diff --git a/journal/2011-01.mdwn b/journal/2011-01.mdwn index 21acdf8..bbfd3c1 100644 --- a/journal/2011-01.mdwn +++ b/journal/2011-01.mdwn @@ -1,18 +1,18 @@ -Title: January, 2011 +Title: Going Brown: January, 2011 January 8: Getting Started -------------------------- -After seeing a documentary called "No Impact Man" in December last year, -we made a new year's resolution to reduce how much trash we make. We -don't have a specific goal for volume, we just want to produce as little -trash as we can. +[Neale] After seeing a documentary called "No Impact Man" in December +last year, we made a new year's resolution to reduce how much trash we +make. We don't have a specific goal for volume, we just want to produce +as little trash as we can. First we had to okay this with our 5-year-old daughter. This wasn't too hard, since every 6 months or so we pick up trash together in the vacant lot across the street. She's acutely aware of not only how much trash -there is blowing around town, but what sorts of things make up the bulk -of the trash (disposable plastics). She seemed to think it was a +there is blowing around town, but also what sorts of things make up the +bulk of the trash: disposable plastics. She seemed to think it was a reasonable thing to do, so off we go. After cataloging everything we threw away for a week, we determined that @@ -25,15 +25,14 @@ recyclable packaging. We rode our bikes today to the existing grocery store, to pick up some pizza toppings. Our new "minimal packaging" goal actually saved us some -money on mushrooms: 1-1/2 pounds of loose mushrooms in a plastic grocery -bag we brought with us came out to the same price as the 4 ounces +money on mushrooms: 1½ pounds of loose mushrooms in a plastic grocery +bag we brought with us came out to the same price as the 4-ounce styrofoam container we normally bought. We also made friends with a lady in the deli department when we asked if she could make thick slices of mozarella and wrap it in wax paper. She did go through a pair of disposable plastic gloves, though. -When we got home, Neale's wooden toothbrush had arrived. He's trying a -[wooden +When we got home, my toothbrush had arrived. I'm trying a [wooden toothbrush](http://lifewithoutplastic.com/boutique/plasticfree-wooden-toothbrush-adult-p-400.html) with bristles made of sterilized boar hairs. Amy and Ginnie are going with a year-long [plastic toothbrush @@ -43,3 +42,15 @@ recycled food-grade plastics, and you mail back the old ones to be recycled. Every time plastic is recycled, it degrades, but recycling is better than throwing away, and our goal this year is to reduce our trash. + +[Amy] We also did a fairly significant purge of toys, games, and +clothing recently from our closets. We have never been the type to +stand for clutter, but clutter is what was starting to build up. We +noticed that a significant amount of the plastic toys we purged from our +daughter's room were cheap plastic knick-knacks that were given to her +as party favors over the years. Our goal, therefore, is to simply take +less into our home. We would like to be a little more discerning in +what we bring through our front door, from clothing to toys to +electronics, etc. Basically, we'd like to pretend that we have a small +Seattle apartment again, and don't have a lot of room for impulse +purchases, or things we can't immediately find homes for.