Decisions can be hard to make, especially when they feel like they move away from sustainability rather than toward it. But circumstances shift + different choices don't necessarily signal failure, they are just the choices that make sense now.

The choice to grow a pollinator garden rather than strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers + peppers was a tearful one. I love growing food, but knew I couldn't keep up with the harvesting while using every ounce of my energy at a physical job. Our delicious tomatoes were not helping with my inflammatory issues + our garden beds were in need of renewal after years in service. 

​We made the switch to native plants + flowers and just witnessed the most magical month of monarch migration! Our garden hosts loads of hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, goldfinches, chipmunks, woodpeckers, jays, juncos, bunnies, squirrels, hawks and so much more all year round. It's such a treat to watch this natural habitat day by day. 

We still grew potatoes + pumpkins around the side of the house this year. Their harvest took minutes rather than days, and we've had root vegetables enough to share. Transforming our garden wasn't a bad decision. It was just a different one...one that makes sense for now.

Love,
Jane

As we enter a new stage of life this week (empty nesting!), we're looking for ways to lean into fresh starts rather than sad endings. Among other things, taking a fresh look at living lighter on the planet is attracting my focus + excitement. 

We're currently discussing + looking into:

• further decreasing our water usage :: with one less person taking showers, it's a great time to redouble our efforts toward taking shorter showers + noticing the cost savings on our water bill (which can motivate further water conservation)
• quitting trash + recycling pickup :: skipping the convenience of trash pick-up would give us added incentive to keep our waste minimal...sorting each item at our local recycling facility will make us revisit our waste output...knowing exactly what is + isn't accepted will prompt us to make conscious decisions about what we do + don't purchase 
• reevaluating our zero-waste shopping :: with different desires to consider for meals + comfort, we can make different choices
• using a solar panel :: we'd like to test out having a less expensive, small, portable panel to see how much of our needs it can meet + prompt our thinking about how we use electricity 

I'm having fun researching + leaning into these shifts. It's exciting to think about all the benefits that are possible here. Our choices would not only cost the earth less in resources, pollution and landfill space. They will save us money, increase our wellness and enhance our connection with nature. So it goes with most of these planet focused efforts. Why would we want to choose otherwise?

Love,
Jane

The other day, my lip balm tube was empty + in need of disposal. Throwing that leftover, cardboard tube into our compost bucket rather than into the trash felt good. 

A few hours later, I heard that a plastic straw ban had been rolled back. Plastic straws are totally unnecessary + totally ubiquitous. Ubiquitous means "present, appearing + found everywhere". Yep, straws are found in coffee shops + gas stations + on sidewalks + in ditches. They are ubiquitous until they are banned, and then we learn to drink from cups again.

It's been a horrifying couple of weeks for all of us in so many ways. Let's just think about the regenerative nature of compost for a moment, shall we?

Sometimes it can feel like an inconvenience to choose the compostable option. Sometimes the compostable choice costs a little more, is more perishable, or requires carrying that banana peel back home with us. I get it. I also find that the feeling of inconvenience is vastly outweighed by the satisfaction I experience knowing that the waste I've created will not be preserved in plastic in a landfill for the rest of time. 

One of the cool things about backyard composting is getting to see what we put in completely transformed into soil. A few of the things I've seen turned into soil in our back yard leaving no trace of their previous form:

• fruit + vegetable peels, pits, seeds + skins 
• spent organic cotton underwear sewn with cotton thread + natural rubber elastic
• natural fiber dryer lint (we only machine dry 100% organic cotton sheets + towels)
• food soiled paper
• hair + nails
• coffee grounds + loose tea
• spent, natural fiber, cleaning rags
• compostable lip balm tubes
• compostable bandaids
• leather scraps
• bamboo toothbrush handles + silk floss

(Look out for non-cotton thread when composting fabric items. If unsure of the fiber content, cut them off before composting. Compost non-plant-based food scraps in municipal composting to avoid attracting pests to backyard compost.)

​I've noticed more collective, composting options in my area lately. Yay! A neighboring city is now offering a free compost drop-off site, and there is a bucket drop-off/pick-up program available close by too. It might be worth investigating options again, if there has been a barrier to composting in the past. A little inconvenience now saves a future mountain of garbage...for each of us.

Love,
Jane

A few things I'm appreciating right now:

• daily ritual :: These winter days are cold + dry. I'm very much appreciating Fat and the Moon's Aloe Lotion for its natural, unscented ingredients that moisturize my thirsty skin while leaving my allergies unactivated. I like its recyclable glass jar + metal lid (+ the cute label). 
• familiar things in unfamiliar places :: I had plans for the big blank wall in this room, but when I couldn't find the materials that matched my vision, these Block Shop scarves (that have acted as closet curtains for years) make me smile in their new spot. The $2 for little dowels to hang them on was an easy spend.
• participating with a story already in progress :: Putting stitches into this finished-by-someone-else quilt top is sweet. It came to me with a few stains + holes. It has bunchy seams, and it will never be perfect. Maybe that is part of the charm.
• imperfect solutions :: This olive oil originally came in a plastic squeeze bottle that feels kinda cringy, but allows me to use less oil. These recyclable refill bottles are making me happy.

When we were in Denver in September, we drove by a shop with an intriguing name. It was closed the first time we drove by, but it happened to be close to our favorite restaurant there (+ half a mile from where we used to live years ago!). So we decided to stop by the next day for a look around. 

Nude Foods is zero-waste shopping like I've never experienced it before! The shelves are stocked with glass jars containing everything you'd be looking for in a regular grocery store...even ready made snacks, frozen fruit + veg, meat, frozen meals, pet food + detergent.

A lot of what ends up in our garbage bins comes from food. There is so much we can do to avoid it. We can skip fast food + shop farmer's markets, bulk bins + loose produce. We can bring our own cloth bags + choose items packaged in recyclable glass + paper. 

It would also be nice to have more zero-waste options. 

A LOT of thoughts flew through my mind after our visit to Nude Foods. This isn't a perfect solution to our food system, but it is pretty incredible. This is Nude Foods second location, so I hope it continues to be embraced + gains notice. What I appreciate most (since I can't shop there) is proof of concept + community formation. Hope is alive for better.

Love,
Jane

Just thought I'd follow up on a few choices we were able to implement since learning a little more about microplastics. Somehow it's just feeling nice to do some small things toward better. 

Recent efforts to decrease our production + ingestion of plastic microfibers: 

• using glass containers with glass lids, rubber gaskets + metal clamps rather than glass containers with plastic lids :: we use the whole Weck 565 system to take them out of the house + just the glass parts for storage in the fridge. I chose these over 16 oz. Le Parfait jars, because rusty lids was an issue mentioned in reviews (+ I've experienced that issue with my Ball jar lids). I chose glass over stainless steel, because we can warm things up in them without transferring the contents onto a plate. My partner frequently uses one of these (the no plastic version) for sandwiches.
• using a wood + stainless steel fish spatula rather than a mostly plastic one :: I'd struggled to find a bamboo or wood spatula that looked like it could flip a pancake (+ so many were tagged as containing substances banned in California, which I took as a less than great sign). This one is working well for everything.
• drinking lidless smoothies rather than safely topped ones :: so far so good. Adding a little more water helps. Wearing dark colors helps too.  :)
• drinking water out of jars rather than out of water bottles containing plastic or silicone :: + even taking open jars in the car. These are my favorites for everything (+ they fit in car cup holders)...proving again that the simplest options are often the best!

​
I'm doing what I can + taking whatever good vibes I can from drinking topless smoothies in appropriate outfits (+ catching my thrills from usually wearing white...in the car...on the way to work- yikes!).  ;)

Love,
​Jane

A little creativity check-in today...a handmade pillow for a charcoal couch. My thought has been that I would cover our couches with white denim slipcovers...and maybe I will one day. Right now, it's feeling right to embrace the dark of our charcoal couch...which sits in our north facing living room...and to double down with some dark pillows. 

I love any opportunity to dip into my little stash of denim + indigo dyed scraps...zero-waste...meditative stitching...wabi-sabi...boro inspired goodness. One down...one to go.

Love,
Jane

I decided to try Modibodi. They are made from bamboo viscose rather than organic cotton + come from Australia, but are less expensive than Aisle. Modibodi has some statements about fair wages in their factories + work they are currently doing to trace their supply chain. Modibodi offers an almost completely biodegradable pair (just cut off the waistband before composting). They just aren't my preferred absorbency or color. 

I really like the ones I bought. I've used the first one I purchased for a month + would truly wear them any day of the month. They are that comfortable + work as I depend on them to do too. 

I would love to have found some completely compostable, comfortable, effective, leak-proof underwear priced + sized for everyone...and made from American-grown, organic cotton, spun + sewn close to the farm...with all those involved in the supply chain receiving fair wages + healthy working conditions. As usual, I'm doing the best I can for now.

​If you decide Modibodi is something you'd like to try, you can click through the links here to receive $15 off your purchase. I would receive $15 off a future purchase too. Thank you so much!

Love,
Jane