So it's the end of 2023. Literally the last day. It was a strangely busy, lazy, fun and sad year. From a wonderful Florida wedding (not mine)/Disney World vacation, finding out I have some arthritis in my foot, seeing my beloved aunt for the last time, Let me talk about her for a bit. She was amazing. She was an elementary school teacher, active in her church, volunteered at the hospital, the local museum, was a member of the VFW, the local Audubon Society. She had this book of North American birds and traveled all over to see new birds with her group. She went all over the world (I have no idea how she did that on a teacher's salary in rural midwest). She went to every continent including Antarctica. She went to Kenya twice. The first time they got lost and search and rescue had to go find the group (do you know some places if you have to be rescued, you have to pay for it.) The second time she broke her wrist. She still loved it. She crewed a windjammer off the coast of Maine at least once. That always sounded fun. I regret never tagging along. She was diagnosed with breast cancer about 15 years ago. Went into remission. It came back a few years later and became metastasized five years ago. Liver, lungs.. it played ping pong. She had four of those five years in pretty decent health. I went to see her in July and she went into hospice a week after I returned home and passed a few days after. Yes, she was my favorite aunt. I will miss her grin, her laughter, her love of birds, cats and her family. ~~~~OTHER BITS I didn't get a ton of writing done this year, but I did manage about 20K during NaNoWriMo and a few lines here and there over Christmas break. I managed 85 books this year, list over on my twitter https://x.com/JPiperLee/status/1741663802955870299?s=20 I may post again about some of my favorites. I bought a new car after 12 years. A hybrid, I like it, but it has SO MANY bells and whistles. LOL And I learned how to crochet. I may also post again with pictures of my adorable Woobles. Happy New Year. I wish all good things in 2024. XOXO
0 Comments
Today I want to talk about recycling. Recycling is great. Things like glass, aluminum, metal are recyclable for some number of recycles to the same material. Plastics.. not so much. It's extremely hard to recycle, it's cheaper to make new, and so there is not really a market for recycled material, which is usually downcycled. Additionally, it's supposed to go into the recycling bin clean.. how much water are we using if we do so? A lot. Plastics need a cradle to grave plan. But better yet, we really need less.... Less bottled water, less single use. Use those where absolutely needed. I know there are places like Flint that need bottled water. People that need to use soft plastic straws. But many of us (myself included) use these for convenience. What I'm trying to do is buy products that are not in plastic, not even in glass or metal. I want to introduce you to a few of my favorites. Let's start with soaps, shampoo, etc: I've started using Love Beauty and Planet 2-1 bar shampoo/conditioner, that comes in a cardboard box without any plastic. I use ivory bar soap, and for shaving, a shaving bar. No more rusty shaving cream cans! Other health and beauty: I have gone from using single use makeup cloths to getting a bottle of the same remover, and investing in a pack of 12 washcloths. I have a box of kleenex for visitors, but I bought a pack of handkerchiefs. I also bought these from https://lastobject.com/ I have the Last Round.. just arrived, so I'll report back with how I like it. Also have LastTissue and LastSwab. I am using up some existing cotton swabs, but intend on mostly keeping the remainder for guests. LastSwab is easy to clean, as is the LastTissue. For cleaning... Blueland.com ... I just love all their products. You get the nice, heavy duty bottles once, then simple tablets to refill (no microplastics, come in compostable paper). I use all the products, bathroom cleaner, window cleaner, all purpose cleaner, dish soap, dishwasher soap, hand soap and laundry detergent. All of these products are, to my knowledge and research, not animal tested, many are safe for septic, paraben free.. I am transitioning from dryer sheets to wool balls. I've definitely reduced the number of sheets i use, and things do dry faster. With the exception of my makeup remover and the dryer sheets, none of it creates plastic waste. I hope this helps others who want to make a change. If we start buying these things, and reducing demand, companies will have to change. Happy Monday.. love, Pi Just trying this out. It's 'finally get Pi's website ship-shape this weekend'
|
AuthorCall me Pi. I write. I recycle. I rage about bad drivers. ArchivesCategories |