In Defence of Making Do

I will begin by saying that I have very little fashion and design sense, and I cannot walk into a room and see how I can transform it into a vision of my own style. I cannot just slap a coat of paint on something and magically transform a room for under $700. Anyone who comes into my home or sees how I dress can see that right away.

The downside is that I am sometimes embarrassed by the mismatched nature of my home furnishings. The upside is that I am not spending thousands and thousands of dollars updating my home to the latest and greatest style.

My mismatched floors after an old dishwasher broke, leaked,
and damaged the flooring. Thank goodness for kind neighbours
who help source replacement boards and install for me.

One of my pet peeves is watching home decorations and real estate shows that have people saying how the house is not move in ready because the perfectly serviceable countertops are not granite and the appliances are not stainless steel, and how they want to rip everything out of the kitchen to make it more their style. When we moved into our home we were thrilled, despite the fact that the original 80s kitchen cabinets have not been updated (just painted) and the countertops have a faux treatment to look like granite (and they aren't fooling anyone, I assure you!). It was move-in ready because everything worked.

Recently I moved some furnishings from my grandmother's home to mine.


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Guilt Free Coffee

I have a love/hate relationship with my morning cup of coffee. I have kicked the habit, or at least taken a break from the habit, for years at a time, but I always seem to return to my beloved cup of joe.

I've never gone the espresso machine route (always out of my price range) but over the years I've tried several coffee makers. Some I've loved more than others, but each one of them has lost its lustre in my eyes. After my latest round of caffeine detox I took a long hard look at my coffee machine. The carafe was glass, but all the other parts, including the basket where the hot water would drain through, was plastic, and this did not wash with me.

Time to find a new coffee making system.

Needless to say I would not purchase a K Cup system. I won't bother going into the reasons; they do not need to be spoken, and EcoYogini has already done a great job.

Don't judge me. Yes, I am a nerd.

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I Would Do Anything For Love, But I Won't Do That

Everyone has their line in the sand, the one thing that goes too far. For some people it is too much to ask them to compost their food waste. For others it is too much to ask them to use a menstrual cup.

I believe I have found my line in the sand. For all that I love the environment and would do anything to protect it, I won’t use “family cloth” instead of toilet paper.  From the lyrics of the Meatloaf song, I would do anything to be more eco, but I won’t do that.

What is family cloth you ask? In the quest to reduce single use disposable items, many people are using small pieces of cloth, like a small face cloth, instead of toilet paper.  The idea is that the cloths can be kept near the toilet, like toilet paper, and placed in a sealed container when soiled or wet. Then they are washed in the washing machine and reused again and again. A quick Google search will bring up hundreds of blog posts on this subject, the pros and cons and how to use them. One of my favourite companies, Luna Pads, sells them and promotes their use. 

In theory I am down with this idea. After all, I used cloth diapers with all three of my daughters and I use cloth feminine pads. I think nothing of washing them. Why would I throw away diapers and pads when I don’t throw away my underwear?

In my mind, however, using reuseable “toilet paper” just seems different. Without getting too detailed, I think it is the soiled part, rather than wet part, that has me squeamish. It’s just a bit of toilet paper, no big deal, right?

Actually it is a big deal. 

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Green Confession: I Love Disneyland

The eco part of me is ashamed to admit that I love Disneyland.

There are so many aspects about a trip to Disneyland that are hard on the Earth. It certainly doesn't fit the picture for a crunchy vacation.

First of all, there is the getting there part. Regardless of the method we chose to get there, we are belching out carbon dioxide.

Recycling is ridiculous. When we saw signs encouraging us to recycle they only referred to cans and plastic bottles. No recycling for the plastic cutlery, plastic cups and juice boxes everywhere. I certainly didn't expect composting sites for the organic matter people were tossing into the garbage bins. Never mind how easy it would be to have paper and cardboard product recycling.

Speaking of water bottles, we brought our own stainless steel bottles with the intention of filling them at water fountains. I am ashamed to admit that we ended up buying bottled water because we couldn't stand the taste of the tap water. We are very spoiled with the quality of our drinking water here in British Columbia.

Unless we had a meal in a sit-down restaurant, everything was served on styrofoam or in non-recycleable plastic cups. We purchased a few "souvenir" containers so that we weren't throwing them away, but they are plastic, which I am trying to reduce in our home.

I can't even imagine the energy it takes to power the resort and park.  I love the evening light shows and fireworks. Disney really knows how to put on a parade.

We were excited to see Carsland this time, which 

was under construction last time we visited.

I am a sucker for Disney merchandise which is everywhere and at every turn. We walked off favourite rides, like Star Tours, right smack into a gift shop. So much for reducing my consumerist urges. 

If truth be told I wanted my photo with the 

characters more than my girls did.

Don't forget the gender-typing with frilly princesses for girls and jedi fights and cars for boys (although my girls love it all).

This is from our trip two years ago when the older 

girls were still into princesses. They have passed the 

torch to my three year old who loved meeting 

the princesses in the new Fantasy Faire.

I can't believe how I have been branded by Disneyland. I went several times growing up and I have such happy memories and emotions associated with Disneyland. Two years ago we went with my parents and when we arrived at the front gates my mother and I actually got misty eyed remembering all our good times. For someone who is trying to reduce brand purchases (more expensive than making from scratch, additional packaging, additives, chemicals, etc) this is rather embarrassing.

Imagine my horror when my husband pointed out this sign to me:

I suppose this is a good thing, being forced into labelling toxic materials. Can you imagine if this was done everywhere? Then again, would people care? I'm not sure it would change the public's buying patterns because all their favourite products and brands would be included. Sorry for being so cynical. 

Despite all this, I had a fantastic time and we hope to return in a few years, because I find each age gets something different out of the park. I guess everyone has their weaknesses and Disneyland is one of mine.