Living Plastic Free: MAJOR SIN #3
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It’s been 3 months since my last confession.
I’ve been expecting you, my child.
YOU HAVE???
You shouldn’t sound so surprised! For an old guy, I’m pretty tapped in. The Word on the street is vanity insanity was tempting you to walk on the dark side.
HUH?
The parishioners organizing the rummage sale have been gossiping for weeks that your no-new-plastic pledge was headed for another disaster all because of mascara.
Oh no, Father. That’s NOT the sin I’ve committed.My MAJOR SIN today Father is much, much bigger than mascara. With far greater implications to the planet and especially to my plastic shrine....
This sounds serious. Go ahead and confess your MAJOR SIN child, so that I may absolve you of your guilt.
Well, Father, to be honest I feel absolutely no guilt. Not one iota. And Father, I confess my no-new-plastic pledge was not even a consideration in my decision to commit this sin.
Oh Father, isn't that horrid. Hypocritical. Perhaps I have been tempted to the dark side!
MAYBE BEELZEBUB IS NOW MY MIDDLE NAME. Here, let me check if I can rotate my head 360 degrees.
Saints be with us! Hang on while I grab some holy water and my copy of ‘Exorcism for Dummies’.
Father, the SIN I have to confess is…..I have bought a new home.
Oh my child, how can buying a new home be a SIN?
Think about it father. A home has lots of plastic in it. In the refrigerator, the dials on the stove, the plumbing hoses and washers, the toilet lid, the bathtub, the dishwasher racks, the closet organizers, the switches in the fuse box, the eavestroughs, all the wiring, lighting fixtures and electrical outlets, even the carpet. Even the paint!
Hmmm, this IS serious.
Yes, Father it is a whopper of a SIN. It’s PurgatoryWorthy. And it’s sad to say but ‘plastic-free’ never even made it onto my list of PropertyCan’tHaves. I was more concerned with re-sale value, square footage, location, and if I could still commute by bus instead of use MyLittleCar to get to work.
I guess I knew it would be impossible to buy a plastic-free home.
And Father, it gets worse. I have intentionally bought a home that needs renovating. There’s paint, and flooring, and new appliances to consider. New counter tops and faucets and landscaping.
This one SIN leads me perilously down a road fraught with the potential for more SINs.
Child, why do make it so hard on yourself? You really should see a shrink about that.
Well, Father, I guess I feel up for the challenge. I am fearless. Because I am the new consumer. It’s my mission for 2007 to help others chart the course to a greener future in my own little humble plastic-free way.
You see Father, I intend to try to renovate using no plastic and seeing if I can find eco-friendly products that are also plastic-free. That in itself will be a huge challenge. Kind of like finding plastic-free mascara that is also cruelty-free.
That IS going be a challenge. Why don’t you go easy on yourself and just make a new rule for your NoNewPlastic Pledge that says anything you buy pertaining to your renovation and home is exempt?
But Father. That would be cheating. That would be like taking a vow of celibacy but having an unholy union with a choir......
Okay, I get your point. It would be cheating.
And so candy-ass. I am way braver than that.
The tough part is Father, my rules say that once any plastic I buy gets used up it must be placed in my plastic shrine. How am I gonna put all that carpet into my plastic shrine?
Well, my child, I guess you’ll just have to get a bigger shrine.
Perhaps. But Father, do you think if I am able to donate to charity, or sell, any of the items I will replace, for example the fridge, or the carpet, that I may not have to put them into my shrine? I do have an existing rule that says if I am given plastic as a gift, and then regift it to someone else that plastic doesn’t count.
Well, that could be a possibility. I tell you what, why not ask your fellow parishioners what they think and let them help you decide.
Ahh, Father, you are a wise man. I will ask them! If I am able to sell or donate any of the plastic filled items within my new home, will those items have to appear in the plastic shrine?
In the meantime, your penance today, my child, is to say 1,000 Hail-David-Suzukis, 1,000 Hail-Al-Gores AND 1,000 Debbie Travis’....And you must kiss my rosary.
Father, remember, I can’t....it’s made of plastic….
Oh, you're right. I keep on forgetting. Okay then, just go forth and stay true to your pledge....Flip This House Plastic-Free!
Comments
Well this parishioner, if
Well this parishioner, if that is, indeed, what I am, says congrats on the new home. Consider donating your old items and replacing them with new or newer items as a "wash." As long as you are environmentally aware and make decent choices, I would be willing to look the other way.
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OmegaMom Yes, I so deserve
OmegaMom
Yes, I so deserve those 40 lashes with a wet noodle. That's a big bunch of plastic I'm walking into. And you are right, it's going to be nearly impossible to renovate without plastic. All the hardwood I've looked at so far comes boxed but sealed in plastic. The only way around it is to go direct to a mill.
I guess we'll just have to see how the plastic-free journey unfolds...
EnviroWoman
Plastic free. Cruelty free. Vegetarian. Chocoholic
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Hiya Deb in MA Thank you for
Hiya Deb in MA
Thank you for your support, and for turning the other eye. You are too, too kind.
EnviroWoman
Plastic free. Cruelty free. Vegetarian. Chocoholic
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How fun! My husband and I
How fun! My husband and I (pre-kids) would have loved a challenge like this! Be sure to look into re-using things from refurbishing places and things like that. There are companies that go into old buildings/barn and such before they are demolished and salvage everything. You can get great fixtures, tile, tubs, etc.
Also, on an episode of Living with Ed (Ed Begley Jr) he bought new countertops that we completely recycled.
You have so many great options! Happy Hunting!
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Raw Vegan Mama Yeah, I think
Raw Vegan Mama
Yeah, I think it's going to be very cool. But tough too, balancing doing a green reno (which will be so much more expensive) with still making a tidy profit.
I've never heard of the show Living with Ed (we might not get it here in Canada). But I bet its good, he seems very tapped in to all things green.
EnviroWoman
Plastic free. Cruelty free. Vegetarian. Chocoholic
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Congrats on the new
Congrats on the new purchase! This will be an exciting adventure, for sure.
Check out the Habitat for Humanity ReStores around town... There's one in Burnaby and one in Vancouver. It's a really great cause, and I've heard you can get some great deals on items that are returned to stores for very minor reasons (scratch on one side of fridge, etc.)
Happy hunting...
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tlc I love you for that
tlc
I love you for that point to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore! I didn't know they did that. A fab, fab idea and for sure something EnviroWoman will have to check out.
I guess this means EnviroWoman is gonna have to get a bigger wire shopping basket!
EnviroWoman
Plastic free. Cruelty free. Vegetarian. Chocoholic
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Oooh -- watch out when you
Oooh -- watch out when you move! Every mover I've ever met is in love with that awful plastic wrap stuff... And watch out for packing tape! You could use hemp string around boxes instead...
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There is a source in Mission
There is a source in Mission for reclaimed hardwood flooring. We saw this guy at the Home Show, and the wood is very nice if you like a rustic, medium or dark floor look. Not shrink wrapped.
I can't find my contact info at the moment, but I'll keep looking. If you want to search him out, as I recall he's the son of Jo Priestley, a potter in Mission who has a studio on Richards Street. She should know how to find him, and you can find her through a google search.
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It won't let me call myself
It won't let me call myself Kevin anymore. Ah well.
The contact info for that flooring guy is:
lone wolf woodworks
tmpwood@hotmail.com
604-768-5542
Best of luck!
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Hey EnviroWoman! We're
Hey EnviroWoman!
We're working on a national environment show for CBC radio and one of our upcoming shows is on packaging. We'd love to chat with you about the challenges you've faced trying to live plastic free. Please contact Jen at:
feelingtheheat@cbc.ca.
Thanks and good luck with your efforts!
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hey there, i've just begun
hey there,
i've just begun browsing around your blog, you've set up some great challenges for yourself/for others to think about, good on ya.
my question is: isn't it more environmentally friendly to insist on not making more plastic but at the same time to leave plastic where it is in some cases?
for example, the plastic in yr fridge dial - it's inert, it's not going to affect your food, if you purchase something to replace it made of glass, then all that energy that goes into making glass has to be used (and that's a hell of a lot of heat to generate!) plus the plastic piece needs to be recycled.
i think a blind "replace everything plastic!" approach ends up, ironically, increasing our eco-footprint, not reducing it.
namaste!
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Well, I for one vote that
Well, I for one vote that donation is sin free while selling is only a minor sin. A little tiny minor sin, because, face it, it's not like you're going to get a decent price on used appliances.
As an aside, since you already have it, carpet makes a good weed barrier. It makes a weird looking garden, but a good wee barrier. Trust me. My garden was once carpeted in a horrid blue short shag.
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..but some refrigerator
..but some refrigerator parts are made from glass and plastic, in fact all my fridge is plastic from inside....that means "NO Fridge"?
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Yes we get Living with Ed
Yes we get Living with Ed (Ed Begley Jr) in Canada. I haven't seen it recently but I watched it last year, I think it was on HGTV. I watched him pedaling on a stationary bicycle to generate enough electricity to make his morning toast :D
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Woohoo! Congrats on the new
Woohoo! Congrats on the new abode! But 40 lashes with a wet noodle for the plastics...
Good luck on finding plastic free renovation materials. Everything gets wrapped in shrinkwrap when it's shipped.