I’ve been meaning to post something for weeks now. I even have some posts in progress, but watching the news and seeing so much suffering- the fires, the hurricanes, the Covid-19 cases and deaths, unemployment numbers- made me feel bad about coming here and rattling on about decluttering and how I’m tricking myself into eating more vegetables. It breaks my heart seeing so many people suffering and knowing better days may not arrive for a while.

Not writing doesn’t change anything, but it does make me feel badly because I committed to doing it.

So. Several weeks ago we stepped out of the house and saw this guy chilling a couple feet from the front door.

It freaked me out because I’ve never seen a snake so close to my house, and this was a big mofo. Usually our local snakes are small and skinny and bright green, like the one who’s taken up residence in some cracked masonry outside our garage. When I saw that one escape in there while watering the tomatoes, I thought I could get Bob to plug up the crack, thus resolving the problem. But I felt guilty about the idea of condemning it. So he’s likely still cruising around. You’re welcome, snake, and please stay away.

I reported the green snake sighting to Bob, and said, “I’m glad I didn’t see it go inside the garage.” And he could’ve participated in my wishful thinking, but he chose to shatter my bit of security and said, “Oh, I’ve seen snakes in the garage.”

!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has complicated my grand plan to unload old furniture and bins of random stuff. When I was working on my project in 2015, someone suggested bringing the bins into the house to sort through when it was too cold to be outside. And I purged lots of stuff using this approach. But now I worry about bringing a bin with a snake into the house. Since the temperature’s been good, I’ve been working outside, but the snake possibility has raised questions. Do I leave the garage door open so I have another way to flee if I see one? (This assumes I don’t break any bones falling over stuff as I try to escape.) Or leave the garage door closed so a snake can’t get in?

I’m probably overthinking this. And since I never see snakes during cold weather, I thought I could relax.

Deciding to consult the Google Monster shattered that feeling. 

So…YAY! And with the cooler weather we need to inspect for spots where mice can get into the house. The owner of my first apartment building did much of the maintenance and didn’t live there, so I got to rent the super’s apartment on the ground level. The fridge was in a recessed area with a padlocked door that led to the boiler room, and I’m pretty sure mice lived back there. And since it was an NYC neighborhood near the East River, probably a rat or two. My cat spent lots of time in front of the fridge, ready to pounce. Anxious, I told a colleague and she said, “Don’t worry. They can sense you have a cat and will never come in.”

Not anymore. The idea of three cats=triple mouse protection is invalid.

During my first project, I never addressed the idea of getting organized for preparing the house’s exterior for the colder weather. I’m adding another item to my list.

As much as I’m not organized, I’ve always been very effective at planning for hurricanes and blizzards and get it done as early as I can. As soon as the virus landed in NYC, I made a list of what I thought we’d need and went shopping. (Regardless, we ran out of toilet paper by the end of March. My neighbor made me take a few rolls, which is how you now know who really has your back.)

By the end of last month, I was still writing things down, either in my phone’s Notes app or on paper, but too many things were still bopping around in my head to make my old system work well. Besides the daily to-do grind, I’d also jot down lists to help with my job search, minor house repairs, or groceries we’d need soon. Beyond my obligatory tasks, I’d make fun lists of books I wanted to read, things I wanted to make or sew, nearby places to hike. Notepads and paper always seemed to be on flat surfaces all over- one in the kitchen for groceries, one on the coffee table for deep thoughts while watching tv, one on my desk and one on my craft table. I thought this was the best way to capture ideas before I forgot them, but instead I had paper all over and usually couldn’t find what I needed. There are multiple versions of a few lists, because I’d make a list, forget I made it, then re-do it. Making a decision to only make lists in one place was a start, but everything was still scrambled.

Planners can be helpful, since many of them have additional ways to organize ideas and tasks. Since I have an irrational loathing of 18-month planners, and had trouble finding a satisfactory 12-month planner that fits my criteria, I bought one of those undated planners sets. It came with a pound’s worth of stickers and dividers and paper clips, which I loved because I’m still not over my childhood sticker albums and setting up my Trapper Keeper every year. Of course, I had to buy colored markers and washi tape and whatever other crap I thought would help me. Looking back, I’m rolling my eyes at my idea that buying all this stuff was going to help me pare down my life  to fit it into an overstuffed 8×10 binder. I spent one fun afternoon labeling sections and filling in the undated month pages. And it wasn’t was disastrous, but it was too much. Did I really think I was going to faithfully use the additional fitness section I thought I had to have? Go scratch, Happy Planner.

My cat threw up on this a week after I got it. That should’ve been a sign.

I spend too much time on Pinterest, so I was never going to avoid the glut of posts about bullet journaling. I was also looking for something Emma could use, because she was beginning to get a little bored and restless. I thought she’d be engaged by making lists of things we could look forward to and things we could do safely outside of the house. (She wasn’t. Teenagers!)

I’d seen The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll in bookstores, and had thumbed through it a few times back when it was ok to freely touch stuff. My initial scans of the book overwhelmed me, so I passed on it every time. Once again, I needed to create one book where I’d centralize everything, whether it was frivolous or important.

About midway though the book, the author lays out how to set up your bullet journal. I reached this part as August was ending, so I decided to plunge ahead and start on September 1. I don’t know if this is the same for everyone, or just teachers and students, but September always feels like a fresh start for me. So starting on the first of this month seemed a good idea.

I’m still not done reading the book, but my journal’s all set up and formatted. My daily log isn’t really maximized yet, so while it’s tempting to shelve the book, I’m going to finish. I want to get as much from this as I can. Though this is a structured approach to planning and organizing, I already like it better than the traditional planners I’ve used in the past. Pre-printed planners can be great. I will never tire of seeing them in stores and looking at all the lovely covers and art.  But these planners also kind of force you to work your life into the sections and headings they chose, instead of the reality of your typical day or week or month. I’ll update my progress and experience with my bullet journal as I go along- I better make a note of it.

*I’m not being compensated for the above mentions.

During my last project, I admitted to myself that I didn’t like cooking. Occasionally, I’d start a streak, inspired by a memorable restaurant meal or a good new recipe. Those streaks were fleeting. So planning meals I’d then have to cook was a dreaded task.

For many of us, planning meals and cooking for our families isn’t going to make our hearts sing. But it’s necessary, because homemade meals tend to be healthier and less expensive than restaurant meals. So even though my efforts haven’t been a smashing success, I keep trying because it’s important.

The ups and downs of life have thrown off most of my routines in recent years, and meal planning is usually the first to get jettisoned. But boredom’s been a significant hurdle too. I moved into my first apartment when I was 24- which was almost 24 years ago. Despite learning new recipes and incorporating new foods, it hit me recently that I’ve been making many of the same foods for half my life.

So I’m trying to shake things up. I’ll revisit meal planning, but first I want to experiment. Ideally, I’ll find enough new foods and ideas to keep me motivated and make Bob and Emma happy.

This strategy has been partially in motion for a few months, but I also had a helpful light-bulb moment recently which led to some ideas I’d never thought of.

• I’m a picky eater, with a particular aversion to things that are green, with the exception of green M&Ms. But green food is healthy, in vegetable form anyway. So when a local farm I follow on Instagram shared information about their CSA (community-supported agriculture) membership, we decided to sign up. Every Saturday, we go to the farm to pick up a crate of vegetables and fruit.

Garlic, onions and heirloom tomatoes from the farm with some tomatoes from our garden.

We get to pick some items ourselves, depending on what’s available. This is my favorite part. Since we’re still spending so much time at home, it’s been great to do something different and fun every week. We’ve picked peas, beans, all types of berries, cherries, apples, and peaches. I’ve found a couple new things to like- salad turnips, honeynut squash- and I’m certain I don’t like kale.

Cherry season is way too short.

• We bought bean plants, a few types of tomato plants, and some herbs from another farm in our town. I finally planted a little herb garden after years of thinking about it. Bob’s tried to grow tomatoes every summer, with mediocre results. When we got the new plants, he realized that the front yard was a better place for the pots because the sun is better. The beans didn’t do very well, but everything else took off. Even though it’s a small thing, being able to cook and eat things we’ve grown has been really satisfying. I really love going out to cut some basil or thyme when I need it.
  

  From my garden

• I bought a new cookbook. We were in Barnes & Noble last week when a cookbook caught my eye. Even though I wasn’t looking for one, I picked it up because there was foul language on the cover, which I’m embarrassed to admit delights me.  The recipes were healthy, and I imagined myself making several of them. So I bought it. In the car, I flipped through it again and read a recipe for flautas. I noted the lack of sour cream, which was fine because I don’t like it. Then I noticed there was no cheese either. Or meat. I read a few more recipes and noticed a pattern. “I bought a f***king vegan cookbook,” I said to Bob. He started laughing. But I’m no less interested. I have no plans to go vegan or vegetarian, but I’m going to make some of those meals. It never occurred to me before that I could try these kinds of dishes, and like them, without having to revamp my whole life. In the past, I’ve attempted to embrace different approaches to cooking and eating, usually ones that called for all-or-nothing adoption, like Atkins and Whole30. Some people have the motivation and discipline to succeed with plans like these. I’m not one of them, and I only just realized that I can still look to those plans for meal ideas.

No caption needed.

So, I don’t know what I’m making tomorrow night, but I’ll dig into our produce stash and defrost some chicken and figure something out.

]]> http://thesimpleyear.com/food-stuff/feed/ 2 13363 http://thesimpleyear.com/more-stuff-a-trilogy/ http://thesimpleyear.com/more-stuff-a-trilogy/#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2020 05:19:09 +0000 http://thesimpleyear.com/?p=13310 I think my biggest takeaway from my 2015 project was that having an organized life and home is a process. Getting excess stuff out of the house was definitely a big priority. Over the course of my year, I donated 42 boxes and 35 bags, along with a few random pieces of small furniture. Of everything I did that year, I think I was proudest of that accomplishment.

Moving forward, I knew I’d have to be mindful of stuff creep. My house, like many others probably, got filled slowly as items trickled in. But I hadn’t anticipated a deluge. Or three. In no particular order:

• Girl Scout books, supplies, miscellaneous stuff. In 2017, another Girl Scout leader and I took over the management of our town’s service unit. This position came with stuff that the prior manager was probably happy to unload. It began with one large plastic tote, which was manageable. But as troops have graduated, I’ve acquired even more stuff. Since I never designated a spot, I’ve been squirreling things all over. The start of a new school year is good motivation to centralize everything, because I will have the opportunity to hand out some of these supplies. But I have to figure out what I have first.
• My parents’ stuff. My mom passed away in 2018, and I’m still sorting through boxes. To say my parents kept everything is a little hyperbolic. But only a little. Every so often I go into the garage, open a box, look at the contents, and close the box without doing anything. Compared to what I once had, what’s left isn’t a lot. But I think it’s a lot of photos and documents and sentimental items. I need to sift though it carefully because I don’t anticipate tossing much, but I’ll need better storage.
• My new-ish hobby. I’ve been sewing for years, but until last summer I did it on an as-needed basis. When I wanted new curtains or throw pillows, I often preferred to make them, so the  sewing machine only emerged once or twice a year. Last summer, while recovering from Lyme disease, I found myself in thrall to Etsy, tote bag patterns, and fabric. I sew almost every day now, which is how I justify the yards and yards of fabric I’ve bought. The cargo area of my car is currently serving as mobile fabric storage. I’m both pleased with myself for thinking of using my car for this purpose, and annoyed at myself because I have to store fabric in my car.

The months we lived under stay-at-home orders made decluttering and donating harder, because the area charities were understandably not taking items. So I took a long hiatus from gathering things to give away. Being quarantined also complicated any decluttering efforts because the common “what if I need this” justification became harder to fight off. Because if I gave something away I later needed, getting another might have been a challenge.

Three bags, five boxes.

Earlier this week I had my first donation pickup since probably January or February. Emma filled two big bags with clothes she’d outgrown, which is always a little bittersweet. But knowing that people are more in need than usual helped me to let go of a lot. I’m sure there will be more to donate, but my current situation will call for more organizing.

So I didn’t have to look far to find a starting point.

In 2015 I was the fourth person to take over The Simple Year blog.I’d left a long teaching career a few years before, but still had an educator’s brain, so I used an educator’s approach to try and streamline my life and my home. I classified the chaos and got started.

Over the next year, I documented my successes, my failures, and took photos of the many boxes and bags I donated.  When I handed the blog over to Trisha and her zero waste project, I’d made some notable changes, and I learned a lot. Identifying and giving away things we didn’t need probably got most of my energy relative to my other goals, because it felt like the most pressing need. Even though the excess came out of the house, I was the one feeling lighter.

Since then, I’ve continued to periodically sort through closets and drawers and the garage, which remains a shitshow. There’s no other word for it. So that’ll be a focus. Again. And I’m back to struggling with family meals. What’s that expression about the more things change, the more they stay the same? Maybe familiar issues are preferable to new ones, though I have some of those too!

My plan is to write on Monday and Friday, and if I come across any useful or interesting reading, I’ll share links on Wednesday. It’s great to be back.

Once upon a time, like in 2016, I was ON IT on the zero waste front. And I’m still pretty on it as far as all that goes. I take my reusable bags to the grocery store, my Klean Kanteen travel mug continues to serve my coffee needs (that thing is 7 years old!) and I’m not interested in keeping up with the Joneses so I don’t require new stuff all the time.

I like my old stuff, actually. It’s fine.

But there has been, shall we say, some slippage since our family’s zero waste year ended. Some of that is beyond my control: I have A LOT of food sensitivities and that requires me to purchase special items so I can, like, live and stuff. (Hello, favorite rice cracker!) But a lot of it is well within my control and I’ve just gotten lazy. (No jars for bulk? Eh, let’s just grab this paper bag.)

I was scrolling through the internets in early September and came across a blog post on one woman’s plans for No Plastic September. And I was like, Wait a minute, that’s a thing? What is this about? Because this kind of challenge is right up my alley … and also perhaps needed to get me back on my previous track.

Searches revealed that No Plastic September might be about not buying anything in plastic for a month … or it might be about refusing straws … or it might be about using reusables instead of to-go items. I couldn’t find any definitive answers, which was great because that meant I could make it whatever I needed it to be.

I decided to focus on the following:

Eliminating single use plastics. I took this to mean things like paper coffee cups (which are coated on the inside with plastic) and their corresponding plastic paraphanelia (lids, straws), plastic bags at the market, to-go containers, plastic silverware, and products that are wrapped in, lined with or are entirely made of plastic (yogurt containers, potato chip bags, cereal). I don’t generally use these items, so the goal was to simply notice when these situations came up so I could do better next time — or refuse on the spot if possible.

And that worked pretty well. I may not have been able to forgo boxes of rice crackers, but I could pass up the potato chips.

Using my own silverware, napkins and cups. I do a lot of this anyway — it became a habit after our zero waste year. So I have a reusable water bottle, coffee canteen and even a glass to-go cup for iced coffee emergencies.

I am not always great about planning ahead. I mean, yes, I am fantastic about that when I’m packing a lunch in my reusable containers. I am not so great about it when I get snacky and end up at the store. I’m also not great at making sure Johanna has her reusables — she’s also got cups and straws and the whole works … at home.

I had one system breakdown — I had planned to take a lunch break one afternoon at a favorite café and ended up having to get food to go (newspaper deadline that day was a nightmare and I wasn’t able to leave the office). I got the plastic-lined paper box, but I have silverware wrapped in a cloth napkin in my desk, so I saved that bit, at least.

Oh, wait, two system breakdowns: Johanna visited my office a couple of times and walked down to the coffee shop for an iced Americano. In a to-go cup. Twice. Rats.

Focus on food storage. I don’t have many plastic containers left in the house — there are a few that have survived years of being packed in the girls’ lunches, and Eric has a set that he packs his lunches in every day. Most of our leftovers are stored in jars (Abby said her college friends who visited this summer were fascinated by all of our jars. That made me laugh. Apparently that’s not typical storage behavior?), and I’m not above putting a plate over a bowl and sticking that in the fridge. But because these behaviors are automated, I don’t tend to notice when plastic sneaks in. So for this one, the goal was to take notice.

The points of entry here were other people being generous. I have a hard time feeling bad about that.

Mostly what I learned after a month on high alert is that paying attention is key because it’s when I don’t that plastic leaks in. There is much I am proud of … and much I can still work on. Eh, we’ll just continue with No Plastic October.

For those also intrigued but maybe don’t have the running start that we do,* some ideas:

Refuse straws. Just say no to plastic straws. Why? READ THIS.

Avoid fast food. It’s all single use containers, and all coated in plastic.

BYOC. Bring your own cup. Or mug. It’s astounding how much waste goes into that daily cup of coffee (HERE). Bottled water is also a scam and is also dripping in plastic (HERE). This is actually a fairly easy habit to get into — and honestly, just doing this all September if it’s not something you’ve ever done before would be amazing.

BYOB. Bring your own bag. I’ve been jacked to see more people with cloth produce bags lately — but just bringing a cloth bag to the grocery store and eliminating all of that plastic? That would also be amazing (HERE).

And just to get it out there, I realize that sometimes, you really do need plastic, like with patient care. I am pro plastic in these instances. It’s for the safety of everyone. What I’m talking about eliminating here are household plastics, coffee shop plastics, that kind of thing. We don’t need to be perfect; we just need to be better. I’ve talked with a lot of people who get caught up on doing things perfectly and then, when they mess up (as we all do), they get discouraged and just quit.

Did you learn to walk in a day? No.

From mistakes comes growth. That’s cheesy as hell, you guys, but it’s so true: Every failure is a learning experience. You’ll do better next time.

*We did a zero waste year, for crying out loud. I’ve eliminated most disposables and replaced them already with reusables — over time. The point of this exercise is NOT to toss all your plastic, run to the store and purchase new stuff. DO NOT BUY NEW STUFF. Or rather, yeah, you might need to buy new stuff (may I recommend a travel mug?) but you won’t know what you need for a while. I made the mistake of buying into the idea that to be zero waste — to eliminate the plastic — I needed to get “zero waste stuff.” What I really should have done was waited; I’d have made much better purchases if I had. Or not purchased items at all.

Learn from my mistakes!

BIG NEWS IN ALASKA

This week our municipality of Anchorage, Alaska has banned plastic grocery bags. They have been talking about it a year or more and even extended the deadline for compliance a few months so that area businesses with warehouses of bags wouldn’t lose money.

While I’m not terribly concerned about them losing their money (sorry Walmart), I thought that sounded like an OK idea largely because if stores already had them it seemed like they would just have to throw them away in bulk rather than spread it out. I guess if they’ve already been made and delivered, might as well diffuse the littering.

So, this week was finally “Go Time”. Murder and mayhem aside, this is quite a controversial issue, according to  hundreds of comments on the local news outlets social media pages.  Using complex data analytics (I read ALL the comments…twice), I have determined that there are three main objections.

1. It might be inconvenient
2. They might have to pay for a paper bag if they forget theirs
3. The government is overreaching.

(Incidentally, there is also the, full-of-righteous-indignation-about-everything-and-want-to-complain, folk, but, I can’t offer a rational opinion on that)

It may not surprise you that I am firmly in the “Pro Bag Ban” camp. So, I have a response to the above concerns, but first I would like to tell you a story. Sit back.

In 2005 we lived in Monterey, California not far from the county dump. I know there are those that prefer the more modern and politically correct term, landfill, but I will stick with the colloquial. In any case, at the dump, they had a store they called Last Chance Mercantile.

Last Chance was a reuse store that sold items either donated or salvaged. It was enormous and really had a remarkable selection of things people were throwing away. Of note, I bought the desk chair that I am sitting on now, there.

One day as I was approaching the dump, it was particularly windy day. The kind of blustery day that turns umbrellas inside out and snatches hats right off of heads. For those of you that don’t have firsthand dump knowledge. I should mention that most of them have a large berm around the outside. There is some sort of engineering reason for this, but I don’t know what it is. I do, however, know that it hides thing, usually.
But that day as I approached, whipping violently and high above the berm were hundred, or maybe thousands of what looked like floating jellyfish. It took me a bit to realize they were actually those thin plastic grocery bags.
It was chilling to me. All those bags that had been manufactured and used for one short trip from a shop to someone’s home now flying, floating or buried forever.

It was one of those moments that necessitate action. I vowed that was the last time that I would use one of those bags.

But, of course it wasn’t.

Because there were so many times that I forgot my bags. And, I would pick convenience and take the thin slippery jelly fish bags. And I would try to make myself feel better because I would reuse them for lunches or dog waste. Let’s face it, all this does is make it take slightly longer for those bags to be the part of the namesake “filling” at the landfill, for eternity. I mean that isn’t even hyperbole. It is actually forever.

Years have passed and I have gotten better about remembering my reusable bags. I also try not to buy so much stuff at one time (I live near stores, so that is easier for me than other Alaskans admittedly).
As far as government overreach, I am certainly not perfect so I am actually thrilled that the ability to “cheat” and take the plastic bag has been taken away from me. Now stores will have a “paper bag for purchase” option and while that probably is not as good as bringing my own reusable, it is a bit more guilt free for me in a pinch. I guess I view it as our elected officials fulfilling the duty to protect.

As far as inconvenience and price…I guess you got me there. But, I can tell you it does get easier once you do it a few times. And if you want a free reusable bag, you can make ones that mimic the size and shape of the little grocery bags out an old t-shirt. Here is a link to a pretty good (and short) tutorial.

I know that plastic bags are just a tiny part of the problem…but they are part of the problem.  So, I’m willing to be a bit more complex to beat back the plastic storm, if even only a bit.

Anchorage: The calm before the bag ban storm

One particular item keeps resurfacing in the news as a big sewage blockage culprit: the wet wipe. The arch-nemesis of sewer workers and the environment alike.

Many companies claim that their wet wipes have been tested and are safe to flush. They make this claim based on the degradation of the wipes, during the flushing process, and the effect of the water hitting the material. Flush it and it will fall to pieces, is the boast.

Meanwhile, water companies, responsible for managing the sewerage systems the wipes end up in, try to replicate these tests and keep failing to achieve the same results. One disgruntled lab technician, from the Water Research Council in the UK, likened the required whirlpool force needed to break down a wet wipe to that of a cyclone. If you’ve ever laundered a wipe in your washing machine, only to find it emerge intact, then it’s easy to imagine that not much happens to its structure once it goes down the drain.

Once they’re down there, they gang up and create barriers for everything else nasty coming behind them. Human waste is only the half of it. Fatbergs, those monsters of the modern age, build up when the grease and oil in the water gather against wipes and other debris after the water passes through. Multiply this exponentially by the gallons and seconds of the world’s sewer systems, and you end up with 64m (209ft) long piles of fat, grease and heaven only knows what else, blocking the sewer. Someone has to go down there and deal with that.

On top of the outstanding blocking attributes of wet wipes, the majority contain plastic and, much like in synthetic clothes, also release microplastics when agitated. These microscopic plastic particles are literally everywhere, with trillions of particles, amounting to millions of tonnes, sitting in our oceans, dusting beaches and towns, and increasingly also found in human bodies.

In conclusion: do NOT flush wet wipes.

While researching articles for this blog I have also found out something I am guilty of having done many times before, which is flushing hair. And although it is unlikely that it will clog the toilet when a small quantity is flushed, it can definitely contribute to the issue down the line (or pipe).

Here’s a helpful list of things which we shouldn’t flush:

• Sanitary products
• Wet wipes (baby wipes, face wipes, cleaning wipes, etc.)
• Cotton buds (swabs/q-tips), especially those on plastic sticks
• Cotton balls or makeup remover pads – switch to reusable instead
• Kitchen roll or paper towels
• Hair
• Dental floss
• Nappies
• Food and chewing gum
• Cigarettes
• Oil (here’s why, please note the video includes graphic images)
• Cardboard or paper
• Kitty litter
• Fish and other small pets
• Paint or other chemicals in large quantities (including bleach)
• Medicine (disposing guidance in the USA vs. the UK)

Does that list look a bit long?

Here’s what you can flush: the three Ps (toilet paper being one).

Sources:

• Don’t believe the label ‘flushable’
• 11 things you should never flush down the toilet
• Common items you should never flush
• No ‘flushable’ wet wipes tested so far pass water industry tests
• Microplastics and humans
• Think twice about flushing wet wipes
• Green alternatives to wet wipes

Extra reading:

• The pink tax
• More about the pink tax
• Plastic-free periods

• Clothes (including a sizable occasion dress and coat collection)
• Books
• Potted plants
• Korean rice cooker, big enough to cook for ten people (a gift which moved with me but I would like to part with soon)
• Some kitchen bits and bobs (such as a big bottle of washing up liquid, refilled in a zero waste store; and an extensive herb and spice collection, but no plates, forks or glasses)

Much like Kerry in Simple Year One, I wanted to unpack only what I knew I need, and more importantly, I wanted to buy only what I need. Which, after having access to all of the modern conveniences in a string of previous accommodation arrangements, didn’t seem like a long list. I was very wrong.

Let’s start with house cleaning. Many of you probably have a broom, a mop, a dustpan, some cloths and sponges, and perhaps you are considering replacing those with some new ones, made with more environmentally friendly materials, or just less knackered.

I had none of these, but I consider those necessities, which cannot be easily substituted (with an old t-shirt on a stick for example). To do justice to my simple year resolutions, I researched online, considered each item in terms of durability and environmental impact. In the end, I bought all those in a local hardware store, supporting local business and choosing items with little packaging.

And although I consider this a big win, I am also acutely aware that I could have done better, by not ordering a fancy steel and bamboo dustpan set from a well known online behemoth of a retailer, which shipped in a plastic bag — tainted love.

Furniture is another story. Some lucky second-hand finds from Gumtree (online listings, much like Craigslist) came with no packaging and from local sellers. And although I have tried to avoid buying new not having a dining table or chairs is difficult. Eventually, several flatpack pieces were purchased, and I found it very surprising how little non-recyclable packaging came with it. I have disposed of mountains of cardboard, which is one of the few materials which is successfully reclaimed and recycled in Europe; but had to deal with perhaps one stuffed carrier bag of plastic film packaging. All these thanks to a massive corporation which is taking significant strides to put themselves at the forefront of tackling the sustainability and pollution crisis we’re in. Read more here if you haven’t guessed who I’m talking about yet.

Finally, there seems to be a never-ending list of things which turn a house into a home. A rug for the tiled hallway (very cold for the feet, especially middle of the night on the way to the WC), a grater, a colander, recycling bin, a full-length mirror, a wardrobe (instead of a rack and some temporary shelving), etc. However, since being able to comfortably sit down with a cup of tea or eat a meal at a table, the urgency to buy all of those home fillers has significantly eased. I will continue to look for things second-hand and/or unpackaged, and meanwhile, as the English say, make do.

And for you, my friends here are some things I have recently read and liked the look of:

• How to be a frugal zero-waster
• The scrunch or fold debate, because the news is not ridiculous enough these days
• Vegeware (compostable single-use takeaway) is not the answer to the plastic crisis

That the birthday excuse was used for an unusual ‘treat’ purchase was, in my view, rightly done. Line drying is not only more ecological, economical and sustainable; it’s also more hygienic. Nothing bleaches the whites like a few hours in the sun. The air takes all the damp and musty smells away, and the UV light kills bacteria better than many chemicals.

But, I know that we have to be realistic too. Where I live in the UK now, where it rains on average 106 out of 365 days, line drying is a bit of a gamble, to say the least. I also work full time and have an active life, and don’t want to be at home hanging washing out, or dashing to get it back in!

Since moving to the UK from Austria, I have taken to drying dresses, shirts, blouses, sweaters and trousers on hangers. This not only saves space on the washing line but also speeds up the ironing. Try it yourself, and you might find that some pieces won’t need ironing at all and, if questioned as to why you’re not as crisp as usual, tell the nosy person you’re saving the planet by saving energy.

And what of the towels and bedding? I have a few sets that I can rotate, while one verrry slowly dries. But for those who don’t, or don’t have the space to hang sheets indoors, a dryer is the only option.

I have lived the majority of my life without a tumble dryer, but my current rented living has me in a position with limited drying space, consisting of a damp and cold utility room and, yes, a tumble dryer. I admit now that I am guilty of tumbling my socks, towels and bedding. It’s just so easy!

However, all the excuses I could list here for you are just not good enough in the face of global warming, and my moral obligation to consume sustainably. I already wash at 30C (86F) and go out of my way not to buy plastic. It’s time to end my romance with the tumble dryer, as enticing as it is. And I know you can do too.

Sustainable washing and drying tips:

1. Know how to wash your stuff, but I guarantee you can turn the temperature down regardless! If it’s not dirty, wash it at 30C.
2. Find a space for your ‘worn but not dirty’ items. Sweaters and trousers especially don’t need to be washed after every wear (raw jeans shouldn’t be washed at all! Pop them in the freezer instead to get rid of unwanted smells).
3. If you have time (and the will to do it) handwash your delicates; especially bras, as these will fit better and last longer if washed in cold water.
4. Refill your detergent and softener bottles if you can, or commit to the ultimate eco wash and go nuts.
5. Skip the dryer (or at least part of the tumble time).

Homemade, cheap and easy laundry softener:

200 ml of warm water

2 tsp citric acid

10 drops tea tree essential oil (or another scent, although tea tree is a great disinfectant)

1. Mix the ingredients in a bottle.
2. Shake before use.
3. Add two tablespoons instead of your usual fabric softener.