A Post-Holiday List for List Lovers

Everyone loves a "12 days of Christmas" list this time of year and I am no different. I am just a little slower in getting mine out than most, more organized people. In honor of the season, here is my list of the things I have given up to help reduce my trash volume;
1. Baby Wipes
These were a difficult product to eliminate. Wet wipes are so wonderful for so many uses. They're not just for babies, anymore!  Not only are they great for the traditional wiping up, but they also remove eye make-up quickly and tearlessly, they make for a quick freshening after a trip to the gym, and I've been known to grab one to do some spontaneous toilet/sink cleaning. However, they cannot be flushed away and the brands that can be flushed are more expensive. I would be willing to pay more to be able to flush them but, Sam uses a lot of wipes and it's just not in the budget.
2. Bleach Wipes
See above (but take out all that stuff about using them on your body!).
3. Dryer Sheets
OK, so honestly, I'm still using them but I'm going to stop, I swear.  I'm switching to liquid fabric softener after this box of sheets is gone but I bought a HUGE box at BJ's. Instead of tossing them out after doing laundry, I've been putting them inside our shoes, in dresser drawers, in the dog bed, under the couch cushions, anywhere I can think of that could use a little extra fragrance. I've heard dryer sheets are also good bug repellent so, if I run out of places to stick them, I'll just start saving them in a bag for the summer.
4. Microwave Popcorn

Made in America, bitches!

This one hurt. I bought a microwave last year after rejecting one for years because I love popcorn so much. For years I got by with an ancient air-popper, melting the butter in an aluminum measuring cup (good heat conductor) by balancing it on top of the popper or putting the butter cup in the bowl before the corn actually started popping.  I was eating a lot of salt and butter and dirtying a lot a dishes. So microwaving really killed two birds with one stone. Of course, it's not that I don't use the microwave for anything else, I use it all the time for all sorts of things, but it was really all about the popcorn. Unfortunately, when you buy microwavable popcorn, you are buying a lot of packaging, too... the outside box, the plastic wrap and the bag itself. Only the outer box is recyclable. =(

5. Taking Home Leftovers

I've never actually gotten one of these

I just can't remember to bring a container with me when I go out to dinner. Best case scenario, I remember on my way to the restaurant.  It drives me crazy.  So, I only order what I know I can eat all of or, I share an entree with Sam. Sometimes, depending on the meal, I will ask for a piece of aluminum foil in which to wrap my food.  That only works if the item in question is not overly wet and saucy.  And you need to not worry about what the waiters thinks of you.  I've gotten some weird looks from waitstaff for asking for tin foil. And that brings me to;
6. Caring what other people think
Granted, I've always been on the strange side and did things the way I wanted to regardless of what was popular.  Being different has always been more appealing to me than just fitting in.  I have gone through phases of dyeing my hair crazy colors, piercings, wild hairstyles, making my own clothes, listening to every kind of music, being vegetarian, being dairy-free, trying sex and drugs and rock-n-roll.  But everything I did all stemmed from the same idea - to be one person, rejecting the status quo, making a difference, helping the planet to survive our human nature to devour all of its resources for our profit. That profit might be money or health but either way, it's for our gain. We can't help it - we want to survive and be comfortable and warm and drive anywhere we want on a whim and eat exotic foods and take our miracle drugs. So I don't care if the waitress thinks I'm odd for rejecting the Styrofoam clamshell container. I don't care if my clothes come from the Salvation Army or if they're hand-me-downs from friends.  I love antiques! They're being reused! My old vacuum tube TV still works, so I'm not replacing it until I have to. Why create demand for new products when we have so much stuff already? Don't tell me jobs, because NO ONE WANTS TO WORK IN A FACTORY. So there. We'll just have to fix the economy by creating other types of work.
7. Using a grocery bag to pick up dog poop
Now, if you've read my previous blogs, you know about my ongoing war with dog shit.  I used to think that reusing my grocery bags for poo was a good thing. After some reflection on the subject, I now believe I'm better off using the much smaller made-for-the-purpose dog poop bags. My idea now is, dump the poo out of the bag, into the toilet, place the dirty bag in emptied, and flush. I will try this the next time I walk the dog with the current bags (don't tell Sam) but for now, there is too much snow and salt on the ground for the dog to want to go far. She just runs out in the yard, does her thing, and runs back in to the warm, soft couch. We are both pleased with this arrangement.
8. Paper plates & Napkins

Sam and I threw a New Year's Eve party. It was awesome. About 16 of us in our tiny house with tons of appetizers and various potables, sitting around in our pjs playing a new card game called "Cards Against Humanity" and dancing to our eclectic mix of old vinyl records. 

 We ate and drank from 8pm to 3am and the next morning I only had two grocery bags full of trash after I cleaned up.  How is this possible? No paper plates, no paper napkins, no plastic cups.  I did a very minimal amount of dish washing during the party, just a few tiny plates and threw everything into the dishwasher in the morning.  I hand washed the pots and pans and champagne glasses, of course, but that was no big deal. The cloth napkins, towels (for mopping up spilled drinks...) and tablecloths got tossed into the washing machine. Honestly, I would have had only one bag of trash except that I decided not to compost the party food. I can hear the intake of breath hissing through your teeth right now! Why not, you ask?  Well, there is 14" of snow and 50' between me and my compost pile right now. So until the snow melts down a bit, I've suspended the composting.  I also didn't want to have to police what went into the compost bucket - if someone drunkenly tossed in cheese or meat, I just didn't want to pick through it in the morning when I might have been feeling under the weather.

9. Disposable Batteries
What says, "Merry Christmas, Honey, I love you!" more than rechargeable batteries? I don't know! That's why I bought them for Sam.  Isn't my sweetie lucky to have me?
10. Cheap Razors
I've practically given up on shaving, anyway, but when summer rolls around and I am feeling the heat, somehow shaving makes me feel like I'm doing all I can to keep cool.  Sam, on the other hand, has recently shown a renewed interest in the art of shaving so, I bought a razor that has replaceable heads. Is this a major break through in trash reduction? Probably not, but it's a list of 12 things and I'm running out of good ideas. Sorry.
11. Tossing out plastic bags that come with packaged food
A lot of food comes wrapped in many layers of protection so that it can arrive to your kitchen undamaged and fresh.  Cereal, crackers, ice cream sandwiches, bags of salad, frozen dumplings, I could go on forever and forever. So much plastic! I have started saving all sorts of those bags that are clean and recycling them at the grocery store where they take back the used plastic bags. Are they just throwing them away? Do they recycle them? I don't know.  Hopefully, whoever picks up these bags will get the message that we need to be addressing all this extra packaging. 
12. Buying small when I can buy in bulk

I love BJ's. hee hee. One exception - toilet paper. I can buy individual rolls that are wrapped with a paper cover but, if I buy in bulk, the same toilet paper comes packaged together in a giant plastic bag. Boooo! I understand the dilemma. A giant box might be more difficult to ship without creasing the corners, but maybe we're being just a little too picky about the condition of our packaging. Do you buy the crinkled cereal box? Or pick through until you find one that's perfect? Even though the stuff inside in undamaged?

So, that's my list. Hope you liked it. Happy New Year!
-Trashy