24/24 - Week 4

 Week 4 of the 24/24 Challenge, where I try to limit myself to only purchasing 24 *new* items for the entire year! Secondhand (thrift/antique/consignment/hand-me-down) does not count, nor does a new product that is Zero Waste (including packaging- which must be 100% compostable).

I had another successful week of buying no new items. Here are the items I did get:

  • From my local Buy Nothing Group, I asked for and scored some *secondhand* items from folks in my neighborhood: Kitchen compost bin liners, coffee filters and 2 empty MYRO deodorant sticks (a client gave me 11 refill pods but no sticks, so I got 2 from the group- one for me, one for Derrick).
  • My client offered me a small rectangular container that she was decluttering, which I used to corral all our random Roomba accessories in a deep drawer in our kitchen.

Tidbits & Wins

Our garbage pickup was delayed a day due to the ice storm... Yet even after 8 days, this is all the trash we accumulated during that period! About half a bag. Most of our waste got recycled, composted, listed on the Buy Nothing Group, or TerraCycled. I'm pleased, but I think we can reduce our landfill waste even more!

Our TerraCycle box that lives in our basement-
it's how we recycle the un-recyclable!


All our trash from just 8 days!

  • The man in line ahead of me at Whole Foods was shopping with these reusable mesh produce bags made from organic cotton and he kindly let me take a photo... I'll be putting these on my Simplicana Store soon, I have a mini shop in there just for eco-friendly products called The Organized Tree-Hugger.
Reusable produce bags


Still just 1.5 out of 24 new items for the year... If I stay at this pace, I will win this challenge with extra items to spare. A project I may work on in February is putting together a bag that will live in my car containing various items for both grocery shopping (reusable totes, produce bags, jars, etc), and getting takeout (glass containers, metal straws & dining utensils, cloth napkins), so that I'm prepared for any scenario involving food. Even though any form of food does not count toward my 24/24 challenge, I still want to do my best and reduce waste!

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