Some Happy Thoughts



I promised you something more uplifting for this post so we begin with - Winter Dawn From The Back Door. There is my lovely old bare pear tree in the corner, having a quiet winter sleep-in.

Exhibit No 2: I have been enjoying Libi's blog, and recently she had a splendid, ethical, eco-birthday.

Exhibit No 3: Linda Cockburn wrote one of my favourite books - a wonderfully honest account of six months of (almost) self-sufficiency, to see if her family could indeed live according to their eco-principles.
Her blog has been even more depressing than mine of late, but here is a moment of immense hopefulness. I will be voting for any party that adopts this as its platform..

And here at home... well, another confession. My kitchen compost system is very inefficient. Every time I peel fruit or make dinner, I find a dirty dish in the dishwasher, fill it with peels, and then take it out to the compost bin. That means that incidental apple cores and banana peels get put in the bin.  I know, I know. The reason is, I didn't have anything to put compost in that I wanted to see sitting on my bench...I know, I know. So last week I dropped stuff off at the op shop, then went in and bought things, something I find hard to do now I'm a reformed clutterer. Still, clearly, in this case, buying GOOD, right?

Look what I found...


It's like it was waiting for me. Op shop gods were good to me. So now we can all compost all the time. And then this wanted to come home with me...


One day, my plastic buckets will break, and then I will need this one. See, thinking ahead.

And, product of the week to unplasticise (would you believe it, the computer thinks I just made that word up) is pasta. I had no faith that I would find this without plastic. I had never seen it in bulk bins at the wholefood shop, and only in plastic packets elsewhere. But The Girl and I walked into the supermarket, and there it was, up on the top shelf. I swear, I have never seen pasta in cardboard before. Did it just arrive this week?


I wonder if new EU recycling and packaging regulations are responsible? Because this isn't local pasta of course. If anyone knows of pasta produced in Tassie - let me know. Even better if it comes in a paper bag..

So seriously, happy. Loaves of bread bought without plastic bags this week - 7. Takeaway consumed after seriously stressful and busy weekend - 0 (Made pumpkin soup and home made wedges instead, but nearly killed me. OK, maybe wasn't quite that dramatic. Clearly, I survived). Meat trays and wrapping thrown in the bin this week - 0. Compostable scraps thrown in the bin this week - Several, when we forgot we had an elegant compost pot. Pasta bags in the bin this week - 0.

Smiles.

Comments

Unknown said…
If i were woken by that view each day i would be up with the sparrows sitting in a chair, covered in blankets with hot chocolate or porridge before anyone else got up, just gazing. Arhhh the serenity.... Tasmania sure does have beautiful skies.
Lizzi said…
I have an old plastic tupperware box on my draining board. It doesn't have a lid and it does look a bit messy. But whilst staying with a friend I noticed her purpose built lidded compost bin was so big that by the time it was ready to empty it was beginning to go off and not very nice. And because it had a lid I wasn't 'reminded' to empty it. (Old habits die hard).

I empty ours about twice a day - that is a lie, DH does it. But it gets done and is kept clean. I know it is plastic but we have been using the same one for 6 years now. It is amazing how we adapt to different situations.



Jo said…
Lynda, it's not real hard to catch the dawn in winter in Tas. Half seven will do it..
Lizzi, I am super impressed about your clean compost container. And your immensely proactive husband. I love a clean compost pot, I rinse it every day. And the family fill it up so quickly that I have to empty it or the lid will fall off.
I do agree about the giant compost though. I read a dubious hint recently on a zero waste site that recommended swapping the compost bin and the rubbish bin - tiny rubbish bin, great big compost bin, or should I say, nasty, smelly health risk...
Kali said…
Hi Lynda,
As far as I know Barilla pasta has always come in cardboard boxes! My mum used to buy it nearly 30 years ago when I was growing up, and then I bought it myself in my 20s, but haven't seen it in the past few years.
Kali
Heather said…
We have Barilla pasta where we live. It has always come in cardboard boxes, but most of the boxes have a plastic window in them to show the pasta to the consumer.

I think your composting crock is very attractive.

I laughed when you talked about nearly dying when you had to make dinner on your stressful/busy day. Sometimes the very last thing I want to do after a hectic day is make dinner, and I feel that if I do make it, I will collapse and die right on the kitchen floor and won't my family be sorry then...
I love it on the rare occasion I find something packaged in card not plastic. This week it was frozen veggie sausages. The same sausages made by the same company in the refrigerated section are totally overpackaged in plastic. Love your compost crock pot. Our kitchen compost container is a black plastic council food waste thing. Ugly but practical.
Anonymous said…
Love your new compost bin and kudos on your steps toward going package free. All in all I would consider this week in your house a success :)
Jo said…
Kali - wow, 30 years of cardboard pasta and I haven't seen it! Maybe it's just making a come back, or maybe it's supermarket tunnel vision, you know, where you pick up the same packet week after week, and don't look around to see what else is available. Anyway, the children think Barilla pasta tastes better than our usual brand (it had better, it costs more too!) so that's a win.
Heather, I can see you totally understand. They will be sorry when we collapse on the kitchen floor right in front of them. Maybe we should try that..
Sarah, congrats on the veggie sausages packaging win. Such a satisfying moment! Maybe we should be writing to those companies and congratulating them, and writing snarky letters to the ones that overpackage in plastic. That might make them pay attention. Apparently (urban myth?) there is a threshold number of letters/emails on any particular issue received at large companies, after which they start to take some action, other than ignoring it.. I believe at McDonald's after 25 comments at store level the issue needs to be reported to a higher authority. So maybe we could pick a brand and blitz them..
Jo said…
And Fran - thanks :) It makes it so much easier with the constant encouragement I get here, from people who 'get it' xx
Anonymous said…
Thank you so much for your kind words Jo! I was wondering where all my Aussie visitors were appearing from.

I'm glad I've helped cheer you up in some small way I remember having a similar crises when I saw that photo of the dead bird full of plastic. The world seems to have gone plastic crazy and I felt like I was the only sane person in a nightmare future. I'm more zen now but sadly that also means I've slipped back into accepting the status quo. Time for a shake up I think!

Gorgeous composter -what a find. I was very happy with my plastic bin from the council until I saw yours - ahh how consumerism spreads even in the anti consumerists. :) I shall ignore my envy and be happy with what I already have while drooling over yours.

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