Disposing of medicines

Yesterday I gathered up all of my unused medicines for disposal. I found all kinds of stuff, including children's medicines, and considering the fact that my youngest just turned 20, I guess it's time for them to go. I got everything into boxes - you can see our cat Calvin inspecting them (on the counter.....yes....I know....). In my research, it was recommended that I call my local pharmacy first to see if they participate in a take-back program. My CVS here in Troy does not, but they recommended that I call SOCCRA, my local recycling center. So I have made an appointment to take them in.

Before I take them in, however, I am going to do a couple of things. First, there are some perfectly good medications (like vitamins) that I simply don't want, and I'm going to see if anyone wants them. Second, for things that are no longer useful to anyone, I have read that I have to do the following: For solid meds, add a bit of water to the container to discourage people from looking through the trash and taking them; for liquids, add salt or spices; cover blister packs with heavy tape; in fact, cover all packages with tape and wrap them in plastic bags. Then throw it into the trash. In case you haven't heard: Do not put anything into the toilet or sink - it all goes to our water system and our system is not equipped to filter out these toxins.

This seems like a pretty imperfect answer, so we are working on ideas for reducing the medications that need to be thrown away or somehow recycling. Reducing could include simple things like finishing your meds as you doctor prescribes or buying the minimal amount, and purchasing more as needed. Recycling programs are beginning to pop up also -- read more about this on our medicines page.

Winter garden interest

A few years ago we decided to cut our backyard in half with a dry creek. On one side is our traditional lawn, but on the other side we have developed a woodsy-type area. We covered the grass with wood chips and mountains of leaves. We already had a flowering pear tree, and added a river birch and swamp oak. Then we planted bushes: ninebarks, red-twig dogwoods, serviceberries, winterberry, and a couple of elderberries. Add to that other native flowing plants, and it is quite a sight in the summer.

So I thought you might like to see it in a Michigan winter. We don't cut back anything, so you see it as it is. I have noticed that we have a lot of critter and bird activity - still - because of the trails they leave in the snow. It's endlessly interesting.

Handkerchiefs

This past Christmas Tom asked for handkerchiefs and received 3 from our daughters that were hand embroidered. I think he got the idea originally when we lived in Japan and all the men carried handkerchiefs to blow their noses or wipe their faces in the summer heat. It's also a great way to reduce paper consumption. So he carries one on his person (back pocket) regularly now. He uses it to wipe his hands in the men's room, wipe things like his glasses or camera, and of course when he sneezes, coughs or needs to blow his nose (but that would eliminate the other uses if used first, I think).

This is a little idea, but you might find it useful. And out daughters, I'm sure, wouldn't mind embroidering them for you!

Roman the plumber

This past election season we all heard about Joe the Plumber. Well, we have our very own icon, and his name is Roman the Plumber, or Roman Bukowinski. Roman and his wife Liz, residents of Birmingham, MI, entertained us all at their home this past Saturday night by taking us on all 3 levels of their home and showing us his gray water and solar heating systems. Roman designed all of this himself, and it is a sight to see. We started at the upper level, in the kids' playroom, and were shown how the house is cooled by radiant tubes in the ceiling. In the basement, he showed how the solar collectors on his roof were integrated into his home radiant heating system. He has installed radiant plex tubes in all 3 floors in the home. Also, he explained his innovative gray water system, pictured below. It takes water from his showers and sinks and cleans it as the water moves through 3 levels of sand filtering containers. He then reuses the water to flush his toilets. (And with 4 young kids, this is a good idea!) He has received approval for this system from the City of Birmingham and is working with the State of Michigan to upgrade the standards for these types of systems. Oh, by the way, the kilt in the picture above is authentic - Roman is Scottish.

Here is a brief video from the evening:

The crash of trash

Our Tuesday group is moving on from our fall topic, energy, and has determined that we want to study the area of recycling. After a bit of discussion, however, we thought 'recycling' was probably the wrong term, and have tentatively broadened the concept to 'no waste'. So it was with great interest today that I found this article on the front page of the New York Times: Back at Junk Value, Recyclables Are Piling Up. The gist of the article is that the value of recyclables has crashed, mainly due to the economic downturn that is causing China's demand for recyclables to dry up. As a result, recyclable materials are piling up with nowhere to go, and in some cases community recycling programs are halting pickup of plastics and paper.

I had a feeling we were heading here. A couple of years ago I had read, improbably, a couple of book on garbage: Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage and Garbage Land: On The Secret Trail of Trash, and here's the message I took from both books: stop consuming so much and reuse what you have consumed. Both books felt that recycling was, at best, a band-aid, and, at worst, a way to delude people into thinking they were environmentalists. So it's interesting to see where our bandwagons for recycling have taken us.

Which brings me to today's point: Maybe we need to start becoming more mindful of what we are consuming and begin thinking about how we can reduce not only what goes into our garbage cans but also what goes into our recycling bins. The yogurt container, pictured above, is a prime example. Years ago when I was reading all of this I read that one thing yogurt eaters can do is to move from individual packs to the larger container - less waste. I took that in, but never switched because my brand was not available in the larger size. Fast forward to last week - I was in need of yogurt but the market I was in did not have small packs, only larger ones. So it forced my hand - I bought the larger size and discovered that I loved this yogurt too. And since my husband and I have been making soups this winter, we'll reuse the containers for freezing soup. I love it when things work out this way.

The 'No-Garbage' Garbage Day

Last Wednesday before heading over to exercise I did what I do every week: pull the garbage can to the curb (like above). When I lifted the can, I noticed that it was pretty light, so I looked inside. For the first time in, say, forever, it was empty. So I went back inside to gather up our garbage and discovered that there wasn't enough to even take out. Hmmmm....

We have been heading in this direction for a while. We have always recycled newspapers and things in the plastics/cans category, but in recent years we've stepped it up a bit. Now, every bit of unuseable paper (and believe me, we use it till it's unuseable) gets recycled. I even keep containers upstairs for paper and plastic recycling lest I'm tempted to take the easy route and throw them away rather than cart them downstairs. It also helps that our recycling center, SOCCRA, now allows all plastics, not just 1's and 2's.

Then we got better at keeping things that were not curb recyclable but could be taken to SOCCRA, such as batteries, paints, coated paper milk and juice cartons, plastic bags, etc. So about once a month we go to SOCCRA and get rid of what we've collected. And you'd be amazed at the number of people who are doing likewise -- it's always crowded when we're there.

The final nail in the garbage coffin was our most recent adaptation to composting. This is something that takes a while to get used to, but once you do, you simply cannot put food scraps into plastic bags any more, thinking of them fermenting in landfills when they could be useful in your garden. We have refined our composting methodology over the past year for maximum benefit (best idea: keep a nice composting bucket on your counter - you will use it).

So there you have one way of becoming a 'no-garbage' garbage day household. As you can see, it just kind of evolves. And just like me, you'll really enjoy not taking the garbage out.

Cold frame gardening

I wanted to share with you some of the cold frames we have come up this fall. The one above is a hoop frame that fits over a lasagna garden. It is made of a 2 x 4 wood frame base with heavy aluminum wire for the hoops, and a medium-weight plastic sheeting as the cover. Pockets were sewn into the plastic (using some fabric for stability) to lace the hoops through, but you can put the plastic over the hoops in many other ways.

The one below is a wood cold frame that is modeled on one the Brennans saw in Williamsburg, VA. It will be placed over a lasagna garden on a south wall. The windows were obtained from the Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit and are hinged for opening.

We are going to experiment with them this winter and see if we can get anything to grow. We hope to see full benefit from them, however, early next spring.