloth diapers last year. One month later, I found out that I was pregnant!

With Little Beetle no longer in business and my love of wool diaper covers, I decided to take on the task of making my own upcycled wool diaper covers. My motivation came after seeing a couple handmade diaper covers by Ozark Mountain Mama. She makes beautiful covers! We excitedly started frequenting thrift stores in search of 100% wool items to craft into our own covers for Jonah. It wasn't difficult to locate the wool at all. I got such an adrenaline rush when I would find a sweater with moth holes that had finished it's useful life as a sweater and now would have a second life on my baby's bottom. What can be more zero waste about that!

Next I thought, if I can make wool diaper covers why not my own pre-fold diapers? I set my mind to making a minimum of one dozen newborn and one dozen infant pre-fold diapers out of 100% cotton t-shirts and an old flannel blanket. I had many remnants left from the t-shirts and thought why can't I turn these into my wipes? Yes, the remaining t-shirt pieces and sometimes sleeves were cut into 8 x 8 inch squares to be used as diaper wipes.

I have never been a inventive person, creating my own patterns. But I can follow instructions well to create almost anything. So I found a few ideas & patterns that other bloggers had already published and got to work. Here's a great blog by Rita. We diaper Jonah with three soft wool diaper covers (in each size) and two dozen pre-fold cloth diapers. Now that I've made the same pattern several times, I can whip them up fast! I hope to keep my 4,000 diapers out of the landfill. I love my minimalist, plastic free diaper routine and wouldn't change it.

If you'd like to see step by step instructions & pictures please post a comment to the blog page.

Show Your Plastic Challenge: Week 6

SHOW YOUR PLASTIC CHALLENGE - WEEK 6

Total - 61 PIECES, 25 OZ

After 6 weeks, I feel a sense of, umm, not of failure but of disappointment. With expectations set high I wanted to see significant change by now. I've been working hard to ensure that my bread is homemade, we do without conveniences, sourcing plastic free food locally, etc. Yet why do I not see a change in the amount of plastic consumed? Each week there is a new hurdle to jump over or through. Do I feel pulled by alluring packaging? Less work, immediate gratification. Wow, advertising does a doozy to our minds! Remember...life style change!

I'm still determined to keep treading water to prevent this plastic sea from swallowing me!

SHOW YOUR PLASTIC: WEEK 6

                 

Recently we welcomed a few laying hens to our flock and as a result were in need of cedar shavings for our chicken house. Ordinarily I would pick up a big plastic wrapped bale of shavings from the feed store. Here in North Central Arkansas we are surrounded by logging companies and tree mills. As I was driving through our town one day, on the same route I always drive, a light bulb came on. Why do I pay some unknown company across the country to ship plastic encased cedar shavings to Wal-mart or the feed store when I drive by a cedar mill everyday?

The answer can be summed in one word - CONVENIENCE.

When we go to a big chain store, it's a one stop shopping experience. They have programmed our brains to believe that every need can be met within the four walls of the megaplex SUPERSTORE. It's funny, I've hardly been in those stores lately. They don't sell very much that I want to buy. I decided to call our local cedar mill and ask if I could buy some of their 'waste,' leftover cedar shavings. The end result of a brief phone call was that we were able, for free, to load as much of the shavings as we wanted. We brought a couple of garbage cans and a big shovel and filled up without any expense or plastic consumption.

The lesson for me was: (1) don't be afraid to ask and (2) think outside the big plastic box that I've been trained by for so long.

PLASTIC FREE PROGRESS:

• I do see the plastic in my cupboards lessening. My husband is having withdrawals!
• If we do have a processed food: bread, crackers, chips, etc. I try to limit it to one product per day.
• We did without store bought sweets/cookies this week. I didn't buy any!
• I contacted Enjoy Life Foods about plastic packaging.

SUMMARY:

Week 1 Total - 52 items, 13 oz

Week 2 Total - 59 items, 18 oz

Week 3 Total - 44 items, 14.1 oz

Week 4 Total - 50 items, 17.9 oz

Week 5 Total - 37 items, 12 oz

Week 6 Total - 61 items, 25 oz

GOALS:

• Source local honey in my own refillable jars.
• Make homemade crackers.
• Make another batch baby wipe solution (baby care post to come)

I CHALLENGE YOU TO TRY TO THINK OUTSIDE THE PLASTIC BOX THIS WEEK!

Under Where?

Ha! I made you say underwear!

While attending a friend's baby shower recently an interesting topic arose. It was 95 degrees and outdoors. I was perspiring; it was more than just gentle glistening. A like minded friend reached over to touch the fabric I was wearing inquisitively and said, "Polyester?" Then she quickly followed up by stating, "Of course not." While I was enjoying wearing my Patagonia organic cotton skirt I was continuing to perspire profusely.

My friend continued the conversation by asking if I knew a source to locate a cotton half slip. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks...not plastic ones. The layer closest to my skin was synthetic! I was wearing a ankle length half slip that was made from PLASTIC! How could I forget the layer that I let closest to my skin? Then my mind moved quickly to the other "unmentionable" pieces of my wardrobe. It became clear to me that I had some plastic free shopping to do. My slip was out!

While in St. Louis last week I visited a couple thrift stores and the half slip I was looking for I just happened upon..unbelievable! I found a 100% cotton half slip for $1.00 US. I tucked it into my reusable Ecolution shopping bag and went on my way.

I'll need another slip in a shorter length and color. I decided to look for some DIY ideas and came across Sewaholic blog by Tasia for version 1 and version 2. I would choose cotton fabric of course. 

Show Your Plastic Challenge: Week 5

WEEK 5 SHOW YOUR PLASTIC CHALLENGE

 TOTAL – 37 PIECES, 12 OZ

Finally…a reduction in volume of our plastic waste, small but good.

Show Your Plastic - Week 5

Since we didn’t ‘clean house’ at the beginning of July of our accumulated plastic but continue to use what was on hand, plastic is going to continue to filter in as the year progresses. With my pregnancy and the birth of our third child in May I allowed myself to cling to gluten free, allergy friendly convenience foods for a while. My husband was carrying the cooking load for a while and for that I'm so grateful.

Entering the second month, I’ve now discovered the ugly truth that trying to change too many things too quickly can lead to burnout. I want to make sustainable changes in our family that we can make part of our lifestyle rather than create fads that will quickly fade. One example of a failed plastic free attempt was making homemade dog food. After making all of our own gluten/soy/egg/dairy free foods from scratch, making dog food at 9:00 pm is not exactly an enjoyable task. After looking at my plastic free priorities I’ve decided to investigate other alternatives for pet food.

"Sometimes we have to take a step back, take deep breath, and decide what should come first."

We try when possible to attend the local farmers markets. The Locally Grown market that we are members of is 60 miles away. They have a wide variety of produce available but we only get to the market about once a month. On one market visit I had an interesting experience. I had notified the growers & market managers that I would be bringing my own containers. While I kindly requested that some of my items not be packaged in plastic, my plans were thwarted. I sent my husband to pickup the order (it’s an online farmers market) with reusable bags and containers in tow, he was made to feel very uncomfortable.

“Are you going to cut those sausages out of the plastic package and put them in your pockets?”

he was asked by the market manager. The majority of the items were prepackaged in plastic bags (bell peppers, tomatoes, jalapeños). After being taunted he didn’t want to make a scene and quietly departed.

The next visit to the market, I was prepared to do just what the manager suggested, with container in hand. “What a great idea,” I’d say. “Thanks for thinking of it.” He will be holding the plastic bag. (Smile.) This from a group that encourages reusable bags for order pickups and encourages you to reuse your containers. Going against the grain becomes a norm when trying to go plastic free.

PLASTIC FREE PROGRESS:

• Discovered a way to keep produce stickers out of landfill, and my compost. Post to come soon.
• Homemade Gluten Free Rustic Morroccan Loaves have become a highly requested staple in our home. I found a allergen free baking cookbook that I love and have tried several of Cybele Pascal's recipes.

SUMMARY:

Week 1 Total - 52 items, 13 oz

Week 2 Total - 59 items, 18 oz

Week 3 Total - 44 items, 14.1 oz

Week 4 Total - 50 items, 17.9 oz

Week 5 Total - 37 items, 12 oz

GOALS:

• Continue to implement one plastic free change from the Grocery Substitution worksheet: homemade cookies. Can I convince my family to go without sweets/cookies when I haven't had an opportunity to bake for the next week? 
• Research any alternatives for pet food in recyclable packaging or find a way to reuse our pet food bags.
• Make batch of homemade laundry soap.

Hens Nest In the Strangest Places

Upon returning home from our trip we discovered a funny sight. The hens decided that my hanging basket was a comfortable nest to lay their eggs in. To top that one broody mama decided that her next clutch of eggs should be hatched in that same location.

What to do? We have a constant problem with predators. Left alone she would quickly become the next meal for a passerby raccoon, opossum, or snake. You name the animal. The idea arose to simply move the hanging basket at night, with her in the basket, onto a nail inside the chicken coop. Of course we could just move the entire nest and hen into a nesting box, but in the past the method has proved unsuccessful for us.

Without further ado, here she is...our Hen named Queen.

Hen Nesting in Hanging Flower Basket

Plastic Free Shopping: In the Waste Stream of Others

I grew up in what most people would consider a large family (in a modern sense). There were seven of us: Dad, Mom, four girls and one boy. Don't feel sorry for our brother, he held his own. We were very fortunate to have loving parents who stayed together faithfully, until our mothers death in 2011. Our mother was a wonderful homemaker and didn't work the majority of my childhood. She was very frugal out of necessity. She loved to shop at secondhand or thrift stores. To her it was almost like a scavenger hunt to find the hidden treasure. She would lie in wait for the next cart of treasure to come rolling out of the intake room like a cat waiting to pounce on its prey. The thought makes me smile.

I've recently begun re-living my mother's passion partly due to frugality but also as an excellent, eco-conscious endevour. When we give an item a second life we are able to keep plastic packaging out of the landfill. Living in the waste-stream of others is a very eco friendly habit. It certainly lessens our carbon footprint too.

I've been able to clothe our newborn son 90% of secondhand clothes all carefully chosen from natural fibers. No synthetic clothes for us! I keep an electronic list of the clothes in my children's current wardrobes to evaluate whether an item found is really needed or not. I need to work further on creating a minimalist wardrobe for each family member. In time that's a task I'll conquer.

To keep within our goal of minimalism for this year, I need to go secondhand shopping with a list otherwise my excitement can get out of control quickly. Plastic free purchases, yipyee! Reminder to self, we still want to limit our purchases to only absolute necessities. What can I live without?

Show Your Plastic Challenge - Plastic Free July Week 4

SHOW YOUR PLASTIC CHALLENGE - WEEK 4

TOTAL - TBD OUNCES

Our ugly evidence,

As I was contemplating my post for this week I realized that some of  you might be questioning my motive for undertaking this project. Why would anyone want to go to such effort to rid their life of something so pervasive & convenient as plastic? I (along with my four other siblings) lost my dear mother over three years ago to primary progressive multiple sclerosis. She died only two weeks after her 50th birthday. She was a lively, loving woman who inspired everyone around her.

WHY DO I MENTION OUR MOTHER IN THIS STORY?

She grew up during her childhood in the Love Canal subdivision in Niagra Falls, NY. For those of you who aren’t aware Love Canal was built on top of a toxic waste dump. While I cannot state that our Mother’s disease was a product of her childhood exposure to the toxic chemicals that surrounded her, I certainly question its involvement. It is obvious that we are a product of our environment. At the time of our Mother’s diagnosis, we had already been educating ourselves for some time on the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices: organic and whole foods, locavore eating, green living, homesteading, simple living. But this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It sent me into a mode of questioning everything.

WHO SAYS THAT PLASTIC WAS SAFE?

What impact will chemicals continue to have on my family? While I realize that many factors are out of my control – plastic consumption is one factor that can be somewhat controlled. Is ANY plastic really SAFE? While there is much debate on this subject, there exists a plethora of convincing evidence that shows, in even food grade plastics, toxins leach into our food. Think of these terms: BPA (bisphenol A), Phalates. Where does most virgin plastic come from? Fossil fuels. I don’t want my children becoming a product of someones experiment. An experiment that is later found to be harmful to its subjects. A discovery that would come too late. Therefore, I have chosen to become a mindful plastic consumer and limit our plastic consumption.

PLASTIC FREE PROGRESS:

• Completed the Grocery Substitution from Beth Terry’s book Plastic Free – How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too with ideas for plastic free substitutes of my top 13 grocery items. See my completed Grocery Substitution worksheet.
• Implemented two plastic free changes from the Grocery Substitution Worksheet: bread and cereal/granola. I felt brave enough to finally go without my gluten and soy free convenience foods and attempted the different task of learning how to bake again – this time, GLUTEN FREE. As I start to build a new collection of dependable gluten-free recipes I’ll share them with you.
• We have been traveling in our Airstream RV this week in St. Louis. We managed to keep away from all plastic drink bottles. However, upon arriving at our RV location we were dismayed to discover that a water pressure regulator was required due to high pressure. We didn't have any use for one prior and therefore didn't have one with us. Since water is a necessity we acquired the two largest pieces of #3 PVC plastic packaging you see in the photo. Bummer!
• I'll have to report back with weight of plastic consumed later this week upon returning home.

GOALS:

• Write to one company and suggest positive changes to reduce or eliminate plastic in their packaging.
• Grocery Substitution Worksheet: Make homemade gluten-free crackers.  

REMEMBER WE ARE WHAT WE EAT AND SOMETIMES THAT MIGHT MEAN CHEMICAL TOXINS FROM OUR PLASTIC ENVIRONMENT.

Should. Could. Would. Did!

Have you ever caught yourself saying "I could," or "If only," and then later wishing you had?

In today's fast paced world we are always in a hurry and we don't know why. We feel pushed from all sides. It can be easy to just go with the flow because we just want to keep up with "traffic" and before we realize it we are doing 80 mph. Our minds are going at that same speed and our bodies keep up for a while but eventually suffer from burnout. 

I was a go-getter in my 20s who was all about efficiency and productivity, not about rest and relaxation. To me rest or sleep was a waste of time. I did indeed sleep but didn't truly relax. Now in my 30s, I am learning how indeed to relax. I am determined to be about people and moments, not 'to do' lists and things. Life isn't just about what we accomplish, it is about the people we meet along the way and what we inspire them to do.

This year is about learning how to minimize our possessions, our obligations and our anxieties. Join us in discovering how often you can say,

"Should. Could. Would. Did!"

Chapter 3: Minimalism & Simple Living

As green living proliferated our daily lives we naturally chose to live without many products available in the marketplace. Did our quality-of-life decrease? Most definitely not. Instead with each change made, lessening our dependence on products and the number of possessions around us we felt more liberated.

My husband claims I was once an organized hoarder. Okay so maybe I was, clipping coupons and stacking items on the shelf that we wouldn't use for years to come. I love to organize: time, books, my dresser drawers. You name it, I've probably organized it. Down to the nuts, screws and bolts in my husbands shed. By the way, he was a hoarder too, except for the organized part. 

After years have gone by I am just finishing using up the items that I collected from my habits. I get quite a thrill using the last drop of product in the bottle. At the same time I am troubled from constantly shuffling all of the extra possessions around our home, needlessly using my time to move items from here to there, there to here to clean around them. Do you ever feel that your life is just about things? Mundane, unimportant things? Extra books, clothes, just plain old clutter?

Our changes in life style and interest  lead us to uncharted territory, the subject of minimalism. A topic I now adore. Why do we feel the absolute necessity to surround ourselves with excess? How much is really too much? I look forward to sharing our lessons learned and hearing yours!

Show Your Plastic Challenge - July Week 3 Update

WEEK 3 SHOW YOUR PLASTIC CHALLENGE

   TOTAL –  44 PIECES, 14.1 OZ

Plastic Free July - Week 3

Okay, so I thought that I was making some progress this week. My collection bag wasn’t overflowing on Friday and I was starting to feel some accomplishment. Then all at once – POOF! – it filled up and was spilling out. We made some accomplishments this week by choosing to be more mindful grocery shoppers. While we didn’t refuse all plastic free items yet, we did refuse to buy some of the gluten free grocery items that have been our regular purchases. We did limit our plastic purchases this week.

Without further ado, here are our pictures for this week…   

        Non-Recyclables  

        

Recyclables

                                                                              

Before I talk about our conclusions and goals for this week (i.e. problems) let’s talk about the progress that we were able to make this week (i.e. success). Accentuate the positive first, right?

PLASTIC FREE PROGRESS:

• Made 29 choices on Catalogchoice.org to refuse catalogs and choose to shop online if needed. Saved 1 tree, 329 lbs greenhouse gases, 117 lbs solid waste, and 789 gallons of water. WOW!
• Plastic Free Mindful Grocery Shopping Trip
• Researched new sources for recycling our waste (or even better do without them): aseptic milk containers, Tom’s of Maine toothpaste tubes, Plastic Bottle Caps
• Dropped of all #5 Plastic Containers at Whole Foods for Gimme 5 Preserve Recycling Program

SUMMARY:

Week 1 Totals – 52 items, 13 oz

Week 2 Totals – 59 items, 18 oz

Week 3 Totals – 44 items, 13.1 oz

At this rate our family will produce over 48 pounds of plastic garbage this year. Fourty-eight pounds of non-biodegradable refuse that will be on our planet FOREVER….

GOALS:

•  Complete a Grocery Substitution Worksheet from Beth Terry’s book Plastic Free – How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too with ideas for plastic free substitutes of my top 20 grocery items. From the pictures you can obviously see that the majority of our plastic waste is from food.
• Implement one or two plastic free changes from the Grocery Substitution Worksheet. I’m leaning toward bread and cereal this week.
• Focus on refusing convenience items. This week I slipped up several times. These were things that I forgot or was too embarrassed or just flat out too lazy to refuse. They shouldn’t have happened.

We must remind ourselves that it’s not possible to change everything at once. 

Inch by Inch = Cinch. Mile by Mile = Trial.

The Funny Farm Continued

Upon establishing the Funny Farm on our new homestead I realized that my limited knowledge of gardening and livestock husbandry left much to be desired. The small local newspaper is the go to for connecting with others in our rural community. Yes actual ink and paper! I was reading the paper regularly to learn about the community that we had newly joined. The 'back to the land' movement is still very strong in the community. Many people pride themselves in being off-grid and self sufficient. Again another daydream of our household..

I happened to stumble upon an advertisement of a local, organic gardener who was seeking help in exchange for produce and plants. This being only a few months after moving into our new home. I accepted her invitation to work. The arrangement proved to be a small scale CSA - Community Supported Agriculture. I gained a wealth of knowledge by being willing to exchange my time & energy. I learned about native plants and the local growing season while being introduced to like minded individuals. 

One of my first plants that I enjoyed from the CSA was echinacea. It is beautiful in our garden from May to July each year.

My gardening mentor lives a very simple, minimalist lifestyle. I love how contented she is with basic things: eating mostly wild foods foraged and produce grown by their household, trading for things desired or needed with their surplus produced. Both husband and wife support themselves with crafts: wood carving and weaving. I am fortunate to have wooden carved spoons and a hemp woven piece made by my mentor and her husband. 

When living such a simple life, minimal income is required. Truly "when your eye is simple, the whole body will be bright." This is an idea that has much appeal. They are not slaves to their work to support a consumption based lifestyle. They do what they love and enjoy it. It is simple and fulfilling.

I seek everyday to ask myself the question, "Is my life simple or cluttered?"

Plastic Free Grocery Shopping - Possible?

The day began at 9:00 am as we loaded our family of five into the Toyota Prius, three car seats in the back. The 100 mile journey to reach our first destination is our norm to acquire our allergy friendly, natural foods.

Obtaining groceries for a family of five minus plastic packaging is not easy but with some thought is possible. Our favorite first stop is Dempsey Bakery in Little Rock, a gluten free bakery that specializes in allergy friendly foods. The owner Paula Dempsey is always willing to accommodate my plastic free requests filling my bags with delicious gluten, egg, dairy, soy and nut free products. I crave the death by chocolate layer cake. After the recent birth of our son, my husband had an entire cake delivered to my room from Dempsey's Bakery.

Dempsey Bakery - Plastic Free Display
My Favorite "Everyone's Bread"

By choosing to shop at local specialty stores we are able to obtain higher quality products from business owners who commonly are willing to accommodate our plastic free packaging requests. 

In some cities, packaging free grocers are popping up such as In.gredients in Austin Texas. I love the business model of these establishments. It just makes sense. Packaging used to be designed to be reused for another purpose instead of immediately disposed of. Eliminating this source of modern waste should make the producer more profitable. 

While we have farmers markets, bakeries, butchers, cheese shops, etc. that we can purchase directly from to minimize plastic packaging, we don't yet enjoy a entirely bulk, packaging free grocer.

After a day of store hopping, our last stop to end the day is Whole Foods. By this time, 8:00 pm, my brain is exhausted. The synapses that recognize plastic packaging have shorted out. I asked the kids to be on the look out to remind me if I pick up any plastic packaging. We selected our produce. I brought my reusable containers to the butcher counter. We combed the aisles carefully with my four year old catching my hand putting something blacklisted in the cart. Then I realize that I want to purchase Applegate Farms lunch meat for our upcoming trip. I cannot have the deli counter slice and package without plastic due to cross contamination on the slicer. What to do? Pre-packaged portions? This is one convenience food We are not ready to give up yet. My husband began conversing with the man behind the counter, "Why not purchase the entire  unopened package of meat and freeze it in portions?" The individually packaged portions would certainly amount to a lot more packaging. Should I do it? It seems obsessive to walk away with a huge stick of pepperoni - 3.5 pounds. But I did it. Applegate Pepperoni will be enjoyed in our house almost packaging free for some time. An added bonus, the clerk took off a lot of weight for a packaging discount. When it was all said and done, we saved 22% by thinking out of the box and eliminating packaging.

After our pepperoni triumph, I requested a couple smoothies to made fresh to drink on our late night travel home. When they were handed to me in two plastic cups complete with lids and straws I was slapped in the face with my lapse in memory. It was too late, I had forgotten. After all of my efforts throughout the day my tiredness got the better of me.

Make Plastic Water Bottles Extinct!

One part of our family's plastic free daily routine is our reusable water bottles. It is one part that we have down pat!  See our weekly plastic free update for this week here. Plastic water bottles are extinct in our family. Each person is accountable for their own Kleen Kanteen bottle - all the way down to the four year old. They have different color lids to distinguish whose bottle is whose.

Kleen Kanteen Reusable Bottles

When the plastic free version of Kleen Kanteen's product came out, I immediately ordered two. We had been using Swiss made Sigg bottles but I learned about the questionable lining that was used in the inside coating of the bottle and chose to discontinue our use. Goodbye Sigg, hello Kleen Kanteen.

Our local water source is not the most tasty - we filter our water. When we're out for a long day we will sometimes stop at a filtered water station for refillable gallon bottles and refill our individual water bottles. To the children it is a fun experience. They ask, "Can I refill my jug?" It makes me smile every time. 

With my clumsiness, the bottles have been dropped a few times ( okay maybe more than a few) but minus a few small dents, they are unharmed. It just adds character, right? At times if I have left my bottle somewhere I've been known to grab any glass jar to carry around with me. Repurpose a glass pasta sauce or peanut butter jar. Whatever you have available instead of buying a disposable water bottle. Who really knows what chemical compounds are lurking in the water you are about to consume. 

Think it over. You are what you eat or drink.

Show Your Plastic Challenge - Plastic Free July Week 2

SHOW YOUR PLASTIC CHALLENGE 

Plastic Free July Week 2

July Week 2 - 18 ounces,  59 items

Week 2 of our Show Your Plastic Challenge has come to a close and I have now realized that July will not be plastic free for our family of five. We continue to be swimming in a plastic sea of garbage. This week sees an increase in weight and volume of plastic items that we consumed from items already purchased. However, it has certainly raised our awareness of the amount of plastic we continue to consume despite our efforts to cut back. I am looking at each purchase through different eyes - those of a prudent consumer. By the end of the month I hope to see less convenience foods in the weekly count. 

Both of the older children participated in the tally and were inspired to 'play with the trash' by upcycling some of the plastic into robots. Today was a no television day for our family - proof that with a little imagintion (and less over stimulation) anything can become a toy.

Plastic Free Progress:

We are now using baking soda with a few drops of tea tree essential oil for our deodorant. It works like a charm. It is applied using a circular pad that I crocheted from yarn I made from upcycled t-shirts. One less plastic health & beauty product to purchase and consume.

Summary:

July Week 1 - 13 ounces, 52 items

July Week 2 - 18 ounces, 59 items

Goals:

We are preparing for a week away from home and tomorrow will be traveling the 250 miles round trip to gather our groceries for the next few weeks. While most of you could be dining out plastic free while away from home, our family is not safely able to do so due to food allergies. A small kitchen and some groceries must travel along with us. We take to the road in an Airstream bunkhouse. Tight quarters but we love it.  We find ourselves outdoors more enjoying the sunshine. 

I am going challenge myself to avoid any single use disposables during our travels. Each member of our family already carries a Kleen Kanteen water bottle daily. Where I get tripped up is forgetting our metal straws & bamboo utensils. Can we do it?

Remember small steps add up to BIG changes. Until next week...