Make Your Own

I've stumbled across lots and lots of posts and websites with various recipes and directions for making your own versions of things you would normally just go out and buy.  It's the perfect way to lessen your impact on the environment and your pocketbook. Most of these are also better for your health. While i haven't tried a lot of these yet myself, if you feel so inspired, now you know where to look!

Food
- Tortilla Chips
- Refried Beans
- Salad Dressing
- Almond Milk
- Sprouted Granola
- Popcorn (in case you weren't sure how to do it the old fashioned way)
- Crackers
- Granola Bars (vegan)
- Bread
- Butter
- Yogurt
- Tofu

Cleaning
A great post with several recipes here.
- Laundry Soap

Personal Products
- Toothpaste
- Lotion
- Shampoo
- Toilet "Paper" - for all you radicals out there
- Feminine Pads
- Hairspray and Mouthwash
- Castile Soap
- Liquid Hand Soap

Other
- Reusable Tote Bag (out of used plastic grocery sacks!)
- Baby Wipes

Another Plastic Evil

I just watched this video and read this great post about how plastic is recycled.  I really found it shocking, but after a moment's thought, I wasn't really shocked at all.  Of course our recycling is getting shipped off to China and creating toxic fumes.  Ugh.  Of course it is.  Every convenience we have here in the western world is at someone's expense it seems. (This video is about the UK, but i have read elsewhere that this certainly is happening in the US.) 

Cutting back the plastic completely seems nearly impossible for me, but here are some ideas:

- Buy things in bulk or just simply the option with less packaging. (bring your own container to the bulk bin!)
- Choose salad dressing, sauces, spices, juice and anything else in glass.
- Choose concentrated detergents, powdered detergent or you could try making your own!
- Bring reusable bags to the store of course!
- Bring your own mug for coffee. disposable coffee cups have a plastic lining and usually a plastic lid.
- Let your fruit roll around in the cart rather than in a plastic bag.
- Bring used or reusable bags for produce and bulk items.
- Stop drinking bottled water and bottled soda (bottled water apparently isn't any better for you than tap!)
- Bring your own plates and cutlery when you are going somewhere that will have disposables: potluck, picnic, etc. (most paper plates are lined with plastic)

- Choose bar soap instead of liquid.
- Choose reusable whenever possible!

Check out these great blogs by people who are trying to reduce their plastic consumption:

• Fake Plastic Fish
  
• Life Less Plastic
  
• Living Plastic Free
  

Adventures in Reusing

Recently, I have become obsessed with trying to research and think up items that i can reuse and how i could do it. Once you start thinking of one item in your life to replace with something reusable (like maybe shopping bags) you start to realize just how many things in our culture are disposable. So, for me, finding ways to reuse and recycle has become important for several reasons. Often, it can be a huge money saver. who really wants to spend money on something they're only going to use once? nobody, right? but we do it all the time. It's also, quite obviously, better for the environment and allows me to feel good about the fact that my everyday actions are more purposeful. often the reusable replacements are much more attractive. real plates are much better looking than paper, for instance. so, here are some things to consider when it comes to reusing instead of disposing:

Clothing

For all you crafty ladies out there, how about refashioning items of clothing:
Little Brown Dress Recycling Project
Wardrobe Refashion:Flickr
Wardrobe Refashion '07
or taking unwanted items to the consignment store ($$$) or donating.

Bags!

My favorite so far is the one i just bought at Trader Joe's - $1.99 (it's cute, not plain canvas and no hawaiian flowers)
or make a reusable bag out of disposable ones http://modcottage.com/?p=109 (this one seems like it could be fun, even if you're not really the crafty type - no sewing involved)
i've also had my eye on these babies - so compact, sturdy and perfect, but i don't have the cash.
oh and i just discovered today that save mart deducts 5 cents for every reusable bag you use. not a huge cash savings, but still!

Hankerchiefs/Cloth Napkins

i think hankerchiefs are lovely. i have one that belonged to my grandmother and i love it. though i don't have any allergies and very rarely have cause to blow my nose, i have started carrying a little napkin/hankerchief for drying my hands in a public restroom, using in place of paper napkins, or any other little instances you would normally grab something disposable for - and i love it! quite convenient and much more attractive and elegant than kleenex and scratchy paper napkins.

Towels

I have gone off of paper towels completely and it's been so great! cloth kitchen towels and rags are actually much easier to use. they never fall apart on me and they are much more aesthetically pleasing (ok, maybe the rags aren't always) but i love using them. washing them is no big deal, it's not like they take up a lot of space in your laundry basket or washing machine. and if you use natural cleaners, you don't have to worry about throwing them in with the rest of the laundry. plus, if they are 100% cotton, you can always compost them if you've cleaned up something unmentionally disgusting. so, this one is easy, not to mention CHEAPER!

Water Bottles

Bottled water isn't necessarily cleaner or better for you. i just purchased a water filter pitcher (though maybe i faucet mounted filter would have been a better choice) but still, i really like not spending money on water all the time, not filling up our kitchen with empty bottles, and never feeling like we're "out of water"

Swiffer

I've never been a huge fan of the swiffer, though i do own one. i would just like to point out that there are wonderful alternatives that aren't so expensive and wasteful. microfiber dusting mops work just the same, or you can go old school and just use a broom and dust pan or you can find a microfiber cover to convert your swiffer here.

Also...

i've started using glass containers for storing food (plastics can leach chemicals) and gotten rid of the disposable type plastic containers ( i.e. ziploc, gladware)

i've never purchased a toilet brush with a disposable head or other bathroom scrubbers and now i realize how silly and expensive that would be!

things like aluminum foil and ziploc bags can be washed and reused.
even water can be reused. try collecting the water in the shower while it warms up and using it for something else, like watering the plants, soaking some dishes or mopping the floor.

items i have yet to change:

coffee filters - perhaps i should use the metal one that came with the coffee maker, i've been told that your coffee will actually taste better anyway.
razors- i have one where i can replace just the head, but how about this one that's made with recycled plastic and can be recycled?
my toothbrush - you can actually get one with a replaceable head, or at least this one that can be mailed back and recycled
toilet paper - this one seems rather radical and interesting, i suppose it would save some cash.

photo courtesy of verdammelt on flickr

Recycling

YEAH - RECYCLING!! i know that there are plenty of you out there who don't really know how the program works here in modesto. a few people have asked me recently. so, i'd like to tell you about that and then talk about some more creative ways to recycle more than just your bottles and cans in another post. But first...
Recycling in Modesto is EASY!
Here in Modesto, there is a blue bag program. What this means is that all of your recyclables can be put into the blue colored plastic shopping bags that you receive from local super markets (save mart, o'brien's, richland) tied closed and thrown in your black can with your household garbage.


What Goes in the Blue Bag for Recycling, You Ask?

Tin, Steel & Aluminum Cans:
Labels are okay. Crushing cans saves space
Aluminum cans, aluminum foil trays and pie plates, foil products Empty and lightly rinse
Plastic Bottles & Jars:
Soda, water, milk jugs, soda bottles, and plastic bottles with a "neck"
Plastics numbered 1 through 7
Remove any bottle caps which are not recyclable
Labels are okay
Crush or flatten to save space
Empty and lightly rinse
Glass Bottles & Jars:
Leave the lid off and put it into the blue bag
Empty and lightly rinse
Do not break the bottles and jars
Newspapers, Brown Bags, Cardboard & Other Clean Paper:
Newspapers, brown paper bags, telephone books, magazines, mixed paper, junk mail, computer paper, and cardboard
Remove cardboard box liners
Flatten cardboard boxes

Also, I think a lot of people don't know this, but food waste can be put in your green bin with your yard waste and will be composted by the city.
In The Green Cans
Place all grass, plant clippings, and leaves in the can and
Brush, tree limbs less than 4' long and 6" in diameter as well as,
Acceptable food waste items:
Table Scraps
Vegetable and Fruit Peelings
Meat, Bones, and Fish
Egg Shells
Solid Dairy Products
Coffee Grounds
Breads and Toast
Paper Waste (Napkins, towels, plates, coffee filters, tea bags, etc.)
(no Recyclables,no Kitty Litter,no Plastics,no Food Containers or Packaging,no Liquids)

for more tips on recycling, visit Alina over at Confessions of a Closet Environmentalist

so, get up and pay your kitchen garbage can a little visit and see what treasures you can find to recycle. or, if that's too gross, just start paying attention to what you throw away from now on. you'll be amazed at what a difference it makes. we used to have to take the garbage out several times a week. now, since we've been separating out our recyclables and our compostable waste (as well as cloth diapering and trying to purchase products with less packaging) we only take out one rather small bag per week! this makes brian happy as he is the one who makes the brave journey to the garbage can in the alley. so, GO FORTH AND RECYCLE, IT'S EASY!

P.S. if you are a cheap skate you can also take your various drink containers to drop off locations (sometimes i go to the one on oakdale by raley's and wamu) to get your CRV refund ($$)

photo from .Delight on flickr