Saying Goodbye to Stuff, Part 2: I'm Learning How To Cook!

Last week I talked about how I was on a mission to de-clutter, streamline, and make my home (in the words of Peter Walsh) "reflect the vision for the life [I] want."

Since that post, I've tossed my old makeup, found a new home for my hand mixer that doesn't require me to climb on our kitchen cabinet to reach it, ditched those insanely painful shoes I bought for HACC's Gay Gala, and finally hung those pictures that have been sitting on my floor since we moved in. Whew! It's been a busy week!

But there's more to it than sorting through my Elvis collection. My vision for the life I want includes living simply and sustainably. And to do that, I need to do more than get rid of "stuff." I need to reduce my consumption as well.

I found this thought-provoking video, "The Story of Stuff," that talks about the down side of the "stuff" we bring into our homes. Here are a few stats that caught my attention...

• The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but we’re consuming 30% of the world’s resources and creating 30% of the world’s waste.
• The average U.S. person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago.
• 99% of the stuff we harvest, mine, process, transport... is trashed within 6 months.

Ok, now that we're armed with this information, what do we do about it?

Chicken Corn Soup

One change we recently made to reduce our consumption (and help our bank account) was to start meal planning (yes, after eight years of marriage we are finally going to give it a go). For those that know me well, you know that I'm not exactly gifted in the kitchen (understatement)! Yet this meal-planning challenge has inspired me! This week I attempted two new recipes (and was so shocked by the fact that I actually made something edible that I took pics to share with you)! 

Baked French Toast

So far, so good! Here are some of the benefits: 

• Only one trip to the grocery store per week saves my time, gas, and patience.
• Less food left unused or spoiled at the end of the week saves $$$ and reduces waste.  
• Less pre-packaged meals means less paper waste and packaging in the trash and in our landfills.
• Planning ahead allows us to prepare healthier meals (well, maybe not the baked french toast, but you get the idea!).
• Plus, meal prep at home means I get to share dinner with my hubs!

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall

What kind of difference do you want to make? Remember, it's not all or nothing (I certainly have plenty of room to improve). But even small changes can make a big difference! Maybe we can make a few changes together?!

Want a few more ideas to green your food habits? Check out Time Magazines "33 Ways to Eat Environmentally Friendly."

How about tips to reduce your consumption overall? Check out these tips from the EPA on how to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

#treehugger #bethechange #thestoryofstuff