I don't think I have heard of Zero Waste Week before. Now that it has come to my attention I'm seeing it everywhere. Here is one of many links.
At this point I don't think it is possible for me to have absolutely ZERO waste. We compost and we separate our garbage for recycling - but we do have garbage. It is a big subject. Tons of donated clothing goes into the landfill every year so donating isn't exactly the answer.
My contribution is repairing instead of tossing. I'm learning to darn hand knit socks. Here's my first try.
darning the heel
And a second try.
another heel darned
You can see the purple yarn where I darned the heel is a bit lighter. Funny, both pair had red and purple. Coincidence? Maybe that color combo is DH's favorite, they are his socks.
Knitting socks takes awhile, nice yarn is not inexpensive. I was really driven by curiosity though. I simply wanted to know how to darn them. DH has worn them since darned and says he can't feel the patch. I was concerned about that.
That's my Zero Waste for today. I will have to see if I come up with something else this week. Something we don't do to eliminate waste already.
What about you? Any good ideas?
Great job, Darla - I have been meaning to learn how to darn. I'll put it on my 'to do' list this fall/winter!
ReplyDeleteI like your choice of zero waste, but I don't darn or knit. One of the things I dislike about recycling cans, bottles, etc., is the amount of water we have to use to get these products clean enough to recycle. I now put them in a bucket and wash them outside when I water my herbs. I then pour the waste water in my herbs. In the winter, I pour the waste water in toilet after I have used the facility. It may only be a small bit, but I don't like to waste water and I like to recycle these products that must be washed in order for them to be recyclable. Thanks for sharing Zero Waste Week, which I'd never heard of before. Sort of reminds me of Earth Day in autumn!
ReplyDeleteWell done, Darla. I repair socks, too. My DIL wears the socks I knit her (worsted weight yarn) as slippers and gives me the remnants of last year's pair to fix. I tear out a section, knit up the replacement in the same yarn (if I have it, contrasting color if I don't) and give them back. Last year the socks she gave me were so worn that I just knit her a new pair and tossed out the others. We compost and recycle and our garbage can is rarely more than half full. I admire Bleubeard and Elizabeth's diligence.
ReplyDeleteGood for you to try zero waste. I don't make a lot of waste most days, and I try to recycle as much as possible, but zero waste is hard. And great darning results. :) Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteZero waste is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteZero waste is impossible for me. We're trying to be better at recycling, and our community is switching to a waste collection company that provides recycling bins. Packaging gets me. I'm tempted to unwrap in the store and leave all that packaging for them ;)
ReplyDelete