Some of my favorite home upgrades come from the conscious habit of making use of what is no longer perfect and perfecting reused objects.
Upgrade, Downgrade
Thankfulness and Tu B’Shvat
The longer I live a low-waste life, I find that my gratitude becomes deeper and more multifaceted.
Planning for Pesach Already?
Pesach is one of the biggest projects we undertake as frum families. One of the most powerful planning tools in my toolkit—one I use for managing projects both at work and at home—is the after-action report. While any project or endeavor I will undertake again in the future is fresh in my mind, I make notes about what worked, what didn’t work, and what could have worked better with a little bit of tweaking. This way, I can reduce, reuse, and refuse my way to a more sustainable, less stressful holiday.
Use It Up: The Purim Edition
My ideal would be to send mishloach manos in packaging that is both reused and reusable, but that’s not as easy as it sounds.
These Boots are Made for Walking (Away from Shopping)
At the beginning of November, I set an intention not to buy anything except food and household necessities that month. I called it a "Mostly No-Buy November Challenge," and it's good that I included the word "mostly," because I mostly accomplished my goal.
No New Clothes?!?!
I usually go into chagim and chol hamoed all caught up on laundry. But the week leading up to the Nine Days, and I started off with three full loads of dirty laundry that will have to wait until next week. Luckily, I had enough time to get them sorted and ready to go. I’ve... Continue Reading →
Growth and Perfection
When I trimmed the hose to right before the first kink, the remainder was just long enough to water all but a pot of sage and two tomato plants. Was it perfect? No, but it’s a good reminder that “perfect” is the enemy of “good enough.” As Ben Zoma taught, “Who is rich? The one who is happy with what he has.”
A Very Late, Very Short, Mostly Low-Waste Purim Wrap-Up
One week before Purim, I had a goal: I wanted to make the mishloach manot that my husband and I give to friends as plastic-free and low-waste as possible. Unfortunately, what I didn’t have was a plan for how to make that happen. I had come up with two great ideas, but both ideas required... Continue Reading →
Open Your Eyes!
Zero-waste crafting and a reminder about opening your eyes to possiblity.
Making the Light Last
On low-waste shopping choices, finding value in all of HaShem's world, and a way to wipe out plastic drink bottles before and after fast days.
The Bal Tashchit Balabusta 