Sustainably Spicy

Take a quick look at your spice cupboard. How many are expired or much older than a year old? How many are unique spices you needed a 1/4 teaspoon once for a recipe, or a unique spice blend that isn't in your regular cooking repertoire? (I'm looking at you, cajun seasoning that's in the back of my cupboard and 5 years old...)

It turns out many spice mixes are made out of different combinations of the same dozen or so common spices. Want to try a new cuisine? Make your own spice mix on demand. 

This is a great way to rotate your staple spices more often, and not acquire as many specialty blends. For example, Greek, Italian, and Cuban cuisines can all use the same oregano. This will reduce the stale spices you throw out (or reluctantly use up), the number of total containers used, and the number of total containers you need to fit in your cupboard.

Check out this ah-mah-zing Everything Bagel mix (seriously, put it on avocado toast). All of the ingredients are things that I already have in my cupboard, but may not use frequently. For example, I may want sesame seeds for the occasional Asian recipe, or poppy seeds for muffins, but I don't cook those recipes enough to go through the individual ingredients. So, I take this bottle, make my own "everything" mix, and refill it. The sesame and poppy seeds get used up, and I don't need to buy another bottle of everything seasoning.

An added benefit: if you are using the same base spices you can save $ by buying bulk and refilling. You can either simply get larger containers (hello, Costco) or look for stores that offer bulk bin refill (example, PCC). During COVID, PCC isn't allowing you to bring your own containers, but you can use their baggies, which are ultimately much less waste than another spice jar. Then, use any container to store the raw spices or mixes. It could be a leftover plastic sour cream tub (just get some labels!), or a small glass storage container, or even previous spices jars (hey, it's previously labeled and may even still have the sprinkle top).

Here's one of my go-to favorite mixes. It's a knockoff recipe from Red Robin's seasoning salt, and just like Frank's Red Hot sauce, "I put that s*!t on everything!". It's a household staple that goes on anything from fried eggs to roasted potatoes. It packs a ton of flavor, and it's 1/3 salt. Pro tip: when you make your own blends, you can customize them to your preference or dietary needs.

• 1/4 cup Sea Salt
• 1/4 cup Smoked Paprika
• 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Sage
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon Celery Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar

Measure out all of the ingredients. 

 

Below is pictured a small Pampered Chef bowl I love because it doubles as a storage container (lid not pictured) and a measuring cup (1 cup bowl with 1/4 cup markings). 

 

Simply shake or stir to combine, and viola, the perfect seasoning salt. So much flavor from the paprika, garlic, and other herbs (yuuuummmmmm). 

 What is your favorite mix or recipe to use up spices?

Conscious Coordinates

If you're like me, you probably look at your over-stuffed closet frequently and feel like you have nothing to wear. I feel this way most often when I go to dress up, whether it's an celebratory dinner or a night at the theatre. And then I wonder, how is it possible I can't find anything I want to wear, when I've bought some amazing pieces? 

Well, there was my answer: I had bought some amazing pieces, but couldn't complete the outfit. Most notably, I have acquired several tea length or midi skirts over the years, but it turns out the length and shape of tops that I wear most days with pants or jeans don't compliment the skirts well. On the average day, I go for looser tunics that hit at the hip. With the shape of the skirts I'm wearing, I need a more tailored top that hits closer to the waist, in order to not look frumpy or make me looker shorter than I already am. 

With that realization, I could intentionally shop for pieces that would pair with those skirts and leave me with complete outfits.

First win, this Zara short sleeve black sweater, which is so soft, I feel like I'm wearing pajamas. 

 

 

I love the added gold button detail on the back, a minor detail, but adds a touch of dressiness. 

This Zara sweater was $10.99 at Goodwill (in like-new condition) but would cost $29.90 at Zara.

Next up, this embellished Adrienne Vittadini blouse.

The quilted pattern and bust darts create a lot of structure that really makes this blouse stand out from most of the comfort clothing (read "t-shirts") I can get away with working in tech. 

And I *love* the bejeweled neckline that eliminates the need for jewelry. 

This Adrienne Vittadini blouse cost $9.99 at Goodwill, while the average Adrienne Vittadini top goes for $48.00 at Macy's.

Between both of these blouses. I saved $47.92 (69.6%), and also enabled myself to get some use out of these skirts I love, but which were collecting dust. 

So first step if you are stuck with "nothing to wear" is do an audit. Do you have items you never wear? Do you dislike them for some reason? If so, move them to the donate or alter pile. Do you like them? If so, what's holding you back? Do you need something to complete the outfit, eg. the right height of shoes, or a sweater to pair with a sleeveless top? If so, prioritize your next purchases!

Out With the 2021, In With the 2022

Yo! Yo... 2021 was quite the yo-yo. First, we get some line of sight to the "end" of COVID with the development of vaccines, and then a low point in cases in June, before we dragged back under with Delta, then given more hope with boosters, and then dragged back down with Omicron... What. A. Year. 

But amidst it, we did have some good times. Here's a look back at 24 posts from 2021: 

House and Bath

• We upgraded our dining rooms with festive, reusable fabrics napkins. 
• Our furniture finish was quickly restored with a low-cost, no-chemical solution.  
• Commercial deodorant companies came out with refillable packaging designs. 
• A monthly subscription helped me make one smart product swap per month. 
• Even your at-home gym can benefit from thrifting. 
• A neighbor had a clever use for TP cores, hiding them in their curtains.
  

Food and Garden

• Pickle brine was the gift that kept on giving, saving us each time we "remade" a jar of pickles.
• We tested a bunch of DIY seed starters, and concluded that simple food tubs are a clear winner.
• Thanksgiving gave us an opportunity to upgrade our leftovers game. 

Travel

• We chose hotels that have committed to sustainable choices. 
• We compensated for our air travel with carbon offsets.  
• Public transportation saved us gas and parking $$$ for holiday festivities. 
  

Closet

• A cobbler extended the life of a favorite pair of shoes.
• We found additional ways to manage our textile waste. 
• Another year, another thrifted Halloween costume.   
• Thrifting let us take fashion inspo from our favorite TV personalities. 
• A vintage mall brought together 40+ vendors in one place for discovering second-hand treasures. 

Learning

• Documentaries inspired us in our eco journey. 
• We learned about product labels and certifications that helped us make better purchasing choices. 
  

DIY and Upcycle

• A trash artist made amazing sculptural paintings from plastic trash. 
• Even my dog was a thoughtful consumer with upcycled dog toys. 
• Summertime with the family is more fun when constructing (and eventually playing with) DIY cornhole boards.
  

Sometimes, in the midst of a hard year like this, it's hard to see the progress you're making. To end the year, Seattle had a week of heavy snow and ice, during which trash collection was paused. To me, this was a bright spot in my effort to minimize waste. I realized that our household had no problem skipping a week of trash service, and not only that, but we weren't quite full the following week. This finally showed how all my little efforts added up to a big difference. 

As we enter 2022, I'm excited to up my game with Ridwell! My friend Allison generously gifted me a membership, and I'm thrilled to have a convenient solution to recycling additional categories of items. For an average of $12/month, Ridwell provides a milk-man type box for your porch and several fabric bags to sort and collect your items:

Then, every two weeks they'll do a pick up. You can include lightbulbs, batteries, clothing, and plastic film. The light bulbs and batteries are great for me - there used to be retail stores in our area that had the Terracycle boxes in their entry, which no longer exist. The Ridwell collection now replaces that missing resource. "Threads" is also exciting. There are certain clothes and shoes that are beyond their useful life, and you don't feel good about donating - this will help them get recycled. And plastic film - this is one of the few items that still fills our regular trash. Think about the thin plastic packaging that wraps your consumables, which can't be put in your regular recycling.

Beyond these regular categories, they add a bag for "featured", which will include short term categories like "holiday lights" in January. 

What are your New Years resolutions for reducing waste? Have you done a trash audit to know what's still filling your trash can?