Scott and I spent last weekend making a video for our entry in The Green Awards contest. Not my idea of a relaxing weekend, but we wanted to make sure that Zero Waste had a voice in the competition. The contest is to win 25K to advance a green idea to the next level.
My big idea is to make Zero Waste Living mainstream, beyond this blog. I would like to:
-Make this blog a better website (with recipes, videos, and bulk map tabs)
-Create a fun and attractive presentation to show at schools, PTA’s, mother's groups, community centers, neighbourhood associations, green festivals...
-Shoot room by room how-to videos
-Build a bulk locator app!
Please vote for us (you can even vote once per day until March 27th).
Thanks!
Before you ask ... Our trash tally looks smaller on this video than the previous one by Yahoo, because I have compacted it into the wine glass ;)
Good luck! It looks like I can't vote as I'm an Australian, but I've posted it to Facebook in case some of my American friends can vote for you and spread the word.
ReplyDeleteI saw you on Yahoo today and think you are awesome! I will definitely vote for you and encourage my friends. I posted a link today to the Yahoo article.
ReplyDeleteYou can find me on facebook and I also have a blog.
Take Good Care!
Self Care Girl
I read about an article on sunset from a friend about your zero waste home and I must say. I'm very inspired. As a college student, I can't help but have so much waste. I'm hoping when I am out of college and living somewhere stable I'd be able to do what you and your family are doing.
ReplyDeleteYou blog has changed me for the better and I want to thank you for all the information you provide! I'll vote for you! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteYay! I voted. I think what you are doing is both wonderful and inspiring. I'm down in Cupertino. A month ago I started doing what I could to move our family towards a more zero waste lifestyle and I've already made huge huge changes largely inspired by your blog. I wish you luck in the Green Awards and luck on inspiring many more people to make better choices for our future !
ReplyDeleteSorry, Bea, I tried to vote for you, but it seems that a New Zealand address is not recognised as an address! Good luck anyway. I have been following your postings for several weeks now, with real interest.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Ann.
Put my vote in Bea! I may never reach your level of zero waste but you are certainly inspiring me to get as close as I can!
ReplyDeleteI voted!
ReplyDeleteQuestion: How much do you recycle in a 2 week time span? This is the average recycle time for most of us. Just curious~
you got my vote
ReplyDeleteHi Johnson Family! I sort of feel like a new person after watching the Yahoo video yesterday about your family's lifestyle. I was hanging out at home with a broken leg...not feeling very productive. I watched the video and all of a sudden I felt like Adam & Eve after eating fruit from the tree of knowledge. I felt ashamed. I felt exposed. I started looking around...for the first time...and seeing our home for what it was - a cluttered, waste-full mess.
ReplyDeleteI took your advice...and I watched "Home." Wow. Words really fail me here.
It's not like I'm an idiot who has never contemplated global warming. In fact, as I dined with friends last night and we discussed vegetarianism my friend said, "Don't get me wrong...I'm not a vegetarian because I care about the environment or any of that crap." Her words haunted me all night long. Do people really think that way? Apparantly so.
My piddly little bit of recycling seems so pathetic now. Because I DO care about the evironment. I voted fro Al Gore. I had the bumper sticker & all of it. But I feel like a sham.
So, trying to contemplate how to get started. How to take this slow...how to ease our way into a new lifestyle.
But - thank you for sharing your world with the world. I've been educated & plan to continually return to this fountain of knowledge.
Got my vote in Bea! You have been such an inspiration! I am a college student and have found unique ways to incorporate living a more ZW life on a very very very tight budget! I know that I am saving more money while living a more healthy (inside and out) lifestyle! Your tips are great! Thank you! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI read and reread your story and I thought nice but impossible. But it did make me think!!! Then I looked at all the waste of packeting. Then a mircle happened...my son, in his 40's was having trouble with his blood pressure going up. He found a new way to eat and I have tried it and found I can do it. No meat, dairy products...the trash container lost weight too. And I find the only thing that is getting bigger is my bank account. Keep up the good work. I'll vote every day for you.
ReplyDeleteHi Bea,
ReplyDeleteI'm another person who started following your blog and implementing your zero waste techniques since reading the Sunset article. Also, I read in this month's Sunset issue that your story generated the most comments/emails in recent memory! It's great that your efforts are generating so much discussion and offering people a chance to take a fresh look at their own choices and consumption.
Thank you, and I hope that you'll win the Green Awards to achieve your goals. You have my vote!
I voted for you, you are inspiring. I am going to start implementing your ways into my crazy life, thank-you for making a blog!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Bea,
ReplyDeleteI'm voting for your Green Parent entry daily! Check out my Green Entrepreneur entry here:
https://www.thegreenawards.com/Default.aspx?v=104
Your votes are greatly appreciated!
Hope to see you as a finalist,
-Nik
Love what you do, have undertaken this in my house (so far with the kitchen) and would love to see you win 25 grand to further the idea. But the Green Awards are sponsored by Green Giant, owned by General Mills, purveyors of nasty food and a lot of packaging. I hate to support them at all! I WANT to vote for you every day, but why this organization???
ReplyDeleteBonjour Bea. I think that your blog is wonderful and that you are doing something incredible for the planet. I'm inspired and although I already try to make many changes in our house to reduce our waste, you have given me many ideas (I really like the idea of bringing glass jars to the store for meat, cheeses, etc.) I went on the Green Award website to vote for you but just as I was about to click on the vote button I noticed that the site is run by General Mills. Oh-oh. I checked their privacy policy and it says that they can add you to their mailing list...NO! That would mean more wasteful mailings coming to my house. Have you checked in to this please? Thank you and good luck with spreading the zero waste news (I have told my friends about your blog). - - Josephine
ReplyDeleteOne thing I appreciate about your blog is its simplicity. I hope you can maintain the lack of clutter and waste in your new website design. Of course, I'm making this request assuming you will win!
ReplyDeleteThis blog is perfect the way it is! If you win, I hope the blog stays in this design format. I love reading it!
ReplyDeleteI voted also, I hope you win! I also shared on facebook! Good Luck!!
ReplyDeleteI voted, tweeted it, and am sharing a link to it on Facebook :) You really are so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI have a new blog, Sunshine and Sippy Cups, and am working on adding some new tips for families on how to be "greener".... I was planning to do a post about you guys and your site sometime next week anyway, so I'll share the video for you there, too.
Do you have a Facebook that I can add? And keep up the good work :)
Good luck Bea. I think your a) deserve it and b) could benefit so many others with your plans for the prize money. Like one of your readers I'm in Australia and wasn't able to vote directly. I used my grandfather's address - maybe cheeky - but I used to live there ;) I hope my vote helps.
ReplyDeleteYour dedication to ZW and the myriad ways you apply ZW in your lives really inspires me. I know some of your readers find it overwhelming and therefore unattainable - me too intially - but I also know that one step - even a baby step - at a time will help and hopefully snowball in our lives in a positive way for our lives and our children's future.
I voted but didn't give any personal information.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Green Giant sponsering a "green" project? Aren't these the same folks who shrink wrap individual bananas?!
Good luck!
tickled to have a chance to promote your site. you continue to inspire me to greater heights of GREEN. thanks, gotta go vote for you now!!
ReplyDeleteHi! I just found your blog and glad that I made it in time to vote. I love what you're doing. My family just began the journey to being more eco-friendly. I would love to get to the point where we can be as zero-waste as possible.
ReplyDeleteI have to go back now and read all your posts from the beginning. I'm glad to have found a new inspiration. Thank you for sharing!
I was just at an event where they serve tiny plastic water bottles (not to mention disposable utensils and plates) and was utterly disgusted. The water bottles had little shpils about how environmentally friendly they were.
ReplyDeletePS I voted for you!
Bea, Thank you so much for sharing your personal journey and being an inspiration to so may people. I voted for you in part because after reading your blog I actually stated doing something after many years. Being an old 'ex-hippy' who lived on a commune and did the whole back to the land organic vegetarian thing, I lapsed upon returning to the city. Well, you have shown me there is no time like the present, an no place is out of bounds to live responsibly. Even though my condo does not recycle I have my bins set up in my parking space in the garage and take things to the recycling center myself. I am most impressed with your "R" list and that "refuse" is first on the list. This is such a radical idea I just love it. It also means less to haul to the recycling center. I have set up a compost bin on my balcony and have started buying in bulk. After all these years - you have made me realize that doing these things really is the right way to go. Thank you for re-awakening my environmental conscious. You've made this cynical ex-hippy a happier person (even though I know I have far to go - it's a start). Thank you again.
ReplyDeleteMark in Cincinnati
I couldn't vote from Canada either but I'm cheering for you. I love how your home and lifestyle are both so aesthetically pleasing and (near) zero waste. BEAutiful (punny)!
ReplyDeleteBea, I've been inspired by and following your blog for over a year now. I'm so glad to see you're getting noticed in the media. I'm continuously impressed with how well you keep simple things simple; if anyone is really going to be able to embrace this lifestyle, following your model would be the easiest way to do so.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
You should totally write a book!
ReplyDeleteWow! I just found you by way of the Yahoo! Home Page (the new's video was featured). It is so inspiring! I told my husband I'm ready to declutter and work towards less. I think it'll take a while, and I'm not sure we'll get as far along as you are, but right now there is a lot less we could do without. Hooray for you and congratulations on everything you're doing! --California
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but I'm really not trying to confuse anybody. I am completely devoted to the cause of zero waste and as I said, I have been spreading the word about your blog to all of my friends, Bea. I honestly am a bit worried about the fact that it is General Mills running the competition and am wondering about their use of personal information and what their real goal is here. I just don't trust that company knowing so much as I do about them. All I ask is that everyone reads the privacy policy before they enter their personal info and then make your own choice...that's all! Good luck Bea! - - Josephine.
ReplyDeleteWow, Bea, I have tried numerous time to vote for you and the site will not allow me to register!! So frustrating -- I really want you to win! if this is a common problem please let me know how to resolve it!!
ReplyDeleteVoted for you :) Your blog has really helped us to refocus our "green" efforts and now we reconsider when it comes to bringing new things into our home!
ReplyDeleteVoted! Thanks Bea for your constant inspiration!!! An upgrade on the site sounds FANTASTIC!
ReplyDeleteI am voting every day until the voting ends. I also have been going through your past blog posts and reading the comments, which have even more information. Thank you for being so responsive to the commenters.
ReplyDeleteI hope the negative comments don't discourage you from blogging. The Internet is difficult. I wrote a rather popular book on the female libido, and it was really hard to deal with the negative feedback. After several years I just gave up online--I figured I had gotten the word out as best I could (after being on television, etc.) and it was time to be more private. It was especially hurtful when people made comments about me being a mother.
Anyhow, I just wanted to say, keep on keeping on, and you are an inspiration to us.
I voted for you!I hope you win :)
ReplyDeleteYou are really amazing and have totally inspired me.Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful blog and tips for zero waste!
Bea, I voted for you! Would love to see the expansion of your blog and the development of all your innovative ideas! You are a true pioneer and you guys did an awesome job on the video :)
ReplyDeleteOne thing I'd like to add about the General Mills commentary, is that companies will do whatever they think will make them money. If they think that getting on the green wagon, offering food in bulk, and taking out artificial ingredients and empty calories will make them money, they will do that. Remember, you vote with your dollars every time you shop! Whether or not they are behind the ideals of these awards with their own business practices and philosophies right now, they will continue to move in that direction if consumers let them know that that is what they want. It's a step in the right direction!
-Katie
A voté ! Spread the good ideas!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree.
The fact is, with this contest, General Mills is getting people to come forward and share their green ideas. We are not aware of another contest that would allow us to take our idea to the next level. People (from zero waste individuals to corporations) need to work together.
Thank you all for your support and votes! I cross my fingers!
ReplyDeleteYou inspire!
ReplyDeletethx - you got my vote!
Bea, I've been curious for a while now, and was wondering if you had any thoughts: What would a zero waste economy look like? Where would the jobs be? In your own practices you strive for a zero manufacturing footprint, if that were a widespread, or even general practice, what would people who ordinarily would be employed in retail, etc., work, where would the blue collar jobs be?
ReplyDeleteI ask this because I'm worried about the environment and the economy in almost equal measure, and sometimes it seems like the messages that we get for how to repair each of these areas of our culture are mutually exclusive. Have you given this any thought?
Thanks for answering a purely philosophical question.
Cindy, I can answer this one because I'm a huge greenie. A zero waste lifestyle will actually create jobs, at least it will create American jobs. China wouldn't like it very much! Very little is manufactured here anymore. Zero waste people would focus on high quality products to purchase (so that they would need to repair them less). That would help bring high-end manufacturing jobs back to America, because we can definitely compete on that level, just like Germany successfully does, by focusing on workmanship. There would also be plenty of jobs for skilled repairmen. Retail clerks would be replaced by communal clerks--consignment shops still need workers and Zipcar places and other equipment-sharing places like that also need staff. And when Bea shops for food she needs to interact with a human being, rather than picking up a pre-packaged item--it is labor intensive. Zero waste also encourages local food, and local food means more workers on smaller local farms, rather than giant farms run by machines and staffed by non-American underpaid migrant workers. It's a win-win-win.
ReplyDeleteJudy from college, you can reduce your waste! I work at a university which is currently having a "sustainability contest" with one of the other colleges in the state--which is Alaska. One of the first changes was that all of the dining halls and cafes got rid of single-use, disposable Styrofoam carry-out boxes. Anyone can purchase (once) a $4.50 (admittedly plastic) container which can be washed and reused infinitely. (A lot of the people in offices are like me: a few dishes and some cutlery in the office and there's no need for plastic boxes/utensils.) Lobby your campus to do the same!
ReplyDeleteAlso, old clothes that you don't want to wear and aren't good enough to give away can be donated to the theater department. It's really fun to see what kinds of crazy costumes your old jeans get turned into.
For clothes that are good enough to be reused, we always had a box in the hallway for discards that anyone else could pick up for free.
Bea - Your blog/ideas/tips have changed my life and my families for the better. Thank you, thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhat refillable pen have you found to work well? If you find one, could you maybe put it in your "Store?" Thank you.
I've voted for you and told all my friends about your site. We old "hippies" are really feeling encouraged by your insights and actions.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of how to store things in the kitchen, you might want to look at the old cook books and home economy books from Michigan State University http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/books/americanwomanshome/
These books talk about keeping a house before there ever was plastic.
Connie
Hello Johnson Family,
ReplyDeleteAfter I first saw your video I was immediately inspired by what you are doing because feeling better and happier is what life is all about. I started a compost system with red worms right away, but I feel so terrible about not being able to reach the zero waste level because there are no local butchers where I am from and I cant seem to find any over the internet. Anyways I hope you guys win and Thank You for sharing your lifestyle with us!!!!
Bea,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your blog and have been inspired to make a few changes around our home. I hope you don't mind that I linked to your blog in a recent blog post.
I also just voted for your video, but I must say I have some concerns about your project. I think going mainstream with Zero Waste is huge, and would be wonderful. But, I think that some people may be put off by your family's minimalist lifestyle. While I personally enjoy a certain level of minimalism and modern design, others may not. I think in order to go mainstream it may be beneficial to have some images of families with various design/decorating styles living waste free. That may be one way to get the message across that anyone can do this. Just a thought. Good luck to you.
I love what you are doing, but your blog needs more pictures, more how to with pictures of everything. Or better yet- videos. So much of what you are doing is very simple, but it is so hard to break a habit or do things differently...
ReplyDeleteHey Bea! I have a question.......how can I contact you to give you an interview for my class? I am in 6th grade and my class is doing a lot on waste reduction and how to stop throwing away things that can be recycled. I would give you my email, but I'd rather not online. Please answer!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 6th grader: go to the contact tab at the top of this page to get my email address. I look forward to chatting with you!
ReplyDeleteHi Bea:
ReplyDeleteCongratulations (a little late but better late than never!) Just wondering if the Green Awards plans to update their website to show the progress that has been made by the winners. Would love to see what everyone has been up to.
Thanks again for all you do.