All My Needs

In my work as a consultant, I often remind clients that perfect is the enemy of good. A perfect software solution that takes five years to build is decidedly not better than a good solution you can implement in six months and then continually improve while benefiting from its “goodness” for four and a half years. 

As is so often the case, the things we say to others are things we need to hear ourselves, as I was recently reminded by my search for the “perfect” storage solution for those small plastic bags that still come home from the grocery store even when you are mostly bagging fruits and veggies in reusable mesh bags. (LINK)

Of course, that raises the question of why I don’t just recycle the bags. Reuse has a more positive impact on plastic waste than recycling, so I was delighted to find a great reuse for those bags. 

One of my daughters loves animals. She’s been a pet sitter for chickens, reptiles, and other beings that live in cages for years. Last year, she branched out to boarding dogs (one or two at a time) in our home. It’s a bit like having canine grandchildren. They come for a bit, I get to love on them and enjoy them, and then they go home. And, my daughter can use up those excess veggie bags (newspaper bags also work) when she takes them on walks. 

My initial storage solution was a nice paper gift bag with jute handles I already had. It hung on a hook by our side door, making it easy to grab on the way for a walk. But it only lasted a month or so before it ripped. I had similar bags, but I wanted a solution that would last, preferably made from sisal, jute, bamboo, or other renewable resource. Neither Amazon nor the Container Store had what I was looking for. Wrong size, wrong shape, wrong whatever. Perfect was not on offer. 

Meanwhile, the rip in my original solution kept getting bigger, and I was fairly certain learning basketweaving wasn’t something I had time for. The problem bounced around in my head for a bit until I realized I had everything I needed to craft a new solution in less than five minutes. All I needed was a heavy-duty plastic shopping bag picked up while traveling without my reusable bags and a pair of kitchen shears. 

I started by slicing off several inches of the top of the bag to make the depth I wanted. Then, I cut four holes in one side that I could use to gather it into a more basket-like shape that would hang open when I hung it on those hooks by the side door. As you can see from the picture, it works perfectly. My daughter’s clients get their specialty-made doggy bags returned to them at pickup, which saves them money and reduces the amount of single-use plastic going into the waste stream. 

This little project got me thinking about one of the brachos we say every morning in a new way. I thank HaShem for meeting Kol Zarchi, my every need. When I stopped looking for the perfect container, I could see that HaShem had already provided me with a solution I could feel good about. 

It’s a lesson I kept in mind later in the week when I realized I had left my refillable water bottle at home. But I had just finished a fruity seltzer in a can, and it held water from the water cooler as well as it did seltzer without the downside of plastic or styrofoam. The good is so often there to be found right after you stop the search for perfect. 

~Amy

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