“Paper or plastic?” It’s practically an ethical question, now, right? But it’s an insidious double bind: we know neither paper nor plastic is a good answer any more. We know the right answer is “Neither, thanks, I’ll use my 10-year-old cloth bag.” Unless, of course, we left it in the front hall on our hurried way out the door – as usual. Then we’re stuck between a rock (plastic bags are a terrible use of finite petroleum resources, and they trash up our world) and a hard place (paper bags are usually made from virgin paper and release greenhouse gasses as they decompose).
And bags are only the tip of the iceberg, really, when it comes to home-keeping materials and methods. Be they paper or plastic, many home-keeping materials are designed for one-time use. At best they’re recyclable, at worst they end up in the landfill within days. This is the real problem. Reusable items, especially ones that can be used for a good long time, are scarce at most markets – and we’ve become addicted to the one-time stand.
It’s time I deepen my relationship with all the items I use every day and make a commitment!
So this year I’m researching, designing and crafting kitchen and household items that I can use again and again, and with them replace many of the disposable items we use in our home. I’m going to focus on one main item each month, and write up my findings and creations for others to see and use. I’m calling them my Again & Agains. Because I hope to use them – yeah, you guessed it – again and again.
Here are some of the items I’m going to replace:
Poly kitchen sponges – with handmade scrubbies and dish cloths
Paper towels – with washable cleaning cloths and rags
Plastic produce bags – with cloth and crocheted bags
Plastic and paper market bags – with cloth, knit, and crocheted bags
Plastic zipper bags – with cloth bowl covers and reusable containers
In general, I hope also to divert some of our waste stream away from the landfill. With two kids and an active, outdoorsy, handy-man husband we go through a fair amount of clothes, for example, that can’t be passed on because of stains and damage. We also, despite our efforts, end up collecting a good number of plastic bags. I’ve started thinking of these things not as garbage but as potential raw materials once again. It’s time to give them new life. I’m going to try to make these two goals meet whenever possible: making durable reusable home-keeping materials while diverting waster from our landfill.
I’m not alone in this quest, of course. There are amazing, creative, helpful folks all over the Web doing this stuff. So along with my own ideas and designs, I’ll link to other sites and shops I’ve found interesting and helpful.
Time to commit!
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