Trash Tally: 8/3 - 10/3

Since getting rid of our trash can after the last trash tally posts we have been collecting the little garbage we produce in this 16oz mason jar.

{2 Months worth of household trash}

Trash Count: Day 29

Here's what's in our home trash count after 29 days:

- 1 bandaid

- 1 deflated blister pack

- 1 empty bottle of aftershave

- 1 Mi Pueblo shopping bag (we brought home from camping to transport a dirty pan because we forgot our pot scrubber)

- 1 broken flashlight

- 1 flower preserver packet (with a beautiful bouquet for flowers from a friend wrapped in paper with a rafia bow)

- 1 plastic sleeve liner from incense (I thought it was just wrapped in recycled paper)

- 1 gum pack wrapper (a favor a party)

- 1 lollypop wrapper (on a gift from a friend)

- 2 quarters sleeves from the bank (we have coin laundry)

- 2 hot sause packets (we needed breakfast burritos ;)

- 1 plastic ring from either yogurt or some other jarred food

I see a theme here, yes plastic! We both try not to throw anything away all of the time, but we're not crazy strict either. We reuse and recycle as much as possible too.

Trash Count: Day 19

Like the previous weekend, I went on a trip and produced some trash. This time it was camping but my husband and I did our best effort to shop zero waste for that trip, use reusables as much as we could and reuse disposables. We also went to a pool party where we shared a paper plate, drank to beer in glass bottles and used a plastic cup a few times for beverages. For the most part I feel ok about the waste we produced this past weekend. 

Here's what's in our home trash count:

- 1 bandaid

- 1 deflated blister pack

- 1 empty bottle of aftershave

- 1 Mi Pueblo shopping bag (we brought home from camping to transport a dirty pan because we forgot our pot scrubber)

- 1 broken flashlight

- 1 flower preserver packet (with a beautiful bouquet for flowers from a friend wrapped in paper with a rafia bow)

- 1 plastic sleeve liner from incense (I thought it was just wrapped in recycled paper)

- 1 gum pack wrapper (a favor from a party)

- 1 lollypop wrapper (on a gift from a friend)

- 2 quarters sleeves from the bank (we have coin laundry)

Trash Count: Day 14

In our trash after 14 days of we have 3 items. 2 of which I'm still not convinced are trash. 

- 1 bandaid
- 1 deflated blister pack 
- 1 empty bottle of aftershave

They came from...
- bandaid, we are using all the bandaids we have already bought. We'll move to cotton gauze and paper tape when we're out.
- blister pack, I compulsively bought a new one piece bathing suit on sale online. It came in a plastic shipping envelope inside another plastic bag next to a plastic blisterpack. Such wasteful and excessive packaging for a bathing suit and it's not even flattering! (note to self: don't do that again!) I am reusing the two bags that's why they aren't part of this count.
- aftershave, that's my husbands. He used up this last bottle and decided he doesn't need aftershave anymore. Score!

I want to add that this is our trash from our home only. I did go out of town over the weekend with a group of friends and produced some trash. I used my own jars and bags for everything I brought but was not in control of what others brought and used. I did my part to be zero waste but was in a house that ended up throwing a way a few bags of trash. It was a good learning experience to see how 'normal' it is to be wasteful and to know it could have been largely avoided was hard.

Trash Count: Day 9

At this point we don't produce much trash at all. Part of moving towards a zero waste lifestyle is examining what you do end up throwing away and ultimately sending to a landfill. 

As an experiment I'm going to keep tabs on the trash we collect in our home. My husband usually halls down our giant trash can to the curb about once every 4 months. Lately I think it's been less then that, so this is an experiment to watch our trash a bit more closely. 

After 9 days the only piece of trash we've produced in our home is a piece of plastic packing tape that I received from a USPS box in the mail for my Mother's Day gifts.

{Used packing tape}

I was pretty positive that this indeed was trash and not recyclable but as part of my ongoing research I scoured the internet trying to find answers. Turns out that the tape is recyclable after all(sort of, recycling includes incinerating plastic and adhesive residue which is a recycling byproduct, not ideal!). This reduces our 9 day trash count to 0, that magical number. I'll keep you posted on what actually does end up in the bin headed to landfill.

Zero Waste: Grocery Shopping

There are several easy ways to reduce your waste. I realized quickly that much of our waste originates in the kitchen and eliminating waste before it enters the home through zero waste grocery shopping could make a sizable impact. I researched online for tips on waste free shopping, many of which I learned from the Zero Waste Home blog. Bringing our own containers, bulk and produce bags seemed like a big step. Gearing up for that first shopping trip took a mentality shift but was so intriguing that I knew I had to give it a try! 

This is how I prepped for that trip: I had two plastic Tupperware containers, a few mesh produce bags (had been using for a while) and a reusable canvas tote. I also did a ton of research to pepare but still had so many 'what ifs' whirling in my mind. 

What if - they flat out said no?
What if - everyone looked at me like I was insane?
What if - I lose the nerve at the last second?

I silenced the chatter in my head and went for it. Then, as I first asked for chicken thighs in my own container I got a burst of adrenaline. I felt like I could do anything. After checkout I walked out of the grocery store feeling proud and I couldn't wait until my husband got home from work to tell him about it. 

It's been about a year and a half since that first shopping trip and we haven't looked back. My husband and I usually do our grocery shopping together and we don't think about how we 'used' to shop anymore. We just understand that if we're not prepared to shop then we shouldn't be inside a store. This mentality has made us much more organized. We come prepared with a shopping list and we stick to it which saves us time and money. We bring the containers and bags just for what we need and leave the rest at home. 

Here is how we do our less waste grocery shopping:

1. Make a list. We talk to each other and figure out what we are out of and what we need (usually with specific recipes in mind).

2. Gather supplies. Our usual shopping supplies look a little something like this:

• 2 - 3 Reusable tote bags for carrying everything
• A few glass jars for wet items such as meat, cheese, peanut butter and olives. We use various sizes of Le Parfet jars, they're durable, clear and not plastic. If buying wet items in bulk (not behind meat counter for instance) then you'll have to weigh your jar to get the tare so the weight of the jar gets subtracted at check out. They can weigh jars at customer service, bring a water soluble crayon to write weight on the lid.
• A few produce bags. We use green mesh bags by Blue Avocado.
• A few bulk drawstring bags. I made mine out of flour sack towels because I love to sew but I have also seen them in the bulk section for sale at Whole Foods.
• Water soluble crayon to write tare weight on jars and bulk bin numbers on my bulk bags 
• Deposit items, such as clean Straus milk bottles, Revive kombucha bottles and St. Benoit yogurt jars. These products charge a deposit when purchased that is then refunded to you once you bring it back. 

3. Head to the store with your supplies for shopping.

4. Stick to the list. It's easy to get side tracked just know you aren't going to buy anything that has packaging.

5. At checkout refuse the receipt, it probably has BPA on it anyway.

{Produce and meat purchased with our reusables}

Organically Dyed Easter Eggs

About a month ago while browsing PopSugar SmartLiving I stumbled upon a posting about all natural alternatives to traditional Easter egg dyeing.

{Eco Chic: Naturally dye Easter eggs with Leftovers}

After reading the article my wheels started to turn, thinking about what else I could use to dye eggs. I planned on sharing this activity with our 20 month old niece (this was the first Easter she was able to hunt for eggs) it was important for these eggs to be bright, colorful and non-toxic for her to enjoy. 

I had a rough list of ingredients in my head as I headed to the local farmers market in hunt for items that could serve double duty: package-free edibles that could be both conusumed and used for dye. The farmers market in Larkspur had an Easter theme that day which included a kids craft for (you guessed it =) natural egg dyeing with items available at the farmers market! I got so excited when I saw their display that I began asking the ladies running the craft tons of questions. They were sweet, informative and I could tell they were really happy to talk to someone over the age of six. =) The gist of what they told me is just to boil the ingredient of choice with two cups of water for less then an hour. Once the mixture is cool add a splash of white vinegar to set the color. Also, these dyes are weaker then their unsafe counterparts so for brighter colors the eggs should stay in the dye for longer. Farmers market purchases in tow, I headed to the store for a few more 'zero waste' ingredients then home to experiment. 

{Farmers Market Kids Craft}

At home I had fun concocting the dyes and testing out the colors. I hard boiled six eggs and blew out the insides of the remaining so that my sister wasn't stuck with a dozen hard boiled eggs! To add interest through negative designs I tied rubber bands around some and zigzag strips of sticker labels on others. Here are the dyes I tried:

• Red Wine
• Yellow Onion Skins
• Turmeric 
• Purple Cabbage
• Turmeric + Purple Cabbage

The experiments results surprised me a bit. Red Wine, thinking it would make a red or purple egg made an interesting grey marbled egg resembling stone. Yellow onion skins produced a rich golden orange hue. Turmeric made bright yellow. Purple cabbage turned the eggs a beautiful cyan color then the turmeric and cabbage dye made a green.

{The finished product on my sisters spring time table-scape}

On Easter, my husband hid the eggs for our niece to find. It was a precious sight watching her roam around the yard, even though she found just one egg ;)

{Success!}

Zero Waste Impromptu BBQ

A few weeks ago my husband and I planned a day hike with some friends up to the Tourist Club. Afterword we decided to have everyone over for an impromptu BBQ. We needed food and beer so I knew I better act fast to avoid all the waste that usually comes with a party, especially an unplanned last minute one! I volunteered to go on a food and beer run with my friend Reny, she was happy to help out!

I quickly grabbed a few jars, produce bags, shopping bag and our two beer growlers. We hopped in the car and were on our way. We swung by Mill Valley Market, first stop was the meat counter. I asked the butcher to fill up my large jar with chicken thighs and a smaller jar with ground chuck, he happily obliged. Next we needed buns for the burgers, I filled my bread sack with rolls available in bulk. Then over to produce, I filled my produce bag with fresh corn and picked up a watermelon for dessert. Once we got to the check out line I showed Reny my jars-o-meat (she was Instagraming while we were racing around so I knew she didn't notice me asking the butcher to place the goods in my jars) she looked at it and said "Woah, that's awesome! Did they give you a discount, because they should?!" I said "No, no discount but that would be nice, haha." 

We checked out then headed down the street to Mill Valley Beerworks. We filled both growlers that we brought with our favorite, 'Sweetwater Kolsch.' The entire trip took a total of 20 minutes door-to-door. Our friends couldn't believe how fast we were and I was happy that we were able to do a full on Zero Waste shopping trip on the fly! 

The party was a success. We drank beer, wine,(refilled bottles of course!) grilled and even played charades. A good time was had by all! =)

{Reny and I enjoying the Tourist Club}

Hello Blogosphere! This is my first post on the Gennarator Blog. On this blog I plan to share my explorations, creativity, tips and life events. I welcome comments and idea sharing. 

All the best,
Gennarator