1. I composted/recycled (almost) everything!
Composting // I don't have a compost heap at the apartment and since I'm only here for a year, I didn't want to start one when it won't be cared for after I leave. So currently I am saving food scraps in a gallon sized bag in the freezer. When it gets full I take it to mom's house and throw it in the compost. I try not to make them in the first place though 'cause a gallon bag doesn't hold a lot and I have to take it when it's full, since I'd rather have stuff in the freezer that I'll eat instead of egg shells and orange peels. Upside: freezing the future compost makes for no funky smells! I'm thinking of starting a small worm composter in my apartment - a friend has them in hers, but I'm not too sure if I want them. She has a lot of fruit fly problems but she also freely admits to over-feeding them... I'm still mulling.
Recycling // I had to upgrade to a bigger container for the recycling 'cause the small one gets too ful too fast, but the new container was also one I don't need and was going to otherwise get rid of, so two birds with one stone! I try to recycle everything I can. The things I end up throwing away are mostly foam meat packages (working on it!), and anything else I can't recycle.
2. I made homemade houseplant fertilizer.
I sprinkled a tiny amount of very, very dry and crushed eggshells in my houseplant dirt and mixed it in. Then I took a small amount of milk water (half milk, half water) and watered each plant. Several websites recommended both.
3. Investing in a new camera lens.
Okay, you may be wondering how this could possibly count in the lineup, but it does I swear! It's about self-sufficiency so for me, part of that is being my own boss. The better I become with my photography, the closer I am to this goal. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to completely live off of the photos I take, but I can only improve and try. I picked out a lens, but I don't have the spare moula right now to purchase it comfortably. (Rent was due ya'll!) I will be actively saving for this specifically in the month of January and should be able to purchase it by the end of the month. Woo-woo!
4. I repainted & sealed the old instead of buying new.
So when I moved in, I chucked the old disgusting shower caddy that was here. I bought a new caddy and dish-drying rack and brought them home. Fast-forward four months and my brand new items are already starting to rust! What the hell? I was mad and definitely not ready to throw away perfectly good things. (The last caddy was fine too, but I couldn't get over that A: it was rusty as heck, and B: that someone else's soap used to be where mine was now. Blech!) So I popped on down to the hardware store and bought some Rustoleum Hammered Pewter and some Rustoleum Clear Acrylic Sealant. I sprayed three-ish coats of the hammered pewter and let it dry for two days, then sprayed a heavy two coats of acrylic sealant and left it to dry for a day. So far both are doing awesome, I don't have to be annoyed by rust everyday, and I didn't have to buy replacements! I spent seven-ish dollars on this project.
5. I went on an organizing/donating spree and cleaned out a lot of stuff.
Right now less stuff means more room for things that are important. (I have SO MUCH canning stuff you guys and it lives under my bed right now... not an ideal place.) It also means that I don't have to haul it all out and around when I move again. I hate stuff that I don't use. I mean, I had a set of piping bags and tips that I haven't used in three years. But what if I wanted to used them!? Obviously I had to save them right? Wrong. So wrong. I gave them to my sister. Awesome.
In a week I have donated five boxes to the local thrift store. I have three more that I have to get to the car, and more to go through. I listed five books on ebay in an attempt to sell them, but it's only a trial run. It seems like little reward for a lot of work, but we'll see.
I think I made some awesome progress this week!
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