And how better to jumpstart our community, than with a challenging new MMM?

High atop my vintage Schwinn, ‘Althea’. Summer 2008.

#11


Let’s talk transportation. We all know that gas-powered vehicles are an environmental nightmare, but it can be hard to break out of such a convenient (and let’s face it – comfortable) habit. The truth is, if you really want to cut your carbon footprint, transport is key – in terms of impact it’s second only to going veg*n.

So in honor of springtime and the sunshine that it brings (perfect for vehicle-free transportation), I challenge you to rethink how you get around. Could you alter your errands to stay within a bike-friendly zone? Could you jog around your neighborhood instead of driving to the gym? Could you walk to work, or to the coffee shop, or to the drug store? Could you do your grocery shopping with a friend, for the company *and* the car share? Could you catch the bus to school? Could you ride the subway to dinner? Could you set up an office carpool? Could you rollerblade to brunch?

As you can see, the possibilities for change are endless. And they really add up!

Personally, I do own a car. But I do the vast majority of my ‘moving’ by other means. I do my grocery shopping daily, by foot (while walking the dogs). I walk a lot actually, and it’s a great way for Waits to experience the world. I used to ride my bike everywhere, which gave me an even greater range, but that’s out until this baby gets a bit bigger.

These days my car averages 1 tank of gas per month, almost exactly on the nose. I fill it up around the 1st, and it takes about 4 weeks to get down near ‘empty’. So my personal goal for this MMM is to cut that in half. I intend to use only 1/2 a tank of gas this month! If I can make that my standard I’ll be sittin’ pretty, don’t you think?

Damian and I rockin’ the bike helmets. Safety first! haha. Summer 2008.

The bike basket during an afternoon of errand-running. Summer 2008.

So, what could *YOU* do to curb your emissions in the transportation arena? And do you choose to accept this mission??

Although my bed rest kept my thrifting to a minimum, I was able to pick up a few awesome items this month. And of course, all the clothes and baby clothes I bought were gently used. But it’s not about me – I want to hear about you guys!

How did this month go for you? Were you able to remain entirely secondhand? What kind of goods did you get and how did you have to alter your habits? And most importantly, are you going to try to keep it up indefinitely???

I’d really love to share the thrift store love, so please please please:

1) Send me pics of the pillage! If you scored something amazing that you’d like to share, email me a picture (you don’t have to be wearing it if you don’t want to) at info@bonzaiaphrodite.com Please include your first name and the city/country you found it in.

2) Send me the names and addresses of the BEST secondhand stores in your city, and maybe a brief description of why they’re so rad. I want to compile a list of the greatest thrift stores across America (across the world??). So send me all the top secret hot spots you know of in every city you’ve been to. Send your thrift stats to info@bonzaiaphrodite.com

#17

So the holidays are over and you’ve got a pile of greetings and gift cards, on display and collecting dust in a corner of the living room. But they’ve got to come down eventually, and unfortunately most will find their way into the rubbish bin.

Of course you, diligent Bonzai readers, would never trash that precious card stock, I’m sure. We’re all recyclers here, are we not?

But what about doing one better? Instead of tossing them in with the newspapers and tomato tins, why not hold on to them for later use? Simply remove that pretty (and valuable) front! (leaving the back, inscribed with your relative’s well wishes, to recycle) Now you have a brand new post card, a clever thank-you note, or a lovely gift tag!

You can also wrap a gift in simple brown paper (re-use a paper grocery bag), then tape the recycled card front to it, to add a festive image.

So save your holiday cards for the next years festivities! But don’t forget to save other cards throughout the year – this works equally well for Valentines, birthdays, and beyond!

BONZAI!

Alas, we’ve been a bit waylaid here at HQ. Being on bed rest certainly puts a damper on shopping trips. Still, I managed to sneak off to the gently used baby boutique in my neighborhood, and picked up a few super cute essentials, as well as some much needed cloth diapers for my slowly growing collection. And just this past weekend, Damian took some of my store credit (trade-in value) at one of the local shoppes, and found a pair of mint condition Lucky brand jeans for 1/5 the cost of a new pair. Lucky is his favorite, so this was quite the cause for celebration!

Since this mission is all about thrifting, and anyone who shops secondhand knows the joy and the thrill of the hunt, I thought it might be fun for us to really share the love. Here’s what I’m thinking:

1) Send me pics of the pillage! If you score something amazing that you’d like to share, email me a picture (you don’t have to be wearing it if you don’t want to) at info@bonzaiaphrodite.com Please include your first name and the city/country you found it in. At the end of the month I’ll post all the pictures, and we can all revel in the glory of the secondhand goods!

2) Send me the names and addresses of the BEST secondhand stores in your city, and maybe a brief description of why they’re so rad. I want to compile a list of the greatest thrift stores across America (across the world??). So send me all the top secret hot spots you know of in every city you’ve been to. At the end of the month I’ll post a master list, and I’ll continue to update it periodically.

I hope this mission is treating you well – it’s a fun one! Happy hunting, and may the thrift store faeries sprinkle their pixie dust all over you!

#9

I’ve written quite a bit in the past about my idea of ‘Ethical Sartorialism‘. A huge component of the ES lifestyle involves buying almost exclusively secondhand – a seemingly daunting task to many style mavens. But now I’m putting the challenge to all of you!

Pretty straightforward: no buying new textiles. No new clothes! Stay out of the mall! Avoid the big box store!

If it sounds difficult, here’s some inspiration -
1) The Year Of Living Thriftily is a blog by an uber-fashionista who vowed to shop exclusively secondhand for an entire year. She’s got a great sense of humor and there’s lots of fun fashion pics, too.
2) The Uniform Project tracks one girl as she wears ONE dress for an entire year. An interesting exploration of abundance, and this chick has mad style.

So if you’re not shopping at your old retail standbys, where will you get that blazer you need for work or the perfect cocktail dress for your new hot date? Well, you’ll have to be a bit more resourceful. But thrift stores and secondhand boutiques are awesome, often undiscovered, treasure troves! I suggest you get to know your local spots and try to visit often.

You can also do a lot of secondhand shopping online, from Amazon to Ebay to Etsy, these sites offer great opportunities (especially if you’re into vintage).

And what about me? Are you wondering how I’ll participate if I already live this way?

Well let me tell you, if you think thrifting is hard, try maternity thrifting! I’m big and pregnant now and it’s a challenge keeping myself styled. I’m also in full-on baby prep mode, which unfortunately means a lot of consumption – from baby clothes and blankies to bibs and burp rags. I’ve got a lot of stuff to accumulate here!

So, I’ll be working doubly hard to make certain I stick to my principles. All the baby textiles I purchase will be secondhand. That’s my challenge this month.

And what about you, my wonderfully well-dressed friends? Are you with me? Do you choose to accept this mission?

BONZAI!

After investing a minimal amount of energy into the setup, I finally ‘sat down’ to give it a try. With a little apprehension and a little bit of doubt, I did what I needed to do (NOT doo-doo, haha) . . . and then reached for the cloth.

Okay, the second I actually did it I was like, “wait, really?” It was a similar feeling as when I switched to cloth pads. As in, WHAT THE HECK TOOK ME SO LONG??

May I be blunt?
1) Cotton *feels* a lot better than scratchy paper.
2) It’s really a relatively dry affair, if you know what I mean. There’s very little that’s actually transfered to the cloth. There’s no associated odor and cleaning them is just not an issue.

So all in all, I think this is one of the easiest, one of the most successful missions to date. I don’t know what I was so afraid of, and there’s no way I won’t keep doing this. I encourage you all to give it a try!

BONZAI!

If you’d like to learn more about why one would want to do such a thing, you can get the background story at this month’s Mission post. Now, you can go about getting started in one of two ways: buy them or make them. Since one of the major themes of this exercise is reduction, I opted for the DIY approach. A couple of my husbands old softened tee shirts was all it took!





An old sheet, flannel PJs, dish towels or bath towels – pretty much anything can stand in here. No sewing required! I just cut the fabric into strips the width of regular TP. Then, cut them into lengths so that when they’re folded in half they’ll make a perfect square.





From there you just need a place to store ‘em and to stash ‘em, close to the scene of the crime. I picked up this lovely secondhand basket at the thrift store, and found the perfect plain plastic waste bin for catching wipes. An empty drawer would also work great for storing the clean ones. I considered getting the biggest, tackiest vintage cookie jar i could find for used wipes. Ha!





There are really a million variations here. Highly customizable. Now as far as actually *using* them, that’s a whole other story.

We’ll revisit that at the end of the month.

#8

You’ve all been so amazing joining me in these grand experiments each month, willingly committing yourselves to new, sometimes drastic life changes. And I think, this month, I’m really going to test your faith in me! Eek!

Okay. So, this month I’m going to switch to family cloth. “Now, what is family cloth?”, you may ask. “That sounds so sweet, like a big warm blankey for sharing”.

But yeah, no.

Family cloth is cotton toilet paper. Basically, you replace your standard bleached, chemically-treated paper TP, with reusable wipes made of fabric (bought new or upcycled from old clothes/towels). Keep your clean cloths near the toilet, in a drawer or a pretty basket or bag. Keep a ‘dirty rag’ receptacle near the toilet as well, a bin with a lid or a hanging drawstring sack. Launder the used wipes as necessary.

Sound crazy? I thought so too, at first. It’s honestly taken me a while to warm up to the idea. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Obviously, it’s a great environmental gain. We already know from our research into paper napkins, that washing reusables is much more resource/energy efficient. And I remember from the switch to cloth menstrual pads, how surprised I was at the comfort that came with cotton. I hope to get the same benefit from the family cloth.

I’ll be spending this first month using family cloth for #1 only. So I’ll keep some TP in the bathrooms, for guests and for #2.

And what about you, my dear green go-getters. Is this just too extreme to be gotten? Or, are you with me? Will you accept this mission?

BONZAI!

#16

We’re coming up on December madness, and that means serious travel season in many parts of the world. But with airlines being so . . . *ahem* . . . not nice, a lot of us are opting to drive to our holiday destinations. Here’s a few tips on how to maximize mileage in the coming month – and beyond.

First, get rid of any extra baggage! Tools in the trunk, flotsam and jetsam hiding under the seats . . . I even have an iron in the back of my car (long story). According to the U.S. Department of Energy, each extra 100 pounds will reduce gas mileage by 1-2%. And it adds up fast! So clear out.

Then, before you leave for your trip you’ll need to check your tires. We’ve all heard it before, but seriously guys! If everyone kept their tires properly inflated, we would reduce consumption by millions of barrels per year – like, no need to drill in ANWR! So put that funky little tool in your glovebox to good use!

Next you’ll need to take a trip down to your local auto specialist. If your air filter is reusable, you need to clean it; if its replaceable, you need a new one. Dirty filters muck up the air/gas ratio which compromises combustion. You should aim to address the air filter every 12,000 miles or so.

And finally, drive right on the road – especially in stop ‘n go traffic. That means: slow, constant acceleration, which will cut your fuel consumption by ~20%. That’s a lot of savings, so keep the pedal OFF the metal, eh!?

Safe traveling my dears, and happy holiday season!

BONZAI!

For me, I found parts of this mission to be natural, and other parts to be difficult. For example I’d always bought my Earthbalance™ in a new tub, because my co-op only carries the non-organic in bulk. But this month I switched to bulk, by bringing my own pyrex tupperware. Ain’t it cute? Earthbalance™ uses non-GMO and pesticide free ingredients anyway, so organic isn’t totally necessary. And buying this way was so much cheaper! Like, really really cheaper!





But in other ways it was harder. I took a couple of trips and found it difficult not to use plastic packaged ‘convenience’ foods. And I feel like I tried all these new items this month, stuff I normally never buy! I really feel like I was so much worse this month than I could have been, damn it. Here’s my 30 Days Of Plastic, all laid out:





It may not be a lot for most people, but as far as I’m concerned it’s WAY too much for me. So I’m going to keep this challenge going another month. I’ll collect all my plastic again, and see if I can’t cut down even farther. I’ll make sure to let you guys know how it goes.

So tell me guys, how did this mission go for you? Do you consider yourself successful? Did you learn anything, or make any permanent changes? Let me know how it went!