Find a Mentor

Only 36 days until Earthfest! Today I found this inspirational video (h/t Penny) and realized I really need a mentor. I'd prefer a cooking mentor, someone to help me do the whole organic thing, but I think my guy is going to take on that job thereby verifying my assumption that if you cook badly enough for long enough, someone else will take over. This is about reducing plastic. I'm pretty good for that, but not like this:



Think of one thing you could be better at and find a mentor, even one who doesn't know she's a mentor (like Fake Plastic Fish), and copy them. It's easier when you see someone else doing it. That's why I really liked No Impact Man (which we're showing at Earthfest at 8pm): because he does all this stuff with a kid!!

My downfall with teenagers in the house is junk food. I have to get them on popping pop corn so we can avoid the chip bags. We bought a bulk pack of CFL lightbulbs (I know the lightbulbs part is redundant but otherwise some people won't know what I'm talking about), and they were all surrounded by a giant plastic form - of doom. We don't do paper towels, grocery bags, CDs, DVDs, or water bottles, and pop is always in glass (thanks Jones Soda). But shampoo, dish soap, bread, and vinegar come in plastic bottles. There used to be a place to re-fill vinegar jugs in town, but they stopped doing that. If anyone has solutions to those that don't involve making my own soap and shampoo in mason jars, let me know. And how do I get my guy to bring a travel mug to Tim's every bloody day?? That is, besides putting it in his truck every night - ah bullocks, I'm totally going to do that.

Suggestions welcome.