New Ideas

The following is a list of my newest harebrained ideas:

Get a wagon - this will be used to transport Eva, as well as the recycling, as I walk to the recycling bin in the Geyer's parking lot. I have been making trips for the last few days up there, but I have been filling a grocery bag and hanging it on her stroller handle. This would be fine if I would stay motivated enough to make the daily trips, but I know myself well enough to know that I will lose my gusto soon enough, and get back in the habit of filling my garage before I take the recycling. The wagon will have to be big enough to hold a trash can and a 2 1/2 year old. I'm going to check on Craigslist for one after we get this wedding reception out of the way (financially out of the way, that is) so that I will still be as eco-friendly as possible.

Take some plastic containers - While I was cleaning out the refrigerator, or as my great uncle calls it, the rotter, I noticed that I had to throw away a few styrofoam clamshells that were used to bring home leftovers from restaurants. I was trying to come up with a solution for the waste, and at first considered washing them out to take back. Then it hit me. All I need to do is take a few plastic containers with lids to restaurants with me. This will completely eliminate all waste, until the container gets too old. This way is more sanitary anyway.

Buy Nothing Month - This will probably have the biggest impact of all of the ideas listed here. The punk rock thing to do is take part in "Buy Nothing Day," which the rest of America knows as "Black Friday" as a protest of consumerism. My reasoning is nothing so deep. I will be doing it to save money. We are thinking about having another child sometime in the near future, as well as moving (in the more distant future.) These things will take money, so in an effort to assist my savings, I am planning to force myself to wait a month from the day after our reception to buy any item that is not food, gas, or a utility. This means no video games (gasp!), no Justin Sane solo 7", no preorder of the next mc chris album, and no random spontaneous ebay purchases, as well as no wagon. For a whole month, I will have to act like an adult and exercise some self control when I am at the store. Food will not include items such as Monster energy drinks, 2 am Taco Bell burritos, or ice cream from Frank's. Food will include nutritional items such as vegetables and fruits. In addition to helping me keep much of my disposable income in savings, it will also help the environment because I will be consuming less packaging, less raw material, and less gasoline on random trips to buy junk.

I will update my progress and findings with these projects at a later date. Please leave any suggestions in the comments, which should now be open to anonymous posting.