What I love and what I do about it.

Let me frame this in terms of what I LOVE.

I love the beach, the ocean, and especially the Jersey Shore. I fantasize about bringing my baby there for the day with me. I don’t practice a religion but the ocean is where I feel spiritually connected.

When I lived on the Shore in 2018-2019 I used to pick up trash along Island Beach State Park whenever I could. I took pictures of what I collected after ONE! DAY!

Here is that post.

And here are some ways that picking up this trash changed my habits:

• I actually buy this no-plastic deodorant at Target! Both adults in my household like this, and then I compost the cardboard in my backyard.
• We own a washing machine and this is a privilege. It enables me to use this handkerchief system instead of one-use tissues.
• I love this metal razor! The blades do get discarded but that is IT! And plastic razors have caused me worse nicks and irritation in the past.
• I know not everyone has a scrap heap in their backyard. But if you own property or know anyone who does, I urge you to compost on some small bit of land. I have a heap that I just let decompose — I do not use this particular humus for edible garden beds. And so, I compost used cotton swabs there.
• Plastic-free habits can be very pleasurable! We ADORE soap bars from Buff City Soap, and for the last 3 years we have brought our empty plastic tubs of laundry powder to a store periodically for refills. We are often complimented for how good our house smells, especially when guests snuggle and take a nap in bedding or blankets. (And we are switching to scent-free for bebe.)
• I actually bought my cloth makeup remover pads from a farmers market vendor a few years ago and cannot find a link. But I still do skincare! A life without plastic is NOT necessarily dour or deprived! I do my nightly toner with a system like this.
• I don’t mean to suggest YOU MUST GO OUT AND BUY ALL THIS NEW STUFF!! I slowly switched over to the products in this thread over a period of years, as a need arose. Use whatever is in your home now. Use whatever you have purchased to the last drop. Maybe think of a second use for the plasticy parts before you throw it out. Sometimes I feel like a hoarder because I have a collection of empty plastic spray bottles for cleaning supplies. But I do rinse them out and then refill with tabs or other forms of concentrate + water.

But the hardest habit to break, I have found, is the impulse to buy something new at all. DO I REALLY NEED IT?! I ask myself. Can I get that dopamine hit from doing something else? Do I already own something that will work? Can I make a hot beverage at home? Can I borrow a thing from a friend or get it second hand? Can it be rented or shared?

What’s in your community? What handy, creative, generous people do you know and love? How are you handy and creative and generous? How can you help each other buy and waste less?

I was up at 3 a.m. worrying that I am bringing a child into a barren hellscape of a future. That this kid will someday resent us for even being born, and be furious that we didn’t do everything we could do to keep our planet habitable.

I know we are all burned out and worked too hard and not paid enough. I know we need to protect ourselves and keep our small networks safe. I know the future feels abstract when we have needs RIGHT NOW. But I can ASSURE you that the cause of our anxiety right now is NOT immigrants, regardless of legal status. The solution is not racist slurs or rounding up people who don’t look like you.

THE SOURCE OF SO MANY PROBLEMS IS GREEDY BILLIONAIRES who are not only pitting us against one another, but profiting off of the division they sow and ALSO what we buy from them. I am only human and yes, buying something easily on an online platform and getting it shipped quickly and unboxing it feels good for a moment. It reminds me of how smoking cigarettes used to feel SO SATISFYING that I used to prefer to die early than give it up. But my habits changed, and though it was hard, my life and health and hope are stronger because I quit cigarettes, try to buy less overall and use less plastic, and think deeply about everyday household decisions. And I try to act in ways that will make life better beyond my household and my little life. I do make decisions while thinking about my community, people I don’t know, people who will be born after I am dead at 135 years old.

There are many other actions I need to and will take. But today I am thinking about BUYING LESS and I hope you will too.