10 Days Without Waste

Day 10…

Do you ever feel like environmentalists are a bunch of quacks with issues? If I’m honest, there have been plenty of times in my life where the only “green” things I cared about were Kermit the frog, Oscar the grouch, and the padding (or lack of) in my wallet. Ever since Al Gore came out with his thrill-ride of a movie, I’ve thought environmentalism was as “inconvenient” as his lack of science.

Of course we Christians can’t talk much. The American church seems to stay away from the concept of being a steward over the Earth and instead focusses on our “dominion.” In the name of consumerism, we’ve adopted the mentality that wealthiness is next to godliness regardless of who or what we destroy along the way.

But what if the Earth matters? What if when God said it was “very good” he meant the fruit trees, lakes, and mountains just as much as the human beings he put in charge of it all? What if he was looking at all of creation, and was blown away by his own masterpiece? It would explain why he had to take a day off after he was done.

Consider this: I live out in Colorado near Pikes Peak. If you’ve ever driven out to Colorado from the East, you know that seeing the mountains rise up out of the horizon is one of the most amazing sites to behold. Every day as I drive into work, I’m blown away by the grandness and beauty of the Rockies. But there’s one blemish. If you look to the right of Pikes Peak there is an old strip mine that rips an ugly hole in the landscape. Looking at the tear in the mountain makes it feel like something is missing — a piece of beauty is gone. I’m not saying strip mines are morally wrong, but when you see one break up a beautiful mountain range it sure doesn’t feel right.

I think God cares about the Earth, and I know Plant With Purpose thinks so. But they do things a little differently than just your typical “save the whales” campaign. Don’t get me wrong — I like whales (I’ve watched all 3 Free Willy movies), but if all you’re doing is saving whales, what’s the point? Plant With Purpose has taken the unique approach to solve humanitarian issues while tackling the tricky issue of the environment. They call it a holistic approach as they look for ways to fight poverty, improve the climate, and meet people’s spiritual needs along the way. If you want to know more, check it out by clicking here. 

Although I’m done with 10 Days Without Waste tonight, I’m still going to leave the donation window open through Wednesday. Remember $5 plants 5 trees and provides training for farmers in developing countries. You can fight poverty and help improve the environment all with one gift. You can donate by clicking here.

To subscribe to this blog, put your email address in the box labeled “Subscribe to 10 Days Without.” It’s on the right of your screen, and allows you to receive each new post in your email inbox.

Also, please “like” 10 Days Without on Facebook to stay even more connected with the cause. You may like the page by clicking here.

10 Days Without Waste

Day 9…

Tonight we had a cowboy and indian party at our house. Now I know you’re probably assuming that it was for our two-year-old, but it was actually for me. What can I say, ever since my last cowboy and indian party (elementary school) I’ve been wanting to have another one. Tonight, on my 25th birthday, I got my wish!

I would’ve probably gotten this post up a little earlier if it wasn’t for the peanut shells, chocolate cake, and nerf darts covering our carpet. But you won’t hear any complaints from me, I had an amazing time watching my grown up friends shoot each other with nerf guns, put their hair up in pig-tails, and suck back a couple of root beers. And who do I have to thank? My amazing wife, who always does her best to make me feel special. If you read this — I love you babe!

Now you may be thinking to yourself, “a themed birthday party, that had to have created a lot of waste.” Actually, we did good. We are composting the peanut shells and paper plates. Rebecca bought glass-bottled rootbeer so we could recycle the bottles (and for the effect of course — nothing says, “frontier” like brown rootbeer bottles and a serious face hence the pictures). And she made food that tastes great reheated in case we had extras. After an entire birthday party with 17 adults and 9 1/2 children (1/2 is for my pregnant friend — she deserves some credit) we only had 1/3 of a can of trash (13 gallon can). In fact, the only thing we needed to throw away was a table-cloth that evidently can’t be recycled, and then some stupid plastic packaging for the fruit (come on fruit companies, become more sustainable).

Anyway, it was an amazing night, with amazing friends, and an amazing wife putting it all together — I love you all!

SO, only one more day to donate to Plant With Purpose. I know, these 10 days went by quickly, but that’s okay because I’m only asking you to donate $5.

Just to refresh your memory, Plant With Purpose goes into communities in poor nations around the world that can’t sustain agricultural growth because of deforestation. The ground has basically been ruined by corporations that have stripped the countryside bare without any thought to the effect it would have on the local economy or ecosystem. I am not anti-corporation, just anti-selfish -it’s all about me-corporations which unfortunately includes a lot of them. But that’s not the point, the point is that Plant With Purpose is solving a lot more than just “green” stuff. They are also actively making a difference in poverty. Not only does $5 plant 5 trees and help the environment, but they are planting trees that will help farmers get back on their feet, and they are training the farmers on how to sustain the new growth. Like I said, really cool!

So join me for the cost of a cup of coffee and donate $5 to make a difference fighting poverty. You can donate by clicking here.

To subscribe to this blog, put your email address in the box labeled “Subscribe to 10 Days Without.” It’s on the right of your screen, and allows you to receive each new post in your email inbox.

Also, please “like” 10 Days Without on Facebook to stay even more connected with the cause. You may like the page by clicking here.

10 Days Without Waste

Day 7…

It’s time to say “goodbye” to 2011 and “hello” to 2012. I hope you have a great time with your friends and family tonight as we all bring in the new year! If you want a really cool way to ring in 2012 consider donating $5 to Plant With Purpose. We can make a dent in poverty by donating the same amount of money we would spend on a coffee. $5 plants 5 trees, and provides the training farmers need in cultures around the world. To donate, please click here.

To subscribe to this blog, put your email address in the box labeled “Subscribe to 10 Days Without.” It’s on the right of your screen, and allows you to receive each new post in your email inbox.

Also, please “like” 10 Days Without on Facebook to stay even more connected with the cause. You may like the page by clicking here.

10 Days Without Waste

Day 6…

Here is a guest post from my wife about diminishing the amount of waste or family produces. If it wasn’t for her support and help, most of these segments would be impossible. Thanks babe for being a part of 10 Days Without!

______________

There is nothing more that my husband hates than coming home to an overflowing trash can. Over the past 4+ years of our marriage many comical quarrels have taken place around trash. Growing up my dad and brother took out the trash- case (or lid) closed. Neither myself, my mother, or my 3 sisters EVER had to even think about trash. Unfortunately, like many other things in marriage, we did not have the same expectations.

It’s not that Daniel wont take out the trash. It’s that I’m the one home all day filling it up to overflowing. By the time Daniel gets home to see the K2 of trash piles, he would rather turn a blind eye to the behemoth which of course makes me want to strangle him.

Needless to say, I’m very excited about this segment. So far it’s helped better our marriage, raised money for others, and taken a step toward restoring our planet to its God given beauty.

Here are a few other things I have been doing at home to cut down on the amount of waste:

1. Being a mother of 2 boys makes things interesting. Being a mother of 2 boys still in diapers makes things disgusting. I have found poop in unimaginable places — behind their ears, below their toes, in my bed, and even on my walls. So when we made the switch to cloth diapers a few month ago we were both a bit skeptical, but being on a tight budget and hearing great reports about it we decided to give it a go. 7 months later we have helped cut down on the average 27.4 billion disposable diapers dumped into landfills each year and have enjoyed doing it! No pins, no buckets of water and the washing machine does all the work.
2. Buying mostly fruits and vegetables — food without packaging.
3. Avoiding those plastic produce and checkout bags and bringing my own reusable bags.
4. Composting- food scraps, paper products,etc.
5. Repurposing waste-old shirts into rags, boxes for storage, glass containers into cups.
6. Flushing the toilet less often(with discretion!), filling the sink instead of continuously running the water, bathing the babies in the sink instead of the tub.

It is amazing how simple it is to reduce waste, and how rewarding it is at the same time. Give it a try!

We can help Plant With Purpose transform communities and make a dent in poverty by donating the same amount of money we would spend on a coffee. $5 plants 5 trees, and provides the training farmers need in these cultures. To donate, please click here.

To subscribe to this blog, put your email address in the box labeled “Subscribe to 10 Days Without.” It’s on the right of your screen, and allows you to receive each new post in your email inbox.

Also, please “like” 10 Days Without on Facebook to stay even more connected with the cause. You may like the page by clicking here.

*stats on diapers in landfills comes from: redwagondiapers.com/why-cloth

10 Days Without Waste

Day 5…

I’m sorry I didn’t get a post up yesterday, and that this post is coming is showing up late this evening, but I have several really good reasons for getting behind.

1. Kids
2. Kids
3. Kids
4. Kids

You see, I’ve been enjoying the benefit of having several vacation days left over that I had to use before new years. As a result, I’ve only had to work one day this week, and the rest of it has been spent with the family. I say I’ve only had to work one day, but that’s not entirely true. I’ve been trying to give my wife a break over the past couple of days, which means that I’m getting to the end of my day much more exhausted than I ever have from a day at the office. Remember that amazingly true song, “Mr. Mom?” Well I haven’t found “sweet potatoes in my lazy chair” yet, but then again I haven’t had time to check.

It’s funny though because the more I’ve helped out around the house this week, the more I’ve found myself doing things my wife does. Don’t judge me for this, but after I got the kids down for a nap today — I flipped through a “Natural Home & Garden” magazine that my wife’s been reading. I will not say whether or not I enjoyed the magazine (no reason to incriminate myself any further), but the story that caught my attention was on page 40 (which means I got all the way to page 40).

Did you know that (insert pause where I go and grab my son who just hit his head on a toy kitchen) “more than a quarter of the food produced in the United States ends up in the garbage?” According to the article, this is considered to be a low estimate which means the number could be a lot higher. The article also points out that because of all the food we waste, “we’re also throwing away the approximately 350 million barrels of oil required to create that much food.“

Think about how much money we’d save every 365 days if we bought 1/4 less food every year. For my family that would be around $1,000. Here’s the challenge: eat everything on your plate. If you don’t think you can eat it all, save the excess, and then make less next time. You’ll find yourself saving money and wasting less food. 

Food is one of the biggest reasons Plant With Purpose does what it does. By planting trees and training farmers to revitalize the soil — Plant With Purpose is helping communities grow food once again. Due to deforestation, many farmers around the world are unable to grow crops because the soil has become nutrientless (if that’s not a word that’s okay because it still makes sense). Thanks to Plant With Purpose, these farmers are now able to transform their communities for good and make a dent in the poverty that ravishes their countries.

We can help Plant With Purpose transform communities and make a dent in poverty by donating the same amount of money we would spend on a coffee. $5 plants 5 trees, and provides the training farmers need in these cultures. To donate, please click here.

To subscribe to this blog, put your email address in the box labeled “Subscribe to 10 Days Without.” It’s on the right of your screen, and allows you to receive each new post in your email inbox.

Also, please “like” 10 Days Without on Facebook to stay even more connected with the cause. You may like the page by clicking here.

*The article mentioned above is called: Waste Not, Want Not and is found in the May/June 2011 edition of Natural Home & Garden