AlpineVistas Community Blog

I have a lot of stuff.  I have a lot of stuff that I’m emotionally attached to.  A lot of my stuff is stuff I inherited, thus the attachment.  Some of that stuff is holiday stuff that gets put out for 30 or so days between Thanksgiving and New Years.  Every holiday season I find myself buying more stuff to add to my collection of stuff.  I know I need to stop buying and start reducing, but that’s easier said than done.  I did some stuff research to see if I could help curb my stuff addiction.

Did you know -

Ø  Webster’s Dictionary defines stuff as: goods; belongings; useless matter; worthless things; trash?

Ø  There’s a film called “Story of Stuff?”  It’s 20 minutes long and can be found on the web at www.storyofstuff.com.  It reinforces the statistics that American’s are 5 percent of the world’s population but we use 30 percent of the resources and produce 30 percent of the waste.  That’s sobering.

Ø  There’s a “Use Less Stuff Week?”  Yup, it’s already passed for 2009 so you’re off the hook.  Promoted by the Use Less Stuff Report, the week before Thanksgiving has been designated Use Less Stuff Week.  According to the report, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, Americans generate 25 percent more waste per week than during the rest of the year, or an extra 6 million tons for the holiday season.

The report also states that according to the USDA, Americans throw away 25 percent of food purchased (170 pounds per person).  Adding restaurant waste jumps that percentage to 50 percent.

So what can we all do to reduce waste during such a fun holiday period? 

One of my goals is to re-purpose my stuff, adding some history and heritage with the reuse.  So far I’ve remodeled an old backpack that I made at one of my college jobs (sewing packs for a mountaineering company) into a gift bag that can also be used as a stuff sack.  I’ve also made a velvet prom dress into small gift bags that are a perfect size for newly framed historic family photos.  The recipient of each gift bag will also get a note explaining the bags original use and encouragement to “re-gift” the bag.

Here are some other ideas:

ü  Start switching holiday lights to LED, they are greener and you’ll save money over time.

ü  Purchase a live Christmas tree and plant it in the yard in the spring.

ü  Always shop with re-useable cloth bags.

ü  Give and use rechargeable batteries.

ü  Give experience gifts – tickets to local art, cultural, and sporting events.

ü  Shop at local art and craft fairs and buy local whenever possible.

ü  Give your time and talent – offer to teach one of your special skills to a relative or friend.

ü  Volunteer your time – to a local shelter or needy organization.

ü  Donate to a cause for a friend or relative.

ü  Give gift certificates for services.

ü  If you are sending Christmas cards make sure they are made from re-cycled materials, better yet switch to ecards.

ü  Consider renting holiday décor, dishes, and linens.

ü  Shop for holiday attire at consignment shops,

ü  Be creative with gift wrapping – use scarves, bandannas, old posters, pages from a child’s coloring book, reusable boxes, the list is endless.

ü  Decorate the family tree with memorabilia – baby’s first shoes, dressed up dolls, vacation items, and old jewelry.  Each item has a story that can be retold throughout the holiday season.

ü  Buy holiday food in bulk and make sure to use recycling at your holiday parties.

After the holidays recycle as much as you can:

v  Store wrapping and packing materials for reuse.

v  Breakdown boxes and recycle.

v  Compost your tree and food scraps.

v  Make a promise that your 2010 holiday will be even greener than 2009.

This video helps me remember how important it is to always take my cloth bags into the store when I go shopping.  Hopefully it will help you to remember as well.  Click on the link to watch:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSD21zp89zM

It’s 90 plus degrees in Mountain Green and I’ve just finished mowing the lawn.  My friend cuts the grass but she’s originally from the Midwest so maybe that’s why she cuts instead of mows. I justify the weekly pain of mowing by including it in my weekly exercise log.  After all, it takes about 45 minutes if I power through it, and I can get my heart rate up (especially on the hills) so I figure it qualifies.  But it makes me think, why do I need so much lawn?  Instead of mowing I could be hiking, or biking, or watching golf on TV!

Lawn, grass, turf, sod, whatever you want to call it is a part of our lives.   It can keep our landscape cool, but it uses lots of water; it’s great to play on but how often do we use it that way; in order to keep it gorgeous it needs chemicals to kill the weeds and give it that lovely green glow; in a world with changing climate is it the best choice for our landscapes?

According to the website eartheasy, reducing lawn size reduces water consumption, saves time and energy on lawn maintenance, decreases yard waste to be composted or taken to landfills, reduces herbicides, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, reduces air and noise pollution caused by mowers, and enhances biodiversity when other plant varieties are introduced to the area.

I started reducing our lawn size a few years ago, adding a perennial and herb garden on the south side of the house, rounding out corners and adding shrubs on the north; and in the plan for next year is a raised bed vegetable garden.

My friends in Huntsville built their home nearly 20 years ago and were ahead of the curve.  Knowing how scarce and expensive the water was in their neighborhood they landscaped their entire front yard with shrubs, wildflowers and perennials.  It took a few years, but now they enjoy a sea of color all summer long.  It’s not maintenance free (nothing is) but uses very little water.  The back of the home includes a pond, vegetable and herb gardens, and a small piece of drought-tolerant grass.

When replacing lawn you may want to consider adding ground covers, deciduous shrubs, xeriscape (drought-tolerant landscaping), and mulch.  Make sure you create a yard plan first and don’t start digging without knowing what is underneath or above.  Find a nursery near you to select plants that are hearty in our mountain climate and be patient as you wait for the results.

On a side note:  I recently stopped at a fast food sandwich shop.  Knowing this shop always slides wrapped sandwiches into a plastic bag I carried in my own reusable bag.  When my sandwich was ready I told the clerk that I didn’t need a plastic bag for my double wrapped sandwich, he gave me one anyway.  I said, “No, I have my own bag thank you very much.” He said I needed the plastic bag for sanitary reasons – HUH?  I told him to hand it to me without the bag and I’d be responsible for my safety. 

As I waited to pay I looked around the room.  Ninety percent of the customers were eating their sandwich at a table.  Each one of them carried their sandwich less than 15 feet from counter to table in individual plastic bags, ate their fare, and then tossed the bag into the trash.  Does this really make sense when it has been proven how bad plastic bags are for our environment?

Less than 20 percent of single use plastic water bottles make it to a recycle center.  Over 38 billion a year end up in landfills where they resist degrading.  These statistics alone are startling, but there’s more.  According to the Pacific Institute, producing bottles for American consumption in 2006 required an equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, produced 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, and used three liters of water for each one liter bottle.   More energy was required to transport bottles to their final destination.

Single use bottles are convenient and certainly have their place in our world, especially during emergency situations.   But if you frequently use bottled water consider other options for your daily water needs.

Tap Water is Good

Did you know that a surprising percentage of bottled water comes from regular tap water?  Generally the tap water in our area is very tasty and well regulated.  If you don’t like the taste, invest in a filter that attaches to your faucet.

Refrigerator Water

Using water directly from your fridge dispenser has several benefits.  First, the water is cool, eliminating the need to run a faucet to get cold water.  Second, many models come with filters so water drawn from this source is very tasty.  Third, using water from the dispenser eliminates the need for opening the fridge to get cool water from a pitcher.  The downside is the space doesn’t allow large bottles or pans to be filled from the dispenser.

Reuseable  Bottles

I’ve been using a reuseable plastic water bottle for a couple of years now.  When the BPA reports came out, I replaced the bottle I was using with a BPA free type.   It’s easy to fill, clean, carry, and holds up to lots of abuse.  A better choice might be stainless steel.  They are a little more expensive than plastic, but using stainless eliminates any worries about chemical contamination.  Some of the brands I have investigated include Camelbak, Klean Kanteen and SIGG.  All use either medical or food grade stainless steel and have lots of size, shape, and color selections.  Prices range from $15-$30.

Recycle

If you do use plastic bottles, make sure to always recycle.   PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastics are increasingly used in primary packaging by retailers and branded manufacturers for bottles and trays. Polyester fleece clothing and polyester filling for duvets, coats etc are frequently made from recycled PET bottles and polyester fiber is the largest single market for recycled PET bottles worldwide

Most of the time no one asks, “Paper or plastic”?  They just drop your purchases into a plastic bag and send you on your way.  Once home you either stash them in a cupboard or drawer, or toss them in the trash.  Judging by the side of the road lots of folks casually throw them out the window. 

Did you know?

·         380 billion plastic bags are used each year in the US according the EPA and most end up as litter – filling up landfills and littering the environment

·         Approximately 100,000 animals die each year from eating plastic they mistake for food.  Sadly, these bags remain intact and may be eaten by other animals, killing again.

·         It takes over 1000 years for a plastic bag to degrade – most bags are non-biodegradable

·         Petroleum is required to produce plastic bags – lots of it

The Whole Foods Market chain (all 270 stores) has stopped using plastic bags; San Francisco banned plastic bags last year unless they are bio-degradable; Modbury in Devon (a small town in the United Kingdom) became the first town in Europe to go “plastic shipping bag-free”.

An informal poll of friends, family, neighbors, and skiers/boarders on the chairlift, yielded a few interesting facts about the use (or non-use) of reusable bags.  It appears that Generation X’ers (born between 1965 and 1980) are doing the best job.  Are they more aware of what they are inheriting and want to do something about it?  They garnered an 8 on a scale of 1-10.  One Gen X’er has been using cloth for 10 years, helping to keep his parents on track.

The bulk of respondents were baby boomers.  Most of them have bags at home or in the car but forget to use them.  They get a 2 on the 1-10 scale and that’s being generous.  I say it’s time to put a stop to this behavior and start taking responsibility for this harmful problem.

Here are a few tips:

·         Buy some bags from your local market and faithfully keep them in your car (or better yet find bags around your home that need to be put to work – they don’t have to be fancy, just sturdy).

·         When you get in the car put the bags on your front seat, and make sure you have enough to handle all the items you plan on purchasing. 

·         If you forget to bring them into the store stop what you are doing and go back to the car and get them!  Remember, it takes 30 days to establish a new habit so you might have to do this more than once, but it will be worth it.  Trust me, you will feel much better about yourself.

·         Designate one of your bags for produce and stop using the store plastic.  Your peppers won’t be offended by sharing a re-usable bag with onions or carrots.

·         When you check out hand your bags to the clerk.  Some bags are better than others for loading groceries so help the clerk out with the bagging.  Bonus:  some markets give you a credit for each re-usable bag!

·         Encourage all your friends and family to make the switch.  It’s an incentive for you.  It would be embarrassing to be seen with plastic after converting others to a re-usable.

·         Find a small bag you can put in your purse or pocket for smaller shopping trips.  You can get wonderful nylon bags at sporting good stores that are perfect for this job.

·         And last, return the bags to your car as soon as you unload them.

Once you make the switch you’ll be amazed how much you like the change.  Reusable bags are sturdier, easier to carry, hold more, and don’t roll around in the back of your vehicle.   Try it, and remember one person can make a difference.

Replace turf with natural vegetation and wildflowers.

WATER, GO EASY

According to Utah’s Division of Water Resources, 67 percent of residential water consumption is for use outside.   Two good websites to check out are www.conservewater.utah.gov and www.eartheasy.com and here are a few quick tips:

·         Add a drip irrigation system; they are easy to install and not too expensive.  You’ll save time and money and your plants will grow better.

·         Reduce turf by switching to Xeriscape landscaping where possible.  To learn more about Xeriscape plants consider taking a class at a nearby botanical garden like Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City or the Ogden Botanical Gardens.

·         Think about lawn alternatives like creeping ground covers and ornamental grasses.  Strawberries are ideal, producing berries for home consumption and for wildlife.  They spread quickly, and recover well after a long, cold winter.  Succulents, especially sedum, seem to do very well in our dry, desert environment.

NATURAL LAWN CARE

Lawns are lovely and a great place to practice summersaults and play with the dog.  They also help cool our landscape and filter storm water.  Creating a healthier lawn using natural care techniques makes for a winning combination.

·         Test your soil and then work on improving it.

·         Aerate before adding soil amendments.

·         Mow often and leave the clippings on the lawn.

·         Water deep and in the early morning.

·         Keep pesticide and herbicide use to a minimum.

COMPOSTING

You can reduce a substantial amount of household and yard waste by composting and it’s easy, but first do your homework.  There are dozens of excellent websites that provide step-by-step instructions on composting.  A good one to check out is www.epa.gov.  This government site offers a how-to on what to compost, how to build outdoor and indoor bins, and how to use your compost.  Composting is like magic, you begin with scraps, clippings, and cuttings and end up with a rich mixture that feeds your plants and soil.

·         Compost fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, leaves, grass clippings, prunings, newspaper, dryer and vacuum lint and more.

·         Place your compost pile in a shady area and keep it moist.

·         Always layer the material and don’t make the layers too thick.

·         Turn every few weeks (or purchase an enclosed compost bin that has an enclosed tumbler system).

KEEPING COOL

Keeping your home cool during warmer months uses bundles of energy and costs you a ton of cash.  That energy use also emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and generates sulfur dioxide.  Think about using passive cooling options outside your home to naturally cool both your inside and outside living space.

·         Plant shade trees on south and west exposures.  Deciduous trees work the best as they shade your home in the summer, but allow needed sunlight in the winter.  As an additional benefit, you can use the fallen leaves to feed your compost pile in the fall!  Also consider creeping vines and shrubs along foundations.

·         Shade cloths are growing in popularity with a multitude of shapes, sizes and colors available.  They are easy to install and can be removed and stored easily during winter months.

GROW A VEGETABLE GARDEN

What better way to be green then to grow your own food!  It doesn’t take much space and you can enjoy fresh, organic delights from late spring through the first frost. 

·         If you have limited space try container gardens on the porch or patio.

·         Raised beds are easy to work with and you can control the soil.

·         Make sure your garden area gets lots of sun (at least 5 hours each day).

·         Plant what you like to eat.

·         Make sure what you plant will grow in our environment (consider growing times and temperature requirements before planting).