Zero Waste Holidays: this time for sure ;)

No, no. I am not crazy: I do not support holiday decorations being displayed at my local hardware store since September...

Nonetheless, the holidays are around the corner and my hardware store did remind me that last December, I vouched to be pro-active for this year's gift exchange. And that included letting those who will be exchanging with us know that we prefer experiences vs. more stuff. It seems early, but letting them know before they even had a chance to gather/buy objects for us, is key and all part of the “master plan” ;).

Here are some ideas, worth considering this holiday season:

GIFTS

-Offering "Experiences" in the form of a gift certificate or actual ticket, such as:

Classes at the local community college to develop a new interest

Movie ticket

Theme park season pass

Museum pass

Bowling night

Hotel night

Meal at a new restaurant

Treat to an ice cream parlor

My favorite for our kids: A year long subscription to a monthly surprise family activity (activities that I have in mind for the year, depending on our finances, include: kayaking, overnight at hotel with pool, ice skating, hiking to an overnight refuge, trampoline or indoor climbing center, science museum, gold panning in the mountains, crabbing, fishing, overnight on a houseboat, backpacking and overnight in the wilderness, fruit picking, sledding, overnight in a fire lookout, etc...) UPDATE: We call them SFA and inform you of our SFA of the month thru Twitter.

-Offering Services (your time) in the form of coupons, such as:

Professional expertise (I can offer simplifying and decluttering services for example)

Hand labor (planting a tree, painting a room for a new baby, fixing a deck, lawn mowing)

Babysitting

Services are great for kids to give (one sibling could take another sibling's chore for a period of time)

-Offering consumables in a reusable jar (to simplify, pick one project and make a large quantity):

Homemade cookies, cake mix, herbal tea, jam, pickles, sugar/salt scrub, balm, lemoncello, toothpowder (with recipe attached)

Or a bulk item (cornichons, olives, maple syrup, toffee pecans, chocolate malt balls).

Homemade candles, soap, and paper are also great “out of the jar” alternatives.

-Shopping your home: Regifting (and there is nothing wrong with that!) or giving something you already own when you know for a fact that the recipient will appreciate it. I have a dedicated drawer for that purpose, it gets filled and used all year long.

-Buying used at a thrift store or on Ebay. For the latter, make sure that the item is used by checking the “pre-owned” option in your Ebay search.

-Using the smallest gifts and bulk treats to fill stockings instead of stuffers.

-Selecting gifts that tighten family bonds (family “experiences” or used board games for example).

-Greening Santa: Santa brings only one gift per family member. It comes unwrapped because Santa cares about the environment and his gift is easily spotted among the other (family) wrapped presents. The benefits of the “one special present” go beyond the obvious...equality among children of different financial background, modesty, smaller wish lists, less stress on Santa!

-Avoiding the mall until January: Not only better for your carbon footprint (driving, new stuff purchased), but also your sanity, stress level, creativity and wallet. Challenge yourself to do without!

GIFT WRAPPING:

-Purchasing or making reusable gift bags from fabric scraps (or redesigned lone socks and pillowcases) sends out a green message to your recipient. The attached tie also eliminates the need for a loose ribbon.

-Purchasing or making Furoshiki squares (28x28) and learning some easy-to-follow tricks on how to artfully wrap in fabric. The elaborate knots and tucks also eliminates the need for a loose ribbon

-Using a gift to wrap another. A t-shirt, a sweater, a kitchen towel can wrapped just about anything and serve a double duty (a gift and wrapper in one).

-Reusing what you already have, if lacking the previous wrapping alternatives: Papers from your recycling bin (your kids can quickly paint some designs on them), children's artwork, a washed meat wrapper, newspaper or paper bag if you are still allowing these into your home ;).

-Using leaves as gift tags or anything in your recycling bin that can be cut into a small rectangle.

DECORATION:

-Reusing a potted plant that you already have or purchasing one that can become your yearly alternative to the Christmas tree. I use a tall topiary. The first year, it seemed odd (an adjustment), now we can't imagine going back to regular trees.

-Vouching to not buy yet another ornament. We rediscover our holiday decorations every year when we unpack our dedicated crate, and we always have enough!

-Making consumable decorations such as a homemade gingerbread house (with treats available in bulk) or a string of popcorn as garland (feeding it to the birds after the holidays, thanks to Dori and Val for the suggestion) for as long as the kids enjoy participating in the making.

-Using seasonal whole fruit, whole vegetables, yard clippings or leaves to adorn the table.

CARDS:

-Emailing your holiday wishes. Last year, I made plantable cards (it took me a week of work and lots of stamps), this year I will email our wishes. It's the thought and the content of the message that counts.

-Sending the cards that you do receive for reuse (as mentioned last year) to St. Jude's Ranch Card Recycling, 100 St. Jude Street, Boulder City, NV 89005. It supports a good cause too!

-Choosing recycled and recyclable materials, if you do choose to send out a card. Keep in mind that photo paper is not recyclable.

TRADITIONS:

-Supporting your Zero Waste efforts with meaningful traditions vs. the wasteful, stressful and complicated activities of the season (Zero Waste not being just about stuff management).

-Being kind to yourself by simplifying your traditions: Consider less cooking, using your everyday china and glasses if your fancy set requires hand-washing, eating out, going for a hike if weather allows.

-Being kind to others by:

1 - Being kind to yourself,

2 - Freeing a parking spot by avoiding the mall ;)

3 - Applying “Acts of Kindness” to your holiday season: participate in a homeless soup kitchen, sing carols in your neighborhood, write a Thank You card to someone whose services you appreciate (your friendly baker for ex.?)...

To hear more about Zero Waste Holidays thru a thick french accent (I hope Santa will think of getting me an accent reduction class), you can check out my recent podcast on More Hip than Hippie.

I dream of having more than an "almost Zero Waste" Christmas. With simplifying and adequate preparation, I truly believe that my dream can come true. Last year, I dreaded the season, this year I feel ready and excited to face it! Bring it on!

Any more ideas to reduce waste during this coming holiday season?

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What about Halloween?

I received a few emails and comments asking how we plan to celebrate Halloween. Frankly, I really have a hard time with Halloween. I like the activities, but in a perfect world, the celebration would be a non-commercial, waste-free, treasure-sharing (see “treasures” below), costume festival, that I would fully support. Until then...

Our kids are still at an age where they want to share the fun with their friends and join them in trick-or-treating. And yet, I want to keep the tradition as sustainable as possible. But how? When in doubt, I apply the obvious rule: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot. After discussing an approach with the kids, here is the plan that we came up with:

REFUSE:

-Plastic toys or favors when trick-or-treating, the kids will pick recyclable or compostable items instead.

REDUCE:

-Instead of doing a whole neighborhood, we plan to trick-or-treat one street. It helps being invited to a party before or after to reduce time spent going door to door.

REUSE:

-Costumes: Coming up with a homemade outfit is our first choice but it is also a challenge in a minimalist home (probably the only downside of living with less). When we strike-out of ideas, we go to the thrift store, and on the spot choose or make up a costume. I expect thrift shops to be most busy this time of year!

By the way, I am not crazy about dressing up for Halloween: I have enough fun reinventing my wardrobe everyday of the year ;)

-As you would expect, we keep our decorating minimal (What can I say: I did not grow up with this tradition), with just a few tiny pumpkins that I make into a soup the next day and serve sprinkled with its roasted seeds.

-We plan to participate in the Halloween Candy Buy Back for the non-recyclable treats, this year for the first time. This is the most motivating program I have found for my 2 boys to give away their candy;)

RECYCLE:

- When possible, the kids will choose treats in cardboard: Dots, Milk Duds, Nerds or Raisins (but I doubt that we'll run in many of those).

COMPOST:

-To state the obvious, the rinds of our pumpkins used for making soup will get composted.

-I made a watermelon brain for a potluck buffet tonight. Hopefully, it will get completely eaten. If not, and if it gets too picked on, I'll take the leftovers home to compost.

In case you were wondering, our front door is 36 steps from the street, so by nature we do not get trick-or-treaters (sometimes, life just simplifies itself;). If we did, this website gives some good alternatives to candy. Here is the revised list with my waste-free favorites, in alphabetical order:

Food items ("treats"): Boxes of organic raisins, Fruit (like mandarins), Licorice Root Stick (I loved to chew on these as a kid).

Non-food items ("treasures") are also a great alternative to treats: Bracelets made with a natural fiber or yarn, Coins (US or non-US: I know my kids would get exited about getting a penny), Feathers, Lavender sachet, Polished rocks or skipping stones, Printed items (jokes, word games, word search or cross word puzzles), Seashells, Seed packets or plantable paper, Soap (unpackaged of course), Stamps from foreign countries.

How do you celebrate Halloween with your kids?

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Is the Zero Waste Home only about waste reduction?

I received a long angry comment this week.

The commenter implied that our household was single minded... “Your lifestyle seems to be very austere” he or she wrote . “I'm wondering if you have a viewpoint on what we are all supposed to be doing here on planet earth? In addition to counting the band-aids in our trash cans, I mean”. Do you think your children find that it's a good trade off... you know for them to become social pariahs in exchange for you indulging your obsession.”

Boy! How did this commenter even get to this blog? Why did "anonymous" even spend time reading it if he or she did not understand the subject of it? How can he or she insult our kids so freely, not knowing them or their social life.

I replied that not every blog is for everyone...

And yet, what sticks in my mind about this comment is: Who does this person really think we are? Does this person really think that we ONLY care about waste?

In other words: Is the Zero Waste Home only about waste reduction? As I mentioned before, if it was not for this blog, I would not even think about waste on a daily basis. No seriously, beside the frustrating unavoidable trash bits, zero waste has become a no-brainer and a natural, unconscious part of our life, it has become automatic. We take our bags / jars and try to make good buying decisions when we shop once a week, refuse the occasional freebies, send an occasional email of complaint, and ask our friends and family to respect our lifestyle when they come. That's it. That's as much time as our family would think about zero waste... had I not started writing (and thus elaborating) about it.

I personally love art, fashion, foraging, homemaking, organizing, volunteering, simplifying,... I could have written a blog on any of these. And yet I chose zero waste. Why? Because in my mind it sums it all up. It has made my art more focused, my foraged miner's lettuce tastier, my thrifting more acceptable, my minimalism more understandable, my homemaking and volunteering more purposeful. For once in my life, it seems that all my interests and talents are connected. Plus, wouldn't it be selfish not to share my trials (Lush deodorant), failures (vinegar hair rinse), successes (baking soda toothpowder) and finds (local bulk stores) with others?

Let's face it. Zero waste is not just about waste: it's about enjoying simple pleasures, eating local and seasonal foods, living a healthier lifestyle, enjoying the outdoors more, getting closer to the Earth, finding fulfillment in volunteering activities, and simplifying your life to make room for things that matter most to you. If it was not for the latter, I would have never found the time to write this blog.

The commenter went on to criticize my refusing laminated school work last June. “Did you know that a lot of parents don't judge their children's artwork on whether it will biodegrade easily?”, he or she asked. “Actually a lot of parents would treasure their childrens' artwork and want it to last forever. But you rejected your childrens' artwork because it had become the wrong kind of trash.”, the commenter wrote.

Is this comment supposed to make me feel some kind of guilt for the laminated work that I refused? I am sorry to disappoint the commenter even further, but I don't. Through my simplifying business I witness numerous homes filled with “heirloom guilt" and I could not agree more with this quote from a New York Times article: "Barry Lubetkin, a psychologist and the Director of the Institute for Behavior Therapy in Manhattan, who has observed this [heirloom guilt] in a number of patients [...]. It’s an unhealthy setup, in which people become "slaves to inanimate objects,” he says. “Once you’re defining it as something you can’t get rid of, you’re not in control of your life or your home.”"

Let's say I had succumbed to the heirloom guilt: Was I supposed to bring the laminated piece home (no matter its quality) and add it to a bin full of other laminated school stuff, which would then be passed on, along with the same guilt, to my kids children and grand children? Our life is not about stuff and we're teaching our kids that life is not about stuff. So why should I allow teachers to fill my house with stuff? Shouldn't parents and children have the right to choose what to keep? After all we receive a ton of artwork from school all year long, so why should the one that is laminated be kept? What if your child, was sick and not in the mood or simply botched that particular project? Yet it would get laminated for a whole family branch to keep forever? Does not make sense to me at all.

Let's say my great grand kids felt liberated enough to discard it later: Do I want my kids laminated art to contribute to the great pacific garbage patch? Of course not.

I really don't think I am being “very austere” here and I don't think it was wrong to reject lamination. Quite the contrary, I think it would be more wrong NOT to reject it and allow this wasteful school practice to get out of control.

Accepting is condoning - just like shopping is voting. I cannot ignore (the easy way in life) the negative environmental impact of lamination, not to mention its expense. I would rather our public school money be better spent. If I don't do anything about it, who will? Obviously not the commenter. So, I say it once again: “Be the change you want the world to be” - Gandhi.

The commenter also implied that my son was deprived because he loved band-aids and we ran out... hmmm.

Can one really be deprived of Spongebob band-aids? The Merriam Webster defines “deprived” as “marked by deprivation especially of the necessities of life or of healthful environmental influences”

Are Spongebob band-aids “a necessity of life or a healthful environmental influence”? Maybe to the commenter, but our son does not seem to think so. He has not asked for them since we ran out. Luckily, his livelihood does not rest on band-aids, but rather on more important activities (like playing football with his dad).

And if one dares to say that my children are deprived because we don't have band-aids, can you say that my children are deprived because they also do not have video games (they play outside, build Lego's, or learn to bake or paint instead)?

Can you say that my children are deprived because we don't buy junk food (they eat healthy bulk or homemade meals instead)?

Can you say that my children are deprived because we don't drive them to school in a warm/or air conditioned car (they get exercise and fresh air by riding their bikes instead)?

Can you say my children are deprived because we don't give them vitamins (we believe in a healthy diet and outdoor activity instead)?

Can you say that my children are deprived because apart from a few french comic books they don't have books (the local library has made thousands of books available to them and turned them into avid readers instead)?

Can you say that my children are deprived because they don't have TV (they prefer to watch a commercial free Netflix movie instead)?

Can you say that my children are deprived because we do not keep ALL their artwork (together, we select and store our favorites)? By the way, our staircase is filled with them. See picture above.

Can you say my children are deprived because we don't have trash cans in the house? Seriously.

I guess the answer to the questions above depend on the personal health and life standards you have set for your family.

We are not perfect and we are not 100% waste free. But we love what the zero waste lifestyle has done for our family beyond waste reduction. We hope that many more families will get to discover it for themselves. This is what this blog is really about. Sharing an on-going life changing experience. But my words will only make sense to you if you're ready and willing to accept change. The commenter obviously is not. Are you?

Or if you started already, what has Zero Waste done for you beyond waste reduction?

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Crappy Month and Wasteful Repairs.

Boy did we have a crappy, wasteful month. People say “shit happens”, but a whole truck load fell on us these past few weeks. Not a pretty picture, I realize ;).

It all started on a Thursday evening.

After a long day of work and dinner time fast approaching, I had been faced with a practically empty refrigerator (I grocery shop on Fridays), and challenged once again to make dinner with the few bits scattered in the refrigerator. I had managed to make the best of the one tomato, chunk of cheese, lonely egg and last cup of flour - and had proudly put together a tomato quiche. (These are my proudest moments in the kitchen: Making something out of “nothing”. I even surprise myself sometimes). But we never not got to savor the pretty quiche that night... My gas range would not turn on. I tried resetting its power, but in vain. I would have to wait until the next morning for further repair action (the service center being closed for the day of course). So there we were: Hungry, kids showered and in PJ's, Scott pacing, 7:30pm and nothing on the table.

Confronted with six hungry desperate eyes, asking “What's for dinner?”, I called in for my 1st takeout pizza ever (I am 36 years old by the way and have been avoiding takeouts, since I started home cooking 18 years ago). I felt all goofy on the phone, not knowing the protocols of ordering a pizza (if there are such things), but I did not forget to request “no Lilliputian table” (you know the white plastic piece in the middle of the pizza to keep the box top from sticking to your toppings). Within 20 minutes the extra large pizza and its extra large box crossed the Zero Waste Home's threshold. Gasp.

Wait! Don't leave the blog yet. While we were gone this summer, our town finally started City Compost (the best "sustainable" thing that has happen to our town since we moved here three years ago). We are now able to compost our meat, fish bones, butter wrappers... and the emergency pizza box. Not that I condone the compostable cardboard takeout container, which in our case only had a useful life of literally 5 minutes (ugh)...

The next morning, I called the service center for the range. After a few questions, they recommended that I call in a repairman. I did. But since labor day weekend was about to start, the repairman could only come on Tuesday.

A few BBQ, salads, and sandwiches later, came Tuesday with the repairman. Then, Wednesday with two repairmen, Thursday with a handyman, Friday with a new repairman, another stove-free weekend, and Monday with a plumber. And on top of all expensive and unexpected gas repair bills, a whole lot of trash: the repairman's takeout soda cup and straw, the repair parts packaging, the broken pieces... And the old gas pipes. Did those get recycled? I did not even ask, too frazzled and mad at our original contractor for screwing up the oven's installation in the first place.

It took a week and a half to get the oven up and running again. And when we thought we were done with repairs, more (completely un-related) problems came... It's as if we had been cursed by the unavoidable powers of Trash Evil.

- Our kitchen sink backed up and in spite of our unclogging efforts, all the original piping from the sink to the sewer had to be replaced. Repair: New copper piping outside, and new ABS piping under the house, glue, caulking, paint and parts... Landfill: Completely clogged metal piping (empty caulking tube is a #2 and went into the recycling)

- Our entertainment center fan stopped working, and without it our sound system is unusable (it gets too hot in its enclosed space under our stairs). Repair: New fan in a cardboard box and plastic packaging. Landfill: Fan parts (I hope to recycle the motor at an e-waste station).

- A corner of our marble counter broke off! Repair: Epoxy putty. Landfill: Double plastic packaging of epoxy putty (packaging within packaging).

- Our hair trimmer for our DYI haircuts broke. Repair: New hair trimmer in cardboard box. Landfill: Plastic parts of hair trimmer (will take the motor to the e-cycling also).

- Then the plastic casing of Scott's beard trimmer broke (No seriously, the hair trimmer just went out - and now the beard trimmer!). Repair: New beard trimmer. Landfill: Plastic part of trimmer and plastic packaging of trimmer (will take the trimmer motor to e-cycling also).

- We noticed our dining chairs scratching the hard wood floors, they needed new pads. Repair: Felt pads on chair bottoms. Landfill: Packaging of felt pads (FYI - The next day I found some in bulk. Bummer!)

- One light bulb went out, then another, and another: that's three light bulbs in one month (and I am trying not to be paranoid here). Repair: Three specialty light bulbs (two in plastic packaging, one in cardboard). Landfill: Three light bulbs and two plastic packages.

- We noticed that some paint had bubbled up on the side of the house. Repair: Sand and paint the siding before the rainy season. Landfill: Sand paper and paint roller.

- I dropped my all purpose shears, the plastic handle completely shattered. Repair: Get a new sturdier pair of shears. Landfill: The broken shears (I could not get the metal off the plastic to recycle the metal).

- We got a flat on a practically new tire, sometimes they are repairable, in this case (because of the location of the puncture on the side of the tire) it was not. Repair: New tire (the tire shop said that they would recycle our old tire...) Landfill: The greasy hand rag (a piece of retired tee-shirt) we used in changing the tire.

- Our remote control ran out of battery (the last disposable batteries we had). Repair: A new pack of AAA rechargeable batteries. Landfill: Plastic packaging of new batteries.

When people now ask me what the packaging the hardest to avoid in a Zero Waste Home is, my answer is: Hands down, home repairs. No doubt about it.

Hardware stores might have some good bulk items: Loose screws by the ounce, loose plumbing parts, irrigation parts, felt pads, cable by the foot, all scattered in different stores around town (oh, do I wish there were all in one place). But they also have some of the worse packaging. Come on Ace and Home Depot, can't you ask your suppliers for alternatives to the plastic packaging everywhere? Do felt pads, batteries, CFL's, and a single tiny junction box cap need to be displayed in this frustratingly-hard-to-open hard shell plastic?

Here's to a better month ahead!

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Tomato Canning

Last week, as planned, I made a list of things-to-do away from the computer, and one of the items, which I procrastinated on for the last month, was digging out a portion of our crawl space to make room for canned goods (they store best in dark cold spaces). Well, guess what? Putting it on the list made it happen. Every member of the family pitched in (besides Zizou of course), the hero of the project being our 9-year-old who voluntarily carried 20 buckets of dirt down the 30 steps to the front of the house.

I am so happy to have that done, my canned goods now have a dedicated space and so do my reusable bottles and jars.

That said, I thought this week would be an ideal time to post about (crushed) tomato canning. Canning has a reputation of scaring the novice cook, but there really is nothing to it, as it seriously is not as difficult as one might expect. All you need here is canning jars (I use Le Parfait canning jars in this recipe), a large pot, a colander, a ladle, a towel, a rock, and tomatoes of course. Visit your farmer's market at closing time to get the best deal on a large amount. In my town, $5/5lbs is a good deal.

Every cook has his/her way, and this is how I do mine:

1 - Sterilize the jars: Dunk them in a large pot of boiling water and set them aside to dry on a towel.

2 - In the same hot bath, dunk the tomatoes for about 2 minutes (that's to make peeling easy), and pull them out one by one into a colander to cool.

3 - Peel, core, and hand-crush the tomatoes, one by one, into a large bowl.

4 - Ladle the crushed tomatoes into the jars (french canning jars have a fill line), wipe the jars rims clean, add a rubber gasket on the lids and clip the jars shut.

5 - Lower the filled jars in the same pot of water (you can also stack them up if you use a tall pot), push a towel between them and add a weight, such as a rock, on them (so they don't cling into each other and break during boiling).

6 - Add water so that the jars are submerged by 1-inch of water and bring to a boil.

7 - After 45 minutes of boiling, turn off the heat.

8 - Let cool and take the jars out of the water to dry.

9 - Test proper canning by un-clipping a jar. If it opens, the canning process failed. If you use Mason Jars (screw-tops), the lid should be depressed indicating a proper vacuum.

10 - Store in a dark, cool place, preferably a freshly dug crawl space ;) so that your canned treasures can last and taste as good as my grandmother's 1978 plums, which I tasted a couple of years ago. They were in-cre-di-ble. The eau-de-vie marinade might have had something to do with their tastiness though...

Just looking at that picture reminds me that we live in an earthquake prone region... it just added a new item to my TO-DO list: Secure shelving before next shake;)

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Time Wasters

After catching up with friends, and taking care of the many odds and ends upon my return (tomato canning, lemonade making, deep-house cleaning, sewing, house painting, wall repair, stove repair, flat tire, etc.), here I am, re-emerging with alone time (for the first time in 3 months), and an urge to write again. Sorry for the long absence!

The kids went back to class and as with every back-to-school, I am set with a set of new school-year resolutions (along with most parents of school aged kids). I am ready for a new beginning, full of hope. I again hope for a better, more organized year with more time for human relations and more me time (the latter in the hope to be more zen as I often worry about the memory that my boys will have of me later in life...stressed out, too busy, ?). I hope to hug and cuddle my kids and husband more. I hope to have friends and neighbors over more often, and more spontaneously (my perfectionism too often keeps me from doing so). I hope to get closer to my dad. I hope to call my mother-in-law more often. I hope to give myself a facial once a week. To sum it all, I need to make more time or rather, I need to stop wasting time.

My household is very organized, and by both cutting off TV and simplifying our lifestyles, we have greatly expanded our leisure time, but I still find myself sometimes wasting away by either procrastinating or aimlessly surfing the net (the latter usually being a product of the former).

And since it is well known that e-mail and the web are the bane of the procrastinator's existence, I plan on spending less time on them. Not so easy when you write a weekly blog, but doable. I already deleted my Facebook account. I am happy with my social life and felt that FB did not do anything for me at this point in my life, and it ate into our precious time. I also vouch to only check my emails twice a day and keep an empty in-box (better for the mind, better for the environment...not unnecessarily cluttering up a running server somewhere). I have even contemplated the idea of sticking to short email replies and adding: “Sent from my iPhone” or “Sent from the road” to my email signature ;). From what I learned in an article, I also need to make a list of computer tasks and block time for it, just as I need to make a list of tasks away from the computer so that I don't get tempted to jump back into it. By breaking down a large project into the set of smaller tasks required to complete it, I should also be able to take care of my propensity to procrastinate.

If all goes well and I follow my resolutions carefully, I should be one zen, entertaining and cuddly mom by next year ;), and hopefully with even one less wrinkle (from the weekly facial).

What's your time waster?

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Ideas from abroad

My last week in France. Every year, I judge my personal "eco-awareness" by how I react to green ideas abroad. This year, my eyes flashed on a few. Here is what I believe would be worth importing:

- TGV (High Speed Train). When a train can take you to your destination in a 1/3 of the time than a car would, it entices you to use the public transportation. TGV's have always been fast, but they now have allotted tracks, which means that they can go full throttle on their routes. When we land in France (usually in Paris), we take this super fast train to get to our final destination (usually the South of France). The trip takes 2hr40m (by car it would normally take over seven hours). How come the US hasn't caught up to this energy saving technology yet?

- Easy, Organized and Free “One Stop Shop” for Recycling (Dechetterie). Every town here offers ONE drop off point for such items as metal or building scraps, etc... The resident drives up to a selection of recycling dumpsters and dispose of his items, which are later picked up by local recyclers. Where I live, I need to drive three towns over and pay to dispose of such items, and the facility is organized in such way that I stress just thinking about a drop-off. Lesson: Simplify.

- Simple Wood composter: Lincoln Log like. You buy a bundle of wood slats, cut to interlock and mount into a square, and within minutes anyone can set up compost in their backyard. Not only is it plastic-free and easy to build but also easy to transport from the store to its rotting location. I just love the design. It is too heavy to carry with me on the plane, but I am just dying to do so. Anyone out there willing to copy the design and put them on the market in our Home Depot's?

- Package-free brooms. You pick a handle, then a head, both priced separately (if you own a broom with a good handle but a disfunctional head, you can also just change the latter, instead of the whole thing). You can play around with your options, the composition (e.g., boar, silk or synthetic) is indicated on the organized display, and the price tag is a simple bar code sticker on the item. I wish more things were sold this way in the US. As I heard in a recent ad for meat: "You pay for the meat, not the fat"... You pay for the item, not its packaging. Why would a broom need to be wrapped in plastic anyways? Isn't it meant to get dirty?

- Bulk in a large grocery chain (Auchan). That means bulk is more widely available and prices are low (think bulk at Safeway or Walmart, and not just Whole Foods). The selection of staples is not that of Rainbow (the San Francisco bulk mecca), since staples such as salt or flour were missing where I shopped, but the cereal, grain and pasta selection was exciting (better than my local bulk). I confess to also have bought my son's birthday present there. He and I have an affinity for the Haribo brand of candy (I never buy candy but I can't resist this is one). And since we have struggled to find it in bulk in the US (together scouting movie theaters in and around our county), pouring them freely into our reusable bag was a joy. BTW: In France, you can also find bulk in health food stores, Botanic (a home and garden store) and the local farmer's market.

- Service at the Cheese counter. You pick your cheese and they cut it for you on the spot. Easy for a reusable-container user. Contrarily to the toxic cling-wrapping practices in our cheese aisles, I believe that counter service favors not only our health, but also human relations (such as personal feedback and great customer service).

- Selling a product in a practical reusable glass container. Mustard here comes in a choice of measuring cups, kids tumblers (better than sippy cups) and high ball, double, or wine glasses... The idea of selling a product (such as a staple) in a much needed item (such as a drinking glass which often breaks) is ingenious. If I lived here, I probably would not bother making mustard at home and would instead buy our glassware assortment (and replacement) that way. Speaking of mustard: In Paris, the Maille store (next to La Madeleine) will refill your jar.

- The percentage of people bringing their reusable bags to the grocery store is the same as people not bringing their bags in the US. Here, if you forget your grocery bag, you have to buy one. It might only be $.10/bag, but charging for them is the quickest solution to the earth-damaging disposable grocery bag. For those of you living in CA, please sign the petition supporting the ban of single-use plastic bags!

- Wrapper around the baguette. Private bakeries sell fresh bread in even the smallest towns. Bread does not come bagged in intoxicating plastic but simply tied with a single, reusable/recyclable/compostable paper sheet (just big enough for a hand to hold).

-Bulk everyday wine. You bring your own container (any size) to the wine vendor, and fill your selection with a pump (gas station like). It is not only eco-friendly (saving bottles and corks) but also financially friendly (cheaper than bottles and thus a good incentive to go green). This is what I have been pestering my local wine region about (Sonoma and Napa). I have found something similar at Guglielmo, but they are far (we need to make a weekend out of it when we go), they refill only one type of red (which becomes tiring), and they do the refilling only during specific events. If more wineries offered the pump service, these problems would be solved.

I am not saying that France is all that, far from it. I have my frustrations here too, with unsustainable practices (the amount of SUV's increase every year), missing infrastructure (thrift stores as we know them are practically nonexistent) and bad products on the store shelves (such as disposable ice cube bags). But I think that we can learn from each other and share sustainable ideas.

Have you seen something abroad to reduce one's waste?

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Magic Butter

I made a discovery this week. It might not be one for you, but I thought I'd share it just in case.

No matter how much I try to control the kids at my brother's house, mishaps sometimes occur. The boys used a swivel chair, covered with shirts (his house is not quite as organized as mine), to get a view of the Eiffel Tower from a skylight window... Unfortunately, while taking the glimpse, a shirt sleeve got caught in the swivel mechanism and streaked it with black grease.

Stricken by guilt, I decided to repair the problem before my brother came home from work. I googled for a solution and found out that butter, of all things ;) would remove the stain magically. Not having anything to lose, I gave it a try.

I rubbed some butter into the streaks, and let it sit a few minutes. I then used some dish soap that I found next to the kitchen sink, water, elbow juice and another part of the shirt to rub the stain off. The results were amazing. After a quick rinse, the shirt looked like new.

I later shared my discovery with Scott. Unsurprised, he replied that when living in Santa Barbara, he would remove beach tar from his feet with baby oil.

"Oil removes oil" he said with assurance.

I had no idea that the phrase would come in so handy a day later...

Saturday evening, the day before my departure for the South of France (where my mom lives), my brother had his sitter of six years come over to watch our four kids, so we could go out for a nice dinner between adults. After giving her instructions to care and feed the kids, we took off. We were enjoying our meal tremendously when my sister-in-law checked her phone and found out with horror that she had 18 new voicemails. Somehow we had not heard it ring, and while we thought our kids were tightly tucked into their beds, the nanny had set the brand new kitchen on fire!

We rushed home to find the kids safe at the neighbor's, but my brother's kitchen looked like a war zone. The sitter had mistakenly turned on the oven, in which my brother stored a fryer (full of cooking oil). When the fryer caught on fire, she grabbed their fish bowl and threw it on the stove, water, pebbles and all (including the poor goldfish). Needless to say, it made things worse. When the firemen arrived, they extinguished the fire, but in the process, also tracked soot, burned oil, and pebbles all over the house and the new hardwood floors.

While my brother drove the sitter back home, I set out to clean the mess, which extended to the upper floors. I first tried a mixture of water and castile soap equivalent, but in vain. The black stuff was too thick and there was too much of it. It is only after 30 minutes of desperate scrubbing, and a call to my brother to recommend the hiring of a restoration expert, that I remembered Scott's words: "Oil removes oil". So I tiptoed into the sticky kitchen, grabbed the first cooking oil and sponge that I could reach and voila! Eight hours later, floors and white kitchen cabinets looked as new as before and the damages not as dramatic.

Considering that the kids and sitter were safe, and that only four cabinet doors and a stove need replacing, we were all lucky. And thanks to the simplicity and handiness of the oil cleaning remedy, my brother and sister-in-law were able to keep their sanity and stay upbeat in dealing with the aftermath of the ordeal. (I forgot to count how many times they said: "This oil trick is amazing! The damages are not that bad after-all.")

Interestingly enough, this fire was not the only one that we survived this summer, but since this is a blog and not a book, you'll have to wait to hear about the other story when the time comes ;).

Do you have a simple and magic pantry revelation to make?

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Less (not zero) Waste Air Travel

Today, I am suffering from the worse jet-lag ever. I wake up around 2 am, my mind starts going and I cannot go back to sleep until the birds start singing. The kids and I arrived at my brother's, in Paris, a few days ago.

Rest assured. I am aware of my carbon impact when flying overseas. And I pray everyday for new carbon neutral ways (offsets are not satisfying enough) to visit my native land and blood relatives. Our weekly Skype sessions help but are not exactly an alternative to the kids language immersion or my mother's hugs and kisses. I live a zero waste lifestyle, I have reduced my meat consumption and car usage to pretty much once a week, I strive to shop local/organic and save water/electricity as much possible, but there is not much I can do about that damn yearly flight! (Besides reducing the frequency and amount of flights...we figured that four of us going there was better than eleven of them coming here).

To make things worse, my trip over was a waste nightmare, and an eye opener at the same time. Every time I fly (about once a year), the transition into the wasteful world is a shock. Travelers stuffing airport recycling (if available at all) or trash cans with water bottles, magazines, fast food containers and wrappers; discarding a full bottle of water at a security checkpoint and buying a brand new one a few minutes later, instants before boarding a flight, where they get yet another one (that's 3 bottles in less than an hour)... Flight attendants opening single portion drinks and pouring them in a new plastic cup every time around, and then coming thru with a trash bag - with recyclables and trash co-mingled. ... it sure is a harsh trip out of my bubble.

On a recent radio interview, I sounded hopeful when asked about our disposable society. My answer was based on the positive changes I see and hear around me, when at home (and that includes you, faithful and supportive readers... you're part of my daily home life :), I can actually see change. I see more people walking around with reusable cups, some readers visiting my deli counter with their jars (I got a report from the cheese guy ;), friends buying milk in glass jars and throwing zero waste birthday parties... But I have to say, British Airways threw all that enthusiasm out the window.

I can hear you say: "Welcome to the real world, Bea". On these uncommon grounds, I feel like a fish lost in the Great Pacific Trash Vortex, where intoxicating waste gets shoved down my throat. Or perhaps is it, that leaving my home where waste is pretty much all figured out, leaves me feeling vulnerable, unprepared, and unarmed elsewhere. Or perhaps I should have taken more notes during last year's trip and done more research before flying to prepare myself.

I brought my reusable and insulated wide mouth bottle (cold and hot drinks), napkin and bamboo utensils on the flight, thinking that they would get me to my brother's waste free, but waste was inevitable.

Live and Learn.

As soon as the kids and I opened the plastic bags (blanket in one, headphones, socks, toothbrush and sleep mask in another) on our seats, and got settled, I found out that my headphones were broken. And since I had looked forward to being stuck on an 11 hour flight with two kids for the non-stop movie selection on individual screens (remember, we don't have TV), I requested headphone replacements... Ugh, what I did not realize is that the new pair of headphones would be again bundled with another pair of socks, a toothbrush and sleep mask...

Later, my insulated Klean Kanteen did not save me from the disposable alcohol either. Yes I was thirsty for something else than water and succumbed to the "free" beer (straight out of the can to save a disposable cup) and wine (straight out of the glass bottle) on the long haul flight. At least, I then thought, the two are easily recyclable and would be given a second life by British Airways.

Or would they? I googled (soon after landing), to put to rest any doubt I had on the question. What I found out is astonishing, in this day and age (or at least for someone living in a bubble) and yet not surprising (considering I had doubts).

In short:
- No airlines currently recycle all of the main types of recyclables: aluminum cans, glass, plastic and paper ... because of airport recycling policies and customs.
-According to Green America Today, United and US airways rank worse on a sustainability scale comparing 11 airlines (US Airways throwing away 1 million plastic cups every 6 hours). BA was not far behind, in 8th place.
-According to a report by the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), “The U.S. airline industry discards enough aluminum cans each year to build 58 Boeing 747 airplanes [...] and enough newspapers and magazines to fill a football field to a depth of more than 230 feet.”

I keep wondering, why are the blankets wrapped? is it because they wrap them after cleaning them. Do they clean them or throw them out? After reading the confessions of a flight attendant, it makes me wonder. If airlines see disposability in a terry washcloth or headphones, they could just as well see it in a synthetic blanket. I remember always using a blanket for as long as I have flown internationally, but I don't remember it always being wrapped. When did it stop being acceptable to receive a naked blanket? (Note to self: Add airline blanket to my "standards revisited" posting).

Here are somethings you can do to minimize your air travel waste:

• Packing light: The three of us used one medium suitcase for the summer (easy for a minimalist, I took everything in my closet except for 11 winter items), and a small suitcase for presents and items that I'll bring back (last year, I filled it with antique metal bottle carriers to carry my refillable wine, a sweater that I knit with my mom's help, the alum stones that I use as deodorant, a loofah that I bought unpackaged, a discarded sheet that I made into bulk bags, and loads of family recipes).
• Visiting the library for your reading: Mine is "Gone tomorrow, the hidden life of garbage". It's been on my "To Read" list for months. I calculated that with Scott visiting us halfway during our stay, he could take my book back to the library before the loan expires. You can also use a Read & Return Program.
• Stopping at the local thrift shop on the way to the airport for pre-owned magazines: I found all June 2010 editions. Thanks to those who remembered to Reuse before Recycle, and donated them.
• Getting to the security checkpoint with an empty reusable bottle, and once on the other side, asking for a refill at a bar (with a smile).
• Packing bamboo utensils, and a cloth napkin in your carry-on and refusing the airlines disposable version.

While I wait to hear back from British Airways (and it might take as long as Whole Foods ;) about the whereabouts of my in-flight used and unused meal containers, uneaten food, used blanket, used pillow, used headphones, unused toothbrush/sleep mask kit and unused socks, I plan to be more thoughtful on the way back:

• Refusing plastic covered items: Giving them back to the flight attendant before I sit down .
• Bringing personal headphones: Most flights audio systems now have regular headphone jacks.
• Bringing a wrap to use as a blanket.
• Packing a reusable stainless straw would also be useful when sipping directly out of a can/bottle to avoid the plastic cup on the plane.
• Taking recyclables with me to recycle at my destination and filling out this online survey.

Of course, if I also packed a meal, many of my worries would disappear.

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Six Month Tally

Until six months ago, Scott still took the trash out Sunday evenings.

He would slip into his shoes late at night, and rain or shine, would run the 36 steps down to our curb to set the can out for pick up. Even if all it contained was a couple of band-aids. I could never figure out whether he was doing it out of habit, to retain a sense of "normalcy", or to simply make a point of using the service that we cannot (yet) cancel (our local hauler has trash pick up bundled with recycling and city composting).

But one rainy Sunday evening this last January, as Scott was once again heading down the dark path to the curb, he stumbled upon a mature buck. A godsend. Scott turned around, came back into the house and decided that this whole "taking out trash" business was too dangerous ;). That's also when we decided that it would be fun to see how long it would take us to fill the 20 gallon can. Our "can" has been the paper towel section of a vintage holder since.

Here is our 6 month tally.

It might seem much for those who thought that we were perfect, just as it might not seem much for those who did not think a handful of waste possible. I personally think that our level of waste is frustrating, but it is a challenge that calls for further action:

Food related items:

- 8 beer caps from a twelve pack that a friend brought: In times of financial instability, how can a man refuse the gift of beer? ;)

- 13 white wine plastic wrappers: We still have not found a decent refillable white wine and it is really hard to discern plastic from foil until you open the bottle. It should be indicated on the label.

- 2 cheese wax/crusts.

- 1 heat-damaged gasket of a jar bought at the thrift store: I had no idea the gasket was baked on until I opened the jar at home, had to force it open and had to scrape it with a knife.

- 2 top ends of Starbucks Single packets: From my visiting mother-in-law who must have taken the rest of the 2 packets with her to dispose elsewhere.

- 4 snack wrappers and 3 bubble gums given to my kids without my knowledge: Those probably are the most irritating to me. The Fiber One bar contained 23 ingredients, including high maltose corn syrup. Ugh. The Teddy Grahams contained 19 ingredients, including partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil and high fructose corn syrup. Double Ugh. As for bubble gums, they are simply plastic. Triple Ugh. I do not yet blame my eight and ten year-old children for succumbing to temptation and accepting the empty calories. For now, I blame the ignorant adults who buy and feed harmful and wasteful junk not only to their children but also to others.

Plan of Action

- Educate friends and family further about our lifestyle and eating habits.

- Educate the kids further about healthy foods.

- Send emails to winemakers to adopt foil and cork, or glass tops (screw tops are BPA lined)

- Take our friends to Beerworks to refill their bottles ;)

Clothing related items:

- 18 plastic price tag holders: I can't remember the origin for eight of these.

- 2 disintegrated foam shoulder pads from a used coat.

- 2 feet of synthetic thread from an unravelling curtain.

- 6 labels removed for their itchiness: Don't you love the feel of tagless clothing?

Plan of Action:

- Propose a plastic free price tag to the thrift stores that have them.

- Apply glue to the edges of my unraveling curtain.

- Email or write to clothing manufacturers to adopt label-free clothing.

Bathroom related items:

- 8 band-aids: Like I said before, my younger son had a love for band-aids, but we're out, so we won't find those in our trash anymore.

- 2 individual plastic/aluminum wrappers from over-the-counter medication, bought a couple of years ago: A remainder of our once, unconscious purchasing.

- 1 toothbrush replacement head from Terradent: We have 2 left.

- 4 disposable eye drop tubes: Scott took our older son to the ophthalmologist and forgot to refuse...

- 1 packet of petroleum jelly: Again, given to Scott by a doctor, he forgot to refuse.

- 5 plastic cap wrappers: One from hydrogen peroxide, one from eye drops, one from contact lens solution, the three others I don't know.

Plan of Action:

- Email or write to manufacturers to replace plastic cap wrappers with paper or cardboard wrappers or simply bypass them and adopt a sealing cap.

- Remind Scott to refuse at a doctor's visit.

- Purchase compostable toothbrushes.

Miscellaneous Items:

- 1 expired credit card.

- 1 Best Buy gift card.

- 1 expired french version of the Green Card.

- 4 ski lift tickets.

- 7 irrigation system pieces.

- 1 broken rubber band.

- 1 broken pen: the last plastic and disposable one in the house!

- bits of plastic tape from a parcel.

- 1 sticker stamps sheet.

- 1 plastic wrapper of a snowboard pad.

- 1/2 plastic spoon found on the property while landscaping.

- The wrapper of a tiny Lego set, bought by Grandma for my younger son. Somehow the small sets are not fully recyclable, like the bigger ones.

- The plastic wrapper of twine, bought 6 years ago: It's amazing how much purchasing decisions can haunt you for years.

Plan of Action:

- Contact the credit card company about using recyclable cards.

- Contact the ski resort about using a rechargeable and recyclable card instead for their lift tickets.

- Contact Lego about the non-recyclable wrapper in their small sets.

- Find package-free twine.

What's not included:

- The 6 art/schoolwork pieces, laminated by the teachers: We left them at school, and explained to the teachers that parents should have the right to choose whether or not they want to make a completely recyclable/compostable piece of paper, eternal by encompassing it in plastic.

- The candy wrappers from the Valentine's Day classroom celebration: We took them to the school principal to show her how much trash was generated per head in our kids classrooms.

- The few items that I have sent back to manufacturers with a letter of explanation, such as a broken pump to Dermalogica, toothbrushes to Radius, and a contact lens case to Complete.

- The pesky plastic wine corks, the occasional fruit or veggie stickers and the broken drinking glasses, three of which I collect for future art pieces.

What's in your bin?

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Zero Waste Dog -or Rat ;)

Zero Waste is a family affair... like I said before: in our home, everyone is on board, and that includes our dog.

Meet Zizou. He joined the family about 3 years ago. We wanted a dog that would be small enough to not only fit in our small house, but also accompany us everywhere we go, whether it is by plane, car, bike or foot - we also chose his coat color to match the floor so that his shedding hair would not show :). He now can even sit with us at restaurants with outdoor seating!

We figured a chihuahua would give us just as much love as a big dog. Zizou has been the answer to all our pet needs, and despite a taste for street trash, as a rat would have ("Rat Boy" is his nickname), he has more than exceeded our expectations of the breed. Our biggest mistake was only to give up our search in rescue centers and getting him from a breeder, when 30 chihuahuas showed up at the local SPCA a month later. And although we love our dog, it makes me sick to my stomach that we passed the opportunity: We should have been patient and waited for the right rescue to pop up. Note: We did rescue both of our previous dogs.

Zizou does not need much, and in a society where, despite the recession, sales of pet products and services rose 5% in 2009 to reach $53 billion (sales are projected to reach $72 billion by 2014), we like to keep things simple, minimal and zero waste for him too:

• He does not have a regular dog bed. He sleeps by the fire gas-insert in the winter, in the bubble chair or on the warm wood deck in the summer, and on the kids beds at night.
• He has two toys: A tennis ball we found (good for running/exercising) and a rope chew (good for cleaning teeth). Dogs have faves, pick a couple, donate the rest to a shelter (the latter also accepts old towels and sheets by the way). My mother-in-law makes one out of old socks tied together for her dog.
• Once a month, we wash him with castile soap (buy in bulk if possible) and clip his nails (compost).
• We usually buy kibbles in bulk at Rainbow or New Leaf (a 50 lbs. bag from the pet store would take our dog years to eat and we do not have room to store such quantity) and since these two stores are hard to get to, I have requested it from our local pet stores, but it is not yet available. For these two reasons I had to buy a small bag last week (with a feeling of being a total zero waste advocate failure), I emptied it into our dog food container and washed the bag. I am filling it with thrift shop donations.
• We add garlic powder to his food for flea control, the garlic breath dissipates after a few minutes ;)
• We occasionally feed him our food scraps, because he is a trim and can afford to do so. He is bummed that our meat consumption is down to once a week, but he approves of the white meat (say "chicken" and witness instant excitement).
• We buy treats in bulk (Petco or the local pet store) but you can make your own dog biscuits too.
• On walks, we pick up his poop in paper from the recycling can (that's if we can find it, because his poops are tiny and he likes to go deep into ivy... a prude one this one). For a big dog, I would use a few sheets, for Zizou, a receipt will do;). Note: One does not need to justify their newspaper subscription for the need of the free plastic poop scooper. If you still receive the paper, you probably also still buy packaged products. Frozen veggie bags, cereal liner, meat wrapper, etc... can do the job just fine too.
• When we can find the excrement in the yard, we scoop it with a metal trowel and flush it down the toilet. For the longest time, I read mixed opinions on the subject, but my local water treatment plant assured me that it was OK to do so.
• I have yet to try it, but in one of my foraging classes, I was told that a tea of mugwort could be sprayed on pets for poison oak prevention before stepping in the wild...

I told my younger son, I was writing an article about zero waste dog and asked him what made Zizou zero waste. He replied: "Easy, he does not bring anything home" ;)

While it is true that he does not bring any junk into the house, he does however bring in loads of affection. Affection that we reciprocate. After all, what a dog needs most is love... and there is nothing more zero waste than love :) is there?

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Paper Making

Well, it's that time of the year again... the end of the school year is near, so it's time to make stationary for my kids' teachers, from the stack of papers that they've sent home from school.

Last year, the gift was a hit and the news went around the school. It ended up coming handy, when in the fall, I had to warn the new teacher about our special home paper requirements (reduce)...she already knew. Giving homemade paper, I hope also makes them think about paper consumption in our school.

In the middle of the stressful week, there is nothing better to relieve stress. Some like to jog, I like to make paper ;)

For those wanting to give it a try (and for those of you not familiar with the process), here is what to do. You can listen to my podcast interview on "More Hip than Hippie" while doing it ;)

- Tack window screening or mesh tight onto a frame (picture below, down) . You can also slide a used nylon sock over a smaller frame and knot is tight (picture below, up). The size of frames will pretty much be the size of your paper and they need to fit flat into your tub, so plan accordingly. I use two 3.5x5 frames (one with nylon and one without for neater edges) for small cards and postcards. I use an 8.5x11 for letters or envelopes.

 

 

 

 

 

- Line the table with felt squares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- In a tub (yes, mine is plastic... it serves for paper recycling, extra curbside pick-up, and paper-making), tear the papers in small pieces and fill with water (I like to let it sit overnight to give paper time to soften...),

-Using a hand-mixer or blender, blend the soaking paper into a pulp (this time, I ended up with a dark purple, which means a light purple finished product ) :

At this point you have the option of adding seeds (for "plantable" paper), lint from your dryer, dried flowers etc...

- For small cards with neat edges (which I will be demonstrating here), stack the 2 matching frames (nylon frame at the bottom), dip flat into the pulp, let drain a bit, and lift upper frame off gently:

- Remove the upper frame:

-Flip it onto a felt square:

 

-Absorb as much water as possible with a sponge (a remainder of our previous home car washing days...):

 

- and delicately remove the frame. The paper pulp should stick to the felt.

-Repeat:

- Line dry over your plants (the felt will drip on them and no water will be wasted ;)

- When dry, peel off and iron as needed:

- et VOILA!

Now, all I need to do is to make matching envelopes (with the larger mesh frame, and an envelope stencil to cut the dry sheets) and then "gift-tag" and tie the whole thing with compostable string. I think the teachers will be quite pleased.

Note: When you're done (pulp too thin to make paper), you can compost the leftovers.

I am afraid to ask... what did you think of the podcast?

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