an {almost} zero-waste birthday party

April 7, 2017 Megan Rodriguez

It's been over a month now since our little guy turned one and since we celebrated that special day with family and friends, but I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you about the little party we threw for him!

Have you explored the world of first birthday parties on Pinterest??? A few words to describe it would be "adorable," "amazing," "wonderful," "overwhelming," "expensive," "obsessive"....dare I say "scary"??? I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest. I love it as a place to keep track of links. You can be so visually organized on Pinterest, which is awesome! I love it for the plethora of ideas that you can find on there for just about anything and everything. I hate it as it I think it fuels the issues that we have in this culture for constantly wanting more and being discontent with what we have. So, as I started planning for this special one-year-old's first birthday party, I had to continually remind myself that he is one and would not remember this party, nor was the party about having perfect decorations or amazingly cute treats. No, it was about celebrating the birth of our beloved boy with those we love.

Simplicity became my mantra (I'm sure you're shocked, right?!) and out of that desire for simplicity grew a desire to keep this party as eco-friendly as possible. Because, parties sure can create a lot of trash! My goodness! Between disposable plates, cups, pop/beer cans, utensils, plastic wrap, food waste, wrapping paper, decorations, etc., there is just a lot of trash! So, I intentionally thought through all that would be coming in and going out and did my best to limit the trash where I could. Here are some of the ways I was able to host an {almost} zero-waste birthday party.

I made a "forever" birthday banner! I knew I wanted a birthday banner for the party and so I tossed around ideas of making one that said "one," and that could be use for subsequent children turning one...but as the usefulness of that was a bit limited, I decided, "Heck! We need a banner that can be used every year for each birthday!" And the "forever" birthday banner was born out of leftover fabric scraps, most of which hold sentimental memories, like fabric from the crib sheets, Oak's quilts, a dress I made, our wedding decor, handmade gifts for family/friends, etc.

I used photos as decor. I've been wanting to print a bunch of pictures and put them into albums and in frames in our stairway, and so I decided to print pictures of Oak from his first year and put them up all around the room we used for the party. I used garden twine, mini clothes pins, and masking tape to attache them to the walls. The tape was recycled, the twine will be reused, and the mini clothes pins will be saved for other such events/decoration needs.

I used things I already had for decor. We had some leftover tree trunk slices from my brother's wedding that we used as centerpieces Also, for Oak's Halloween costume last year he was an Oak tree made out of felt leaves pinned to a shirt, so I used the felt leaves on the tables as well.
I printed simple coloring sheets for the tables. They were then recycled after the party and the crayons we used were from our church's stash, where we held the party. We were also able to use the church's cloth tablecloths, which was awesome.

I bought compostable plates, cups, straws, and utensils. These were a bit more expensive than regular plastic/paper disposables, but it was important to me to compost them rather than throw them away.
I used real dishes where I could. I brought a basketful of mason jars that we used as glasses and used real dishes for the food I brought. Where food was concerned, the only trash we created was a bit of plastic wrap and the only recyclables were beer cans and a lemonade jar.

I do believe that the wrapping paper ended up being thrown away, rather than recycled, as I didn't help with that clean up process, but other than that, all things were composted or recycled and clean up was pretty quick and easy!

And for those who are wondering...I made this Harvest Cake for Oak's birthday cake. It's made with carrots, zucchini, and beets and sweetened with mostly maple syrup. It was probably the most nutritious cake any of us have ever eaten! And it was very delicious! I used all cream cheese for the frosting, instead of the goat cheese/cream cheese blend it calls for, simply to keep expenses down, but I'd love to make it again sometime with the goat cheese...because goat cheese...yum.

The party was a success! It was simple, fun, and we had a wonderful time celebrating our little Oak tree. He loved being with his family and friends and throughly enjoyed his cake and opening presents. It was a fun day, indeed!

zero waste living :: grocery shopping

February 2, 2017 Megan Rodriguez

One of my resolutions for the new year is to reduce waste in our home. I've been on this journey for the past few years, but this year I have decided to really make an effort to become as "zero waste" as possible. If you are not familiar with the term "zero waste," I encourage you to read Bea Johnson's book Zero Waste Home. In the book, Johnson lists 5 steps to zero waste living: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot. The order of these steps is very important, as the key to zero waste living is reducing the amount of waste you generate by getting to the source of the waste. Zero waste living starts by examining everything that comes into your home through the lens of what happens to it once it leaves your home.

So, I'd thought I'd bring you along on our journey to zero waste through a series of blog posts over the next few months. We are far from living a completely zero waste lifestyle, but we have definitely reduced our waste over the past few years and I'm hoping to reduce it even more throughout this year. The main way I'm tackling that right now is through grocery shopping. I've found that so much of what we as a society throw away comes from the kitchen, whether it be from food packaging or food waste. We compost most of our food waste or give it to our chickens, so the packaging is the main source of waste in our home. To reduce this, I need to reduce how much of that packing comes into our home. Here are a few of the ways I'm working to do that.

Reusable Shopping Bags: We all have piles of reusable bags floating around our homes that we've received for free at stores, fairs, events, etc, but I've found that for me I prefer to have just two sturdy canvas bags and a woven shopping basket. The canvas bags hold more than the freebie bags and I value them more because they aren't freebies, which helps me to be more intentional about using them. The basket keeps my jars and eggs from rolling around and it's so sturdy. (The basket I have is a handmade basket made in Ghana. It also works really well for bringing food to gatherings and on the road.) I've started bringing my own bags not only to the grocery store, but to other stores as well. Anytime I leave the house with a plan to shop, I grab a bag on my way out!
Shopping in bulk: This is the main way that I reduce kitchen waste in our home. By bulk, I don't mean shopping at Costco or Sam's Club, I mean shopping in the bulk isle at your local grocery store. Buying in bulk reduces waste, especially if you are able to use your own containers, which can completely eliminate the need for waste to come into your home for those food items. Our food co-op has a very large selection of bulk items including wet and dry items. I realize that many do not have access to this large of a selection, but demand can drive supply! I currently buy the following things in bulk: produce, eggs, flour, sugar, oats, barley, quinoa, rice, beans, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, pasta, peanut butter, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, molasses, honey, herbs, spices, loose-leaf tea, baking soda, baking powder, salt, crackers, hummus (dried and fresh), coffee, and some candy.
Bulk bags/containers: Bringing my own containers has become one of my favorite parts of my weekly grocery shopping trip. (I'm weird like that...) It takes a few extra minutes to pull together my bags/containers before I leave the house, but it saves me time when I get back home and am able to just put them all back onto their shelves and don't have to worry about transferring things from packages into my storage containers. I use a few different bags/containers for different types of bulk items.
- mesh produce bags: I bought a few of these a few weeks ago and love them! Our co-op sells spinach and mixed greens in bulk and they work great for that! They also work great for things like mushrooms, green beans, snap peas, and even bigger produce items like apples, oranges, carrots, broccoli.
- hemp/cotton bulk bags: I made a few of these out of an old vintage sheet a few months back and then Dan bought me a few more for Christmas. I love them! I use them for produce like apples, oranges, onions, potatoes, and also for dried bulk items like flour, oats, beans, nuts, etc. They work especially well when I have a lot of things to get and don't want to bring a bunch of glass jars/canisters with me.
- jars/canisters: I store almost all of our pantry items in glass jars or canisters, and so when their contents get low, I bring them to the co-op and fill them up! As I said above, some things I bring my jars for and others I use my bags for. It usually depends on how much I need and how messy the item is. I've found that for flour, it's nice to just fill up my canister. However, my canister is really big and it's a pain to lug around, so I usually use a bag for flour and deal with the mess.
- egg cartons: Our co-op sells bulk eggs and since our chickens are free-loaders right now, I've been buying a lot of eggs! It's great to just keep using the same egg cartons week after week!
- glass container for meat: This past week I brought in a container to use at the meat counter for the first time! Meat packaging is often what makes us take the trash out, as our trash usually gets smelly before it gets full, so using a glass container made me so happy to know that at least for one meal there would be no smelly packaging to throw away!
Label/weigh your bags/containers before you shop: Using your own containers can take longer if you don't have a good system in place. First, when you use your own container, you have to weigh it before filling it up. This is called the "tare" weight. For my bags, I have the tare weight written on all of them in permanent ink so that I can just fill them up when I get to the store. For my jars, I like to put a piece of masking tape on each of the lids before I leave home. I then weigh them quickly at the store before filling them up. I could weigh them at home too, but I like the scale at our co-op better, so I just use that. I then write the tare weight and item number on the masking tape. For my bags, I use one of the stickers at our co-op to write the item number on my bags. Some people use crayons to label their bulk containers, which is truly zero waste. I've thought about trying that, but for now, my system is working well and efficiently. One thing to note: not all stores may let you or encourage you to use your own containers. I recognize that I shop at a grocery store that values zero waste and that is not the case at many grocery stores. However, that doesn't mean that it's not possible to use your own containers. You just have to ask! Ask at the customer service desk and if they say no, dig deeper! Talk to a manager and politely explain that you're trying to reduce the waste in your home and you'd like to be able to use your own container. It's worth a shot!
Stay organized: I've found that keeping my shopping basket in an easy to reach place in the kitchen makes staying organized and efficient a lot easier. After I shop, I empty my bulk bags, throw them into the laundry if needed, then store them in my shopping basket in the kitchen. As we empty an egg carton, it goes into the basket as well. Then on shopping day, I make a quick loop around the kitchen and pull out the jars/canisters that need filling and decide whether to just fill the container or use a bag. Keeping it all in one designated spot helps me to prep and get out the door a lot faster, which is vitally important when shopping with an 11-month old!

How about you? Are you able to shop with your own reusable containers? Do you? In what ways are you reducing waste in your kitchen?? I'd love to know.

cloth wipes

April 20, 2016 Megan Rodriguez

With babies come diapers--a lot of diapers! My mom raised all four of us mostly in cloth diapers and so the decision to use cloth for our baby was an easy one for me. With my husband I rarely put my foot down for any decision, as we make most decisions together, but with cloth diapers I did. And even while Dan was not excited about the idea at first, I knew that it was the best decision for our family. Using cloth is better for the environment, better for our baby's skin, better for potty training, and most importantly, better for our wallets! Cloth diapers can be SOOOO affordable!! In fact, after borrowing some of our stash from a friend and receiving the rest of what we needed as gifts, we have spent $0 on them. Yes, $0.00!! We have spent some money on disposables, as we used them for the first 2.5 weeks, we use them periodically when we are out and about, and we will use them exclusively when we travel, but we have not spent any money on our cloth diapers. Actually, using those disposables is what sold Dan on cloth diapers. The first time he bought diapers he was sold! Those things are expensive! And if you want ones without all the nasty chemicals and fragrances in them (which we do), they are even more expensive!

Now, I know that cloth diapers are not for everyone. When I hear of full-time working parents using cloth, I'm amazed! They take time. Not a ton of time, but they do take time, mostly in the form of laundry. And as for the "disgusting" factor, which I often see cross people's faces when I tell them we use cloth---it's really not bad. When a baby is exclusively breastfed, their poop is water soluble, so you just throw it all in the washing machine and it comes out clean and fresh! (This changes a bit once they are eating solid foods, but they are still not that bad.) They do take a bit longer to put on and it's a little more work to change them when you're out and about, but all of these things are minor, if you ask me, when compared to the advantages. (For those who are wondering, we are using Thirsties Duo Wrap diaper covers along with a few other borrowed brands and several different brands of prefold diapers.)

However, this post is not about cloth diapers. A lot of people use cloth and in some ways, they are even becoming the "in" thing. This post is about cloth wipes, since you can't change a diaper very well without wipes. Two of my cousins have made their own disposable wipes with paper towels and a wipes solution. They both liked their homemade wipes, but both eventually switched to using washcloths and a wipes solution instead. When you're already washing diapers, it makes little difference to wash washcloths along with them. So, I had decided awhile back to just go straight for the washcloths. I had registered for a few packs of baby washcloths on Amazon, but when we didn't receive them, I decided to just make my own. I bought a yard of terry cloth for about $6.00 and cut out 20 8" x 8" washcloths for our changing table and 6 4.5" x 4.5" washcloths for our diaper bag. I used my serger to finish the raw edges and they were done! I then made this wipes solution, which I keep in a spray bottle on the changing table and a small bottle in the diaper bag. When it's time to change a diaper, I spray a bit on a washcloth, wipe him down, and throw the soiled diaper and wipe into our diaper pail (or wet bag when we're out and about). It's so easy and I've found that the cloth wipes do a better job wiping that mustardy breastmilk poo off of those smooth little buns! One batch of that wipes solution recipe lasts us about a week and so it's also a very affordable option. (There are also some other good wipes solutions out there. My cousin uses one with coconut oil that works great as well!) It has been so wonderful to not have to add diapers and wipes to our monthly budget! It is one way to make raising a baby MUCH easier on the wallet.

How about you? Have you used cloth diapers or cloth wipes? Or do you have found other ways that make raising babies easier on the wallet?

reusable living :: lunches

April 7, 2015 Megan Rodriguez

A couple weeks ago I started a new series entitled "Reusable Living." We live in such a disposable society, I thought it would be interesting to share some of the ways that we try to use more sustainable options in our home as a way to inspire you to do the same. If you missed the first post on cloth napkins, you can find it here. Today, I thought I'd share a bit about my lunch routine.

Now, we've all had cupboards filled with random Tupperware container and lids that don't seem to have a match. And most of us have probably left them in our fridge (or the fridge at work) until the food inside of them has almost fully decomposed, right?! And at some point in our culinary histories we've also probably just taken that plastic container full of who-knows-what and tossed it, the food, and the lid directly into the trash. Well, maybe you haven't done those things, but I for sure have! Because let's face it, there's nothing quite as gross as reaching for a clean container only to realize that it still smells like whatever rotten food you recently cleaned out of it--even after going through the sanitation cycle in the dishwasher. Gross and gross.

On that note, don't be alarmed. I'm not at all about to tell you to start bringing your lunches in plastic. I am, however, going to tell you about my love for glass.

When we got married, we registered for a couple sets of Rubbermaid's glass food containers and we threw away most of our plastic containers. Since then, we've slowly gotten rid of most of the plastics in our kitchen that were used for food storage. I still have a a few mixing bowls and such, but the day-to-day things we use are either glass or stainless. Here are a few reasons why we try to avoid using plastics for food storage (find more info on this here):

They contain unknown (and in some cases known) levels of toxicity
Heat can break down plastics
They are porous and can take on the scents and colors of the food they hold
They don't last very long

For all of these reasons, we've found that glass is the perfect alternative. Toxic chemicals don't leach into your food through glass. They can be heated and frozen without consequence (other than becoming more fragile when frozen). They will not take on the scents and/or colors of food. And, unless they break, they last for years and years. Now, there are a few downsides to glass containers. One, they are much heavier than plastic and this can be a problem for those (like me) who commute on foot, by bike, or just have to walk a long ways from their car to office. The other downside is that they are breakable. The first problem can easily be solved with a good lunch bag with sturdy handles. The second has never been a problem for me. I've broken far more drinking glasses in my day than glass food storage containers. They tend to be made of pretty thick glass that is relatively break resistant.

So, when it comes to lunches, here are a few of my favorite ways to transport food.

Rubbermaid or Pyrex glass containers: these are great for most lunch items--especially if you have a variety of sizes.
Canning Jars (Ball/Kerr/or whatever): these are the best option for soups and other liquids. The metal lids are spill proof and you can eat/drink right out of the jars.
Bee's Wrap: I love this stuff! It's muslin fabric coated in beeswax and it can be used to wrap up a sandwich, veggies, slice of bread, cheese, etc. You can wash it with cold water and soap and use it again and again! I've even seen a few of our local shops start to carry it on their shelves. It's great stuff!!
Glass Water Bottles: Dan and I both have water bottles from Lifefactory and we love them! The silicone sleeves keep the glass safe (except if you leave it full of water in a freezing car over night...whoops...) and they are so very cute and functional!
Cloth Napkins: I keep a napkin in my lunch bag to use to cover my food in the microwave and wipe my mouth and fingers as I eat. It stays in my bag until it needs a wash, then I switch it out for a clean one. They are also great for wrapping up hard boiled eggs.

There are so many disaposables out there designed specifically for lunches, but as I mentioned in my last Reusable Living post, I really don't think they make life all that easier. Here are a few reasons why:

Using canning jars for food storage both at home and away from home means that I need less things in my cupboards that are used for different purposes, so it simplifies my kitchen cupboards.
It takes just as much time to pack a lunch using disposables as it does reusables.
The clean up is simple. Rather than tossing things after lunch, I toss them back into my lunch bag and throw them in the dishwasher when I get home. (Obviously, if you don't have a dishwasher, then hand washing is an added step.)
We don't run out of containers like we used to run out of ziplock bags. Yes, sometimes they are all dirty or filled with other food, but that's a much easier problem to solve then when you reach for a bag only to realize that you're all out.

Incorporating more sustainable lunch options into your routine doesn't have to be complicated or expensive--just slowly start to build your food storage options and be intentional about the containers you use to transport your food. And trust me, glass is wonderful!

reusable living :: napkins

March 10, 2015 Megan Rodriguez

We live in a disposable society. From dishes and bags to hygienic products and cleaning products. It seems that every year more and more disposable options come on to the market promising to save us time in our busy schedules. But...have you ever found yourself frustratingly out of paper towels or ziplock bags?? Have you ever been overwhelmed by the long list of items that you need to pick up at your neighborhood Target store??

I have a theory about this...my theory is that all of these disposable things don't really make our lives simpler. When they are readily available, they can most definitely make things easier, but in the long run, I think they make our lives more complicated. It's time consuming to keep all these different things in stock in your cupboards and closets, and speaking of cupboards and closets, all of those different disposable things take up a lot of space. There's also the financial aspect--as cheap as they may seem, have you ever calculated how much money you spend every year on things that you use once and then throw away?? I think we would all be a bit disgusted with the numbers. And let's not even get into the landfills that could be filled with disposable products alone...yeah, let's not go there.

So, what do we do about it?! As crazy as it may sound...there are lots of pretty simple solutions and a lot of them are things that our grandmothers and/or great grandmothers used to do...before the age of disposables. Now, for many of us, life looks very different than it did for our grandmothers. Rather than being home all day cooking, cleaning, and child rearing, many of us spend our days, or a portion of our days, working away from home and the times that we are home are packed full of housework, food preparation, and family time. I get it. The idea of adding one more thing to the washing list, be it dishes or laundry, sounds far from simple. Yet, as crazy as it may sound, I do believe that kicking the disposable addiction can truly add a bit of simplicity to our busy lives.

With that...I thought I'd start a series entitled "reusable living" with each post highlighting a different way to simplify your life by moving away from disposables and going back to the way things used to be done. All of these things may not be for everyone, or even for you, but I do hope that you'll find one or two that may be helpful and inspiring.

I thought I'd start this series with one of our favorite daily reusable: cloth napkins. Now, if you grew up like me, cloth napkins were reserved for holidays and family gatherings. Don't get me wrong, cloth napkins definitely class up a meal and make it special, but why can't we use them every day!? Most would say that the reason is because they have to be washed and that adds extra time and tasks to our already busy schedules. But, that's where I disagree for two reasons.

Napkins do not need to be washed after every meal. In our house we each have a designated napkin and we use it until it starts to look like it needs washing. Sometimes that's a week, other times it's after a messy meal. Either way, they don't need to be washed after every meal. With a small family, this means a set of napkins can last for several days. Obviously, when guests come over you can wash their napkins after the meal, but for those in your house, wash as needed.
Napkins are super easy to wash. Just accumulate napkins that can be thrown in with your bathroom towels, kitchen towels, or sheets and you're golden! They don't need a load of their own and they hardly take up space in your washer. If you have a few sets of napkins, it's easy to just wash them as you do your other laundry and the folding is slick as well.

Why we love them:

They work so much better and are much softer than paper ones! Use a cloth napkin while eating BBQ chicken...it will change your life--no more paper stuck to your sticky fingers.
They make our dining experiences more formal and more special.
As for simplifying our lives, I feel that they do that by eliminating the need for and space for paper napkins. Instead of having both cloth and paper, we now just have cloth, which saves space and makes for less decision making, thus making things a bit simpler.

A few tips:

For designating napkins for different people in your house, there are a few options. You could have a different set of napkins for each person so that each person has their own design or color. Or you can use a different napkin ring for each person. That's our plan.
If you don't already have a few sets of napkins, they are pretty easy to come by. Look at discount stores for them or make your own. For kids you could even make smaller napkins by cutting up and re-hemming larger ones. You don't have to buy nice napkins to get started, just get some simple cotton linen ones and you'll be set.
Dark colors or patterned napkins are nice as they don't show stains as much.

Try it out! You may fall in love and never turn back.