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?