Good news, Eau Claire! All waste management companies (Boxx, Veolia, Waste Management, etc.) now accept plastics #1 through #7 in your recycling bin.
Recycling is great, but the real ecological solution is to avoid accumulating unneeded containers. If you are able to, you can try making some food yourself every now and then. Here is an easy way to make perfect peanut butter. This home-made peanut butter will generally be more expensive than your basic supermarket product, but it will cost the same or less than the fancier natural peanut butter, and it’s exactly the same thing.
In a food processor, blend 1lb roasted peanuts and 2 Tbs oil (preferably peanut oil). Blend for at least 3 minutes straight until the texture starts changing towards that of peanut butter. For the smoothest peanut butter, blend at least 3 more minutes, but it’s up to you to decide the texture you want, which is a benefit of making the peanut butter yourself.
Hummingbirds are back in the neighborhood. If you want to attract them, you don’t need much. I attract mine in two different ways. First, I have a hummingbird feeder. I recommend a flat feeder, much easier to clean than the traditional inverted bottle types. Place it in a shaded or partially shaded area. Fill it with nectar, a.k.a sugary water. Don’t bother buying what is marketed as hummingbird food. Just combine 1/4 cup sugar in 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil. Let cool, and serve. You can make more at a time and keep it in the fridge for 10 days or so.
My second method is to purchase flowers that attract hummingbirds. There are plenty to choose from. Red ones work best, but you can always mix in different colors too. This year I have annuals like salvias, fuschias, and petunias, as well as my perennial bee-balm that is always a hit in the summer.
Here’s a video of a hummingbird at my window last year. My cat and daughter were particularly excited.
There are many ways to reduce one’s waste and save money when you team up with a friend, and even more with a neighbor. Knowing your neighbors is personally and socially enriching, but if you find like-minded neighbors, that partnership will be enjoyable and profitable. Here are some ideas that have been inspired by my own neighbors.
Garbage removal: if you have managed to reduce your waste, you probably don’t have more than 1 or 2 trash bags to be hauled weekly. See if your neighbor wants to share your trash can and split the cost.
Rent big machines together and till your garden or wash your carpets the same day.
Ask your neighbors when you are looking for items that are usually discarded (such as cardboard boxes, wire hangers, rags, containers that can be turned into planters). A neighbor may have some, or will know someone who has.
Trade items (fruit and vegetables from the garden) and services (mowing, pet sitting, snow blowing, sewing, etc.).
When going out to eat, be sure to remember to take some containers with you. At the end of your meal, you can pack your left-overs away and avoid having to use a disposable styrofoam box. Not very classy, I know, but neither is the doggie-back concept in itself. And if every one does it we can make it trendy! This is like bringing your own mug to the coffee shop, and many people already do that.
Even small efforts to reduce household waste are a big step in the right direction. And it doesn’t get much smaller than worms. Yes, worms can help you compost by digesting your scrap food (excluding meats, dairy, and fat) and by producing super-concentrated fertilizer (a.k.a. worm poop). That is what vermicomposting is about.
My neighbor Erin and her family started vermicomposting about a year ago. They continue to compost in their yard as well because the worms can’t handle all the scraps of a family of four. But what they do take on turns into black gold for their plants and garden. Erin’s father, a vermicomposting enthusiast, got her started with one bin full of worms that now sits in their basement. They feed their little helpers kitchen scraps about twice a week. That’s as much maintenance as they usually need. If the bin is too dry, simply add water. If it’s too wet, drain it and use the extra liquid to fertilize house plants. After a few months a thick layer of extra-strong compost is ready for harvest.
I really enjoyed learning about vermicomposting and seeing how it works firsthand. What surprised me the most was the lack of odor coming from the bins. I expected to smell fermented fruit and vegetables but that wasn’t the case. It looks fairly easy to set up and maintain. Erin said that they bought the worms from a local farm that later closed, so you may have to do a bit of searching to find your own. This Wisconsin site may be a good start.
Here is something you can do in 2012: use public transportation. It may feel complicated at first to understand routes and schedules, but don’t worry (you can ask the drivers if you need it) and hop on. It is very pleasant to be driven around town without stressing out about traffic and inconsiderate drivers, without having to look for a parking spot, and it gives you the perfect excuse to leave work or a boring party at a predetermined time.
I have taken public transportation in all kinds of cities and countries (Paris, Chicago, London, Stuttgart) but also Eau Claire, WI where I currently reside and have never had a problem. I also regularly take my bike on the bus, which is easy as pie. I just had a driver show me how it worked on my first day. I actually enjoy getting to know my bus drivers as well as other frequent passengers. Or you can watch a video tutorial if you prefer to be 100% ready before you get on or if you hate talking to people.
In my neighborhood I can catch three different bus lines (Route 1, Route 7/17, Route8/18), and even Route 5/15 if I go to the edge of the Eastside Hill). I can be downtown within 10 minutes. I can be at the mall within 20 minutes. And from downtown I can pretty much go anywhere I want. Half the busses leave the downtown transfer station at 15 after the hour, and the other half at 45 after the hour. Here is a complete map and list of schedules.
Much of what I’ve been writing in this blog has been, in one way or another, about the fruitful results of my experiments to make my life less wasteful and more meaningful. Today I am writing about a failed experiment. And that’s ok too. To succeed, you have to try first.
Almost a year ago I decided to save little pieces of soap that weren’t big enough to be useful anymore. I collected them in a discarded glass jar. A few days ago I finally had enough to make a whole new bar out of them. I tried different techniques I had read about online but even my best intentions and patience couldn’t make it work.
I tried to coarsely grate the bits of soap but found that, despite my bits being as dry as they could be, many were still too soft pieces to grate well. Instead, I cut them in small pieces.
Next, I added a little bit of warm water and tried to make a ball with the pieces that were starting to stick together, but my cut-up pieces were too big and wouldn’t change shape.
Finally I went where no one should ever go as a last resort: the microwave. I put the soap pieces in a ceramic bowl with a little bit more water. WIth a little water, and at half power, the soap started foaming after 30 seconds or so. It had melted together but not completely.
I poured it into a travel soap container to shape it. ow I have a weird creation that is just waiting for me to touch it to fall apart.
Well, I didn’t get any useable soap bar out of the experience, but it was fun handling foamy soap, and my mess was a breeze to clean. Maybe I will keep collecting my soap bits just so my daughter can have fun making strange soap figurines in the future.
Most gift wrap cannot be recycled with paper, as it often contains shiny material or different types of paper mixed together. It really pains me to carefully wrap presents in paper just so it can be thrown away later. Instead, I now wrap my presents in recyclable paper such as brown bags, tissue paper, or newspaper. If I were a seamstress, I think I would also use discarded fabric. In addition I keep every gift bag that I receive to be reused later. With gift bags, I don’t even need to wrap presents at all, thus saving time. And instead of bows, I use actual ribbon, which is so much prettier and can be reused for much longer, even in your hair!
Summer is gone, but don’t let your left-over sun screen go to waste. Those lotions won’t protect you from the sun next year as they lose expire with time, but they will provide moisture on your skin over the winter. This is a big advantage over the spray-on sunscreens. I tried one this year thinking it would be easier to apply. First, it wasn’t. Next, it gave me and my daughter rashes. And it also can’t be recycled as easily. I will buy good ole lotions from now on, and not waste one drop.
Here is a message from one of my neighbors who loves his push reel mower. I love mine too! He wrote a very good review that I would like to share. If you are looking to purchase a mower this spring, you will have time to consider getting a reel mower. Sometimes on summer afternoons I lay in my hammock wishing all my neighbors had a quiet, oh so quiet mower… Ernie, thanks for taking my wish closer to reality!
“My name is Ernie […]. I’m writing because I just bought an awesome reel mower, and I thought you’d be interested. Have you ever used a reel mower? I think they’re perfect for the small East Hill lawns. So quiet, no gas, and no oil! I wrote up a review for the reel mower I bought.”
