To reduce your load, consider shopping online classifieds or thrift stores for “gently used” gifts. Sites like Oodle, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist offer hundreds of gently used items — without all the new packaging and waste.

When searching for a recycled or gently-used gift, it’s helpful to have a general idea of what you are looking because there are millions of items to search from. Great deals on tickets, ski gear, vintage clothing — even jewelry abound. It’s a bit like shopping a very large virtual garage sale - but then again, browsing is half the fun.

Bag Green Guilt, Five Easy Steps: Turn Eco-Anxiety Into Constructive Energy is such a rare find. It does not add 365 more things to your already overwhelming “to do” list. Nor does it do a deep-dive into the laborious science of why the planet may not survive. Instead, it offers simple solutions that anyone can use to improve the state of our planet, as well as our attitude towards one another and ourselves.

While the book offers a step-by-step approach, it is definitely not a manual. It’s a very heartfelt personal journey that you’ll share with author Jen Pleasants who wrote it from her own “neurosis of being overwhelmed with all that is happening with the world today.”

Her premise is simple: Change yourself, change the world. And through five simple steps, this all becomes doable. Without giving away the whole book, in step two (which is one my favorites), she suggests you “Acknowledge that you can’t do everything, but affirm that you can do something.”
Common sense, right? But not in this day in age, where we are running too fast to tie a loose shoelace.

She also sums up the three most important and impactful things you can do to help the environment. (Again, I will not divulge, but let’s just say it’s nothing complicated or mandates driving a Prius!)

I have had the fortunate experience to meet (and since then, become dear friends with Jen), and thus I appreciate the amazingly positive zen-like spirit Jen resonates. Knowing this, makes it even more clear that Jen was the right person to write this book: it is a book that inspires the individual, any individual, to do the most important thing - make small, but important changes.

If only as many books relieved us from guilt as opposed to adding to it.

What better gift than to give a friend or family member peace of mind. For a mere $10, that seems like quite a bargain. Also, a portion of the revenues go to environmental charities. Find it on Amazon.com: but notes that when I last checked there were only five copies left.

KidsKonserve Reusable Lunch System

My son’s previous school nurtured him with organic gardening, taught him to prepare his own food and set the table with real plates and silverware. He was encouraged to eat slow and savor his meal. Zero-waste was a no-brainer.

After recently volunteering during his lunch hour, I was shocked that so many parents continue to fill their children’s lunch pails with Snackables and juice boxes (as well as other highly-packaged products) and continue to pack their children’s food in plastic baggies, and in many cases, plastic storage containers that have the capacity to leach toxics.

The organic hot lunch program is an even greater trash culprit as each item is packaged in small plastic baggies (that I noticed are often too difficult for the kids to open themselves and thus get tossed with contents inside). My jaw dropped as I watch how quickly the individual milk cartons and non-reusable food containers began to overflow from the trash can.

While I don’t have all the answers to creating a zero-waste school lunch program, I have discovered one solution that could help substantially: Kids Konserve has created a fantastic line of ReUsable lunch systems that not only makes packing lunch easy, but produces zero-waste as a result (of course, that’s assuming your child eats all that is packed in the containers). Two stainless steel containers, a reusable plastic baggie, a stainless steel kanteen and a cloth napkin — all come in an adorable organic cloth bag, (which also comes with a nametag so it won’t get lost after it’s first use.) I picked up the caterpillar set at $42, but it’s possible to purchase the items individually too.

I realize that a reusable lunch system doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to come up with the time to shop and pack a nutritious lunch. That’s why it’s worth checking out Laura Everage’s new FamilyEats newsletter. She shares recipes and stories that will inspire you to nourish your children at school (and at home). Also, if you sign up to receive the newsletter by October 24th, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a Viking 3-quart saute pan. Simply send an email that includes your full name and request to be added to the newsletter: newsletter@familyeats.net.

Also, please leave comments about any ideas or solutions that have proved impactful for achieving zero-waste at your school.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say there is a conspiracy from the packaged goods manufacturers to make it very difficult to purchase a 20-gallon trash can. Maybe they don’t want you to know how much trash you’re really producing…I suppose the hard truth is that there is little demand for 20-gallon cand. This shouldn’t surprise me as I continue to see many homes in our neighborhood with not one, but TWO 32-gallon cans, usually over-flowing.

Finally, I located one at Orchard Supply Hardware, which was on sale for $14.99. The kids have named him Oliver.

If people only knew how easy it was to reduce trash. By making just a few simple steps in our life, such as composting, using reusable diapers and purchasing food products via cloth bags as opposed to goods that come in packaging, we’ve reduced our trash from 42 pounds a week to approximately 11 pounds a week.

Our goal of getting to zero-waste has been motivated by our desire to have less impact on the environment, but through this process, I’ve also learned there is an economic incentive.

By moving from a 32-gallon can to a 20-gallon can, we’ll save just over $7/quarter or $30/year. This number varies per county, so in some places you might be saving a lot more, such as in San Francisco, where you can save $5/month or $60/year. While that doesn’t seem like a lot, our investment translates to more than $320 in ten years, which more than covers the investments we’ve made to reduce or output. Following breaks down the costs:

Composter $152
Cloth bags $ 47
Reusable diapers: $ 48
20-gallon can: $ 15

TOTAL: $262

Just think, moving to a 20-gallon can reduces trash output by 624 pounds a year. Multiply that by the number of households in your town — and the real potential impact of trash reduction becomes clear.

And then there are all those plastic bags that we use at the grocery store for fruit and vegetables. Even worse — fruit packaged in plastic boxes.

Which is why reusable cloth bags make so much sense to me. I chose the Acme organic cotton bags, which come in two sizes (17″ X 13″) and (10″ X 8″). You can get them for $2.75 each at Reusablebags.com. The larger one is perfect for fruits, vegetables and breads. The smaller size is great for bulk foods, such as flour, sugar, cereals and other foods that can be purchased bulk. (Tip: store your bulk foods in glass jars — it’s a great way to make good use of something that would otherwise end up in the recycling bin.)

The challenge I’ve found thus far is that with the exception of Whole Foods and local co-ops, such as San Francisco’s Rainbow Grocery, which carries more than 800 types of bulk foods, you are limited to the they types of products you can purchase. I’m not sure what the solution is other than it’s important to support grocery stores that offer a broad range of bulk foods and encourage those that don’t, to add additional products into the mix.

The second challenge I’ve encountered is that many of the “most packaged” products are not available (to my knowledge) in bulk, such as crackers. Perhaps the easiest solution would be to eliminate these products from the grocery list.

All that said, reusable cloth bags make bulk food shopping easy — and packaging-free.

Next week: we welcome Oliver, our new 20-gallon can.

1) A gently-used novel or audio book. I hope that the new B Steet Books that just opened around the corner from my office in San Mateo is a sign that used book stores are a growing trend. If you don’t have one in your neighborhood, consider the “for sale” book cart at your local library or online options. I found 465,000 used books on Oodle, including The Davinci Project at a bargain price ($6.00).

2) A wallet or accessory made out of recycled materials. A Tyvek wallet ($22) made out of recycled coffee bags or this one made out of bicycle tubes ($9.50) are available on Etsy.com.

3) Sports, theater or musical event. Treat dad to a night on the town or tickets to the game. Even better — opt for tickets for the whole family. There are tons of events to search from via your local zip code on Oodle.

4) A new set of wheels. If the dad in your life is in need of a set of wheels to make emission-free transportation a viable option, consider roller skates, a scooter or a bike. I found a used Trek bike on MySpace Classifieds ($125)

5) Family time. If the dad in your life prefers indoor activities, consider a gift that the entire family can enjoy. I found a number of different options on Craigslist from a used ping pong table to a pool table.

When searching for a recycled or gently-used gift, it’s helpful to have a general idea of what you are looking because there are millions of items to search from. It’s a bit like shopping a very large virtual garage sale - but then again, browsing is half the fun.

I was a little hesitant about the sizing, thinking that my three-year old was simply too big for reusable diapers, but was pleasantly surprised to find that they are completely adjustable - with clever snap placement to ensure a snug fit.

In addition, my daughter loves the cute designs — and finds that they are much more comfortable than the disposable ones.

Since replacing the Pull-ups with the Fuzzi Bunz, we’ve reduced our waste to less than one trash bag per week — and are ready to move to a 20-gallon can. While we’ll miss Oscar, we look forward to adding this new member to our family.

On to Freecycle to see if I can find a used one that someone would like to pass along.

Today, my kids joined me as we put on the gloves and sorted through our trash so we could determine next steps for reducing our waste. After putting a tarp down, we separated the garbage into piles of similar materials to understand how much of what was going into Oscar’s diet.  

Here’s how that 25 pounds of trash broke down (not including compost materials which are now going into the compost bin):

• 9 pounds of Pull-ups (Yikes!)
• 1 pound of table scraps (including chicken innards, chicken bones) not allowed in the compost bin
• Less than 1 pound of plastic packaging, including dirty plastic bags that could not be recycled
• Less than 1 pound of other items, including bottle caps, a non-reusable razor, a shave stick and a styrofoam take-out container
• Minimal amounts of compost materials (that somehow missed the compose bowl beneath the sink)
• Minimal amounts of tissue and other paper recyclables, including toilet paper rolls.

I highly recommend that anyone serious about reducing their waste conduct this same experiment. It’s a bit like keeping a journal of what we eat everyday and realizing that that those daily Hershey chocolates add up over the course of a week.

The biggest eye-opener for me was the Pull-ups. Having used a cloth diaper service for years for both of my children, I had never really experienced disposable diapers up until a year ago when my daughter transitioned into underwear. At the same time, we noticed that the cloth diapers tended to leak through the diaper covers, and so we began to use Pull-ups to get her through the night.

With just a little bit of research I’ve found that there are some new great alternatives to the cloth diaper. More on that next time…

STEP ONE: Add ingredients.

What can go in:

1. All fruit and vegetables peelings
2. Bread and plain pasta (with no sauces or oils)
3. Other organic materials include dryer lint, clean cotton or wool rags, and paper towels (with no oils or sauces on them)
4. Coffee grounds (worms love them!) and most tea bags
5. Grass clippings and weeds (not treated with herbicides)
6. Newspaper or plain white paper from the computer is excellent for composting - just remember to shred it first to speed up the process
7. Straw
8. Dead leaves

What should NOT go in:

1. Meat, dairy products and foods containing oils can attract pests
2. Pet waste
3. Inorganic materials such as stone, glass, or greases will not compost
4. Plants that have been treated with pesticides and/or herbicides

As a general rule of thumb, organic green material should be equally matched with brown material, such as woodchips, dried out leaves and lawn clippings.

A little science refresher will help you better understand the compost process — and explain it to your kids: The microbes responsible for breaking down your compost pile need a balance of nitrogen “green materials” and carbon “brown materials,” such as dead leaves. A ratio that contains equal portions of both and is well mixed works allows for quick decomposition and rich compost. Piles made up of just grass will compact, slow down and start to stink.

STEP TWO: Mix well.

Compost piles should remain damp but not too wet. As you build your compost pile, make sure that each layer is moist as it is added. The surface should also remain damp (think of a wrung out sponge), especially during the summer months.

Compost piles can either be layered - thin layers of alternating greens and browns, or they can all be thrown in together and mixed well. Either way works!

STEP THREE: Bake (well sort of):

Compost decomposes fastest between 120 and 160 degrees F so try and keep your compost pile in a sunny location. Decomposition will occur at lower temperatures, but it takes much longer.

STEP FOUR: Check for doneness.

When finished compost should look, feel and smell like rich, dark soil. You should not be able to recognize any of the items you put in there. Still not quite sure? It will be about half the volume.

STEP FIVE: Enjoy!

Apply finished compost to your garden about 2-4 weeks before you plant, giving the compost time to integrate into the soil.

Another option is to soak finished compost in water to “brew” compost “tea,” a nutrient-rich liquid that can be used for foliar feeding or for watering plants in your garden, backyard, or houseplants.

Not smelling like home-baked pie? If your compost pile starts to smell, it’s probably due to a large number of anaerobic microbes, which are working hard to break down your compost, but creating a smelly situation in the process. To cut down on the anaerobic process, aerate your pile regularly, creating air spaces and limiting the anaerobic microbes while stimulating the less stinky aerobic microbes.

Composting would seem the plain and simple solution. And yet, last summer we experimented doing just this with a composter we constructed at home. Unfortunately, our composting pile quickly turned into the take-out counter for our local raccoon — and the experiment came to an abrupt close. So the question for us was, how to we compost without becoming the neighborhood buffet line for vermin and flies?

After emailing more than 40 friends (mostly other green-eyed moms), I quickly discovered that I was not alone in my quest for information — and solutions.

Hopefully, these tips will prove helpful in determining what kind of composting solution will work best for you:

1) Assess Your Needs
If you generate minimal compost materials, a worm bin will likely be sufficient. A more serious gardener will ideally have a larger compost space. For us, a family of four (which also has the output that comes from an organic garden) - a mid-sized enclosed bin would seem to fit the bill.

2) Location
Consider both inside and outside options. We found an ideal location right off our back deck. It’s close to the kitchen so that it’s convenient to dump the compost in the bin on a daily basis. Because it’s also next to our organic vegetable garden, transporting the compost soil to its intended destination, will be equally convenient.

If an outside location is not an option due to apartment or HOA issues, consider a Worm Chalet, a three-tiered worm-based composter that can be kept in the kitchen –regular compost is produced from its spigot ($159).

3) Critters
If your composting space is close to your home, you will want to make sure that your composter is sturdy and fully enclosed to keep animals out.

4) Climate
A composter will work in the sun or shade, but a sunny spot will help prevent compost from becoming too wet. If you are in a cooler area, consider insulating your composter.

5) Make it Fun!
Worm bins are a great way to get kids involved in the composting process. Have kids shred newspapers, add in their banana peels or lettuce, etc., sprinkle water on it all - and watch what happens! Think about checking out a book at your local library to make it an educational experience for the whole family.

Also remember that if you are going to compost outside, you’ll need to designate a small space under the sink for your materials that are en route to the bin. I have repurposed an old diaper wipes plastic box because it’s easy to open and close. I’ve also heard that the Kitchen Compost Crock ($24) is a good option — especially if your compost will be sitting under the sink for a few days.

So which composter did we decide on? Unbeknownest to me, while I was soliciting input from my green inner circle, my husband had taken it upon himself to do his own research. (Most likely, he became concerned about the overflowing bowl of compost sitting under the sink.) As it turned out, I received The Outside Gourmet as a Mother’s Day gift ($130). The ComposTumbler also comes highly recommended from those in-the-know ($329).

Other Options:
If you are inspired to make your own compost bin, check out the EcoMom Alliance compost video. If only I had watched this video last summer, I would have likely had greater success at my first composting attempt.

Or see if you can find a used composter on Freecycle or Oodle. Incidentally, during my search via Oodle, I found a few wonderful composting classes such as Turning Green Waste to Compost Gold in Richmond, CA on June 16.

If composting is simply not an option, some cities, such as Oakland, CA, allow you to put your compost materials in the green bin. Call your local refuse service to learn if this is an option.

As a final note, friend and author of a soon-to-be released book EcoActs for Mommies shares a thought from her personal experience: “Start small - get comfortable with it - then take on a little more the next year. If you go to big too fast, you can get really overwhelmed by the maintenance.”

Next week, check-in for some basic rules of composting.