Stories...

DAY 123

Catching up first...Yesterday (Day 122)...

My new friend and colleague, Laura is very supportive of Nothing New! Great conversation on how little efforts can have a collective positive effect... thank you for the inspiration! I am encouraged by how positive and supportive people are and how they quickly talk about Nothing New actions they might start in their own lives.

Back to today (DAY 123)...

Finally made it out of Orlando...talked for over two hours with a dedicated teacher, Mary who had some great stories and excellent ideas for more monthly challenges to add to my Nothing New experience...AND shared her ideas for community gardens in her neighborhood - love it. She had been using new plastic grocery bags in her classroom until Dan at Wegman's (our amazing grocery store chain here) suggested she use the bags from the recycle bin at the store...love that too...reuse THEN recycle. Dig it.

Mary and her family do not watch a lot of tv...impressive. She did confess her love of having a lot of lights on in her house at night (cozy factor) after I told her about my "No Lights" month...I understand! I will tell you more about that month in future posts once my left eye stops twitching from trying to do computer work in the dark...

She also shared clever ideas from her classroom and changes she is making to teach her students to be responsible for their environment. She did think her husband would be in favor of *her* not buying anything new :)

I had a Starbuck's tea with a plastic lid (I think I pretended to need it to board the plane) today and will be reusing that several times to justify the purchase and the "need" for a cover...Will also add $2.49 to the Nothing New Fund as retribution. One more day of "No (less) Plastic" - I will report on how it sticks with me!

Going to the Farmer's Market tomorrow to get ready for my "Local Food" challenge for August!

Have a Nothing New Day! Kristin