Recycled packing materials

I need to ship several boxes cross country. Finally, a chance to try out my recycled packing material idea!

All those old papers that need to be disposed of? Before sending them to the recycling center, I'm going to shred them and use them as packing material. Also, for filling larger spaces, put the packing material in those ubiquitous shopping bags first. Keeps much of the mess contained! I don't generally have many around, being pretty good about bringing reusable shopping bags, but I have friends who tend to drown in them who are happy for me to take the bags off their hands!

Gardening weather?

Yesterday I finally recovered my primary computer, including my planting agenda (written after my last backup). And it snowed. [blink]

The good news is, I'm only three weeks behind my original schedule. The bad news is, I have a very busy week already planned, and it doesn't include gardening tasks! What silly person wrote *that* schedule up? (myself, of course.)

so welcome to the world of 5 minute gardening! five minutes is enough to fill some pots with (premixed) soil and pick out the next batch of seeds to plant. the next 5 minute opportunity will be planting and labeling some of those seeds. then probably a bit of clean-up/organizing. it is hard for me to force myself to spend time recording activities, but i've read enough to know how valuable the records will be in later years.

I can't tell you how relieved I am to not be dependent on what food I manage to grow this year! There's a lot of trial-and-error in this learning curve...

Currently reading: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Tidbits

I frequently write long posts in my head, but have difficulty actually getting them into text format. I've been joking about getting some voice recognition software and dictating my posts!

Some tidbits from this week:

Chauffeuring a friend in Downtown Chicago, and feeling utterly insignificant between the brightly lit towering structures. Cleaning out the frig and feeding the worms - does this still count as food waste? Hosting an event to bring friends together for an evening, for no particular reason other than we like each other. The irony of using fossil fuels to haul reusable goods to the second hand store. Excavating a storage area to the point of usable space, active rather than passive function. The joy of seedlings in the window, the regret of not having started more, the reassurance that more can always be started. The uncertainty of spending money now believing it will save money later.

Binge and Purge (and purge, and purge...)

Spring has sprung, and the cleaning and decluttering is in full swing. Where in the world did all of this STUFF come from?

I used to be a binge shopper - the popular retail therapy of the late 80s/early 90s. Most of that was dispersed in the Great Downsizing of 2001. However, despite the years since then of trying to buy as little as possible, only acquiring things that will make positive contributions to my life, somehow I am finding a lot of excess to purge this season. Part of that is redefining 'positive contributions' I guess. Books I couldn't get from the library, games I used to play, clothes for jobs I used to have. Office supplies that are useful, but come in too-large quantities. Camping gear that has plain worn out and furniture that's been displaced by an early inheritance. Materials for projects that never came to fruition. I'm disturbed by how easily this stuff creeps into my life while I'm not watching. I've noticed this the past few years - I had foolishly believed the Great Downsizing would be a one-time event, but really, it takes ongoing maintenance.

Today's reminder: simplicity is a journey, not a destination.

Screen time and balance

I have not owned a television in many years. Since the mid-90s, I believe. Sometimes I get a bit too self-righteous about this lack of a 'time waster', and then I start paying attention to how much screen time I spend in front of the computer. So where is that better or worse? I often justify it as reading relevant material, rather than mindless entertainment, but then I bemoan the lack of time I have for reading books.

So about 6 weeks ago, I went on an internet fast. I had an online class that I would spend time on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, but otherwise I stayed off-line during the day, only checking email in the evening. And honestly, I have no idea what I did instead! I started some seeds; I prepared for a convention; the house was cleaner; I'm sure I read several books although I don't recall which ones now. Mostly, I think I slept a lot more!

In the last couple weeks, I've gotten sucked back into the internet due to a potential pending move. Whole days have been lost to the Re/Max site, browsing houses for sale. I find looking at houses to be quite entertaining, but my own house is suffering as a result.

So what's my point? I'm not sure, but it probably has something to do with the myriad ways we have of 'wasting' time, along with how we define 'waste'. If the purpose of life is to enjoy it (as I believe), who is to say anything about the way in which individuals enjoy it? So I will return to (some of) my internet reading, along with my printed book reading, and continue to avoid the numbing-my-mind nature of television. Because while I personally don't enjoy television, it's not my place to dictate whether other people can/do. But I still need to be cautious to balance my screen time with other activities that also contribute to a joyful life (such as a clean home!).

The experiment was similar to no-impact man's, eliminating everything to find the desirable levels. And yet another example to myself of the difficulty, and importance, of balance.

Free food

I have been toying with applying the open source/free content models of the software/blogging world to food production.

Growing food and giving it away.

Accepting donated encouragement: financial, physical, and emotional.

This has the benefit of little actual obligation (weather destroyed a crop? well it wasn't promised), as well as avoiding a government interference-prone business model (why yes, I am reading Joel Salatin's "everything I want to do it illegal" right now!)

While there are people that may take advantage of such a system, I think it could breed a different cultural outlook that would be beneficial to everyone. Move from a perception of scarcity to one of abundance. Encourage others to share their surpluses (e.g. neighborhood tree fruits that might otherwise rot on the ground).

I like to think that such a system would encourage people to actually *think* about what value is to them, rather than thoughtlessly paying whatever is on the price tag. Yet by not requiring any payment, the discomfort of bartering is also avoided, the conflict over perceptions of value.

It would also create the opportunity to "pay" for food in ways that don't require wage labor. Perhaps someone who is good at scavenging cast-off materials would donate those. A person who wants to learn to garden gives of their labor and time. Another gardener may want to share their extra seed harvested from earlier seasons before they get old and the germination rate lowers. Some people would give to others beyond the garden itself, and the entire community benefits. Free food might release somebody from the wage labor system to do work that is otherwise more satisfying.

What might society be like if we all could do that which we love, instead of that which is expected? My best jobs have always been those that pay in respect and appreciation, rather than cash. Yet I fear that somehow even giving away fresh food would be illegal.

Urban chickens?

I finally made the call today to ask about the legality of having chickens. It turns out I had been looking in the wrong place - they're covered under the City Code, not the Zoning Code.

In the City of Des Plaines City Code:

6-1-1: ANIMALS RESTRICTED WITHIN CITY:
A. Fowl: It shall be unlawful and it is hereby declared to be a nuisance to raise, maintain or have upon any property within the city any chickens, ducks, geese, guinea hens, pigeons or other similar fowl¹. (Ch. 25 Art. III, 1956 Code)

Chickens are becoming popular pets. They're fun to watch, they enjoy debugging your yard and garden (and if allowed, defoliating your garden!), and have a side benefit of providing eggs. Not to mention the important additons they make to the compost pile.

The City of Chicago allows three hens, no roosters, and no butchering (which strikes me as cultural prejudice, but that's another issue). At one point in my life, I lived briefly on a farm that included chickens wandering around. They really are fun to watch- less fun than kittens, but more fun than most adult cats.

I talked with three different people asking how an exemption, or even law change (note the 1956 date), might be arranged. I ended up leaving a vm with the city attorney.

As the economy continues to plummet, I think urban chickens are going to continue to see a resurgence, along with victory-style yard gardens. These were normal rural home activities for thousands of years that saw application in urban areas during the Great Depression, and it just makes plain sense to me that they should be allowed and available today, without the prerequisite of financial chaos.

Be the change you wish to see.