I'll start with a (brief) recap of the conference...
It was pretty awesome. Even though I didn't get to attend a single session, I learned some valuable lessons:
- Cute shoes are not worth having 10 blisters and blood everywhere (...or are they...?)
- Remembering to eat is important to survival
- My natural instinct to shower and go to bed instead of staying up socializing can actually pay off
- That "how is it possible to feel like I can't stay awake when vital information is being given" feeling does not go away after college
- People are not so bad...not this group of people anyway
Plus an array of work related lessons to take away for planning next year's conference, but let's not talk about that.
As far as accumulating trash, that isn't really happening. I did get food poisoning and thought Goldfish crackers sounded good during recovery, so I bought them without thinking...the bag is paper/foil, so that had to be thrown away. Other than that, not much. I changed my oil the other day and thankfully was able to use part of a shop rag instead of repeating the paper towel fiasco. I've also cut way down on my "out and about" purchases, so the materials accumulating in the car are pretty minimal.
A couple things I'm doing that I forgot to mention previously...
- Dryer lint. Didn't think about that, did you?? Turns out if you fill empty toilet paper/paper towel rolls with lint, they make great fire starters. Bring it on, summer!
- Cloth napkins. My mom is an RN, so she's very germ conscious. I finally convinced her that it would be ok for me to reuse a cloth napkin with my meals for a week...(I do this with my bath towels too, she hates it). I've also started yelling at her if she gives me food on a paper plate...I think she might just stop giving me food.
There are some other things that have been brought to my attention I am not dealing with due to circumstances:
- Household crap. Meaning: I don't own a house. So furnace filters, paint, drywall, garage accessories, etc, are not my concern. I'm totally ok with this, but I realize it makes this project unrealistic to those that do own a house. However, I would like to point out that there are outlets for recycling or re-purposing those items I listed above, so the project is actually not impossible.
- Feminine hygiene. Ewwwwww. I'm really not interested in handing out TMI here, but I'm on a certain medication that rids me of the need to think about use or disposal of these products...thank you, science!
- Restricted space. Even before I moved back in with my parents, I had plenty of space for recycling and composting...but not everyone has that freedom (and I hear some people don't want it...crazies). I'm a firm believer that you can recycle, compost, and grow gardens even if you live in a van down by the river.
Aaaaanyywhoo, I do have an announcement that may or may not throw a wrench in the plan for this project, again. I'm headed to Wisconsin from June to July to serve with a WisCorps conservation crew. This potentially makes my project difficult for a month because I will be backcountry camping the entire time. Pack in-pack out is the general policy; I'll have to be careful about what I pack in. I don't want my bag to be full of Clif bar wrappers on the way home, but I also don't know what kind of recycling is available in Wisconsin...so we'll just see what happens. The trip is, of course, technology free, so I won't be able to update you until I get back.
A couple weeks after that, I'll be headed to Costa Rica for 10 days- just for fun. I have no idea if recycling even exists in Costa Rica...but most likely I'll be eating out for all my meals so hopefully I won't directly generate too much waste. Otherwise, I'll be explaining to US customs that I don't intend to make bombs or transport drugs with all the empty plastic containers inside my bag on the way back into the country.
I'll update before I leave and when I return from my adventures!
"The purpose of life is to live, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
