Woah. It seems like ages since I wrote last. Let me tell you, the two months before your wedding will suck up a lot of the extra time you thought you had. I wasn’t running around like a maniac, but the the last-minute lists and preparations for the family visit consumed an awful lot of my brain capacity. But I’m back with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and plenty of ideas to share. I plan to write a recap of the eco-conscious aspects of our wedding and mini-honeymoon, as soon as I’ve compiled some photos to accompany the words.

But in the meantime, my goal is to post more often and report on the little things I aim to accomplish in the “reuse” and “reduce” categories.

A few unrelated acts of note:

  • I’ve made the switch to bulk shopping at Mississippi Market, and I totally love it. Granted, it isn’t as though I’ve never bought anything in bulk, but I’m referring to household items, such as dish soap, laundry detergent and household cleaner, in addition to food. I really don’t know why I didn’t start sooner. The one bulk item that I’m psyched to refill? Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap. Seriously.
  • I’m still making my own peanut butter. I buy peanuts (in bulk!), toss them in the food processor with a little cane sugar and a teeny drizzle of canola oil, and voila. I love that the flavor is just a tad different every time I make it.
  • I’m done buying jarred tomato sauce. The first batch of sauce I made last week has convinced me that homemade is the way to go. Plus, a big batch in the crockpot yields at least six full servings for the two of us, and it cost me less than buying two jars of the off-the-shelf stuff.
  • We finally (finally!) started composting. I went to Home Depot and bought a Rubbermaid trash barrel, and drilled some small holes in the bottom, sides and top. Bingo. Homemade compost bin. Done, and done.
  • We mulched our front and back yards to keep our native landscaping happy and healthy. We don’t water on a regular basis during the summer, mostly for energy- and water-usage reasons, so the mulch will help keep the precious moisture in the ground. Next spring’s project is a rain barrel.

Today’s good deed at work: I offered to take home the office’s household-cleaner spray bottles and refill them with Restore multipurpose cleaner in bulk at Mississippi Market. I grabbed a bottle of the stuff to clean my desk this morning and noticed it was almost empty. And the light bulb went off. There’s no sense in tossing the spray nozzle and recycling the bottle when I can refill them on one of my regular shopping trips.