Hello and thanks for dropping by. I know it's been a while. Looking at my lead photo you might be asking yourself:
'What in the Sam Hill is that all about?'
Or something along those lines. It is curious indeed to anyone
who doesn't know the terrible fate my family endures:
Living with me.
What that is, dear readers, is a former 8 oz. tube of lotion shrimpified. I loathe waste, as you all do know, and the photo above demonstrates the saving tactics I frequently employ. I know that no amount of force or tipping or upside down patient standing is going to truly empty this tube.
So when I, foolhardy, determined conservationist that I am, start bruising myself with those measures I take my trusty scissors, cut the tube in half, and we now have perfect access to not a small amount of lotion. Enough, in fact, to warrant days of silkiness ahead. Viola! The wonderful shrimpy tube. Not only is this smart saving,
it amuses us no end ~ seeing it every time we walk by.
And who cannot benefit from a little extra dose of harmless silliness in their life?
This post is lengthy, but please bear with me.
Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, I read a daily newspaper . Sprinkled throughout were small public service ads. These very small squares informed the reader that by just recycling that size square ~ I think it was 2" at most ~
we'd be saving some huge number of trees.
Unlike the current television PSA with the disappearing cigarette ash which Evan insists has the effect of making him crave starting a smoking habit, the impact of that tiny square impressed and has remained with me. Alas, not the specifics. But that's OK. You get the point.
I did stumble upon others, including these:
*Each of us uses approximately one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree in paper and wood products per year
* Recycling a four-foot stack of newspapers saves the equivalent of one 40-foot fir tree.
- One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year.
- One ton of recycled paper saves 3,700 pounds of lumber and 24,000 gallons of water.
- Making paper from recyled material uses 60% less energy than making virgin paper.
- If every household in the U.S. reused a paper bag for one shopping trip, about 60,000 trees would be saved.
- Every ton of newspaper recycled saves enough energy to power a TV for 31 hours.
- If all morning newspapers read in this country were recycled, 41,000 trees would be saved daily and 6 million tons of waste would never end up in landfills.
- One ton of recycled paper uses: 64% less energy, 50% less water, 74% less air pollution, saves 17 trees and creates 5 times more jobs than one ton of paper products from virgin wood pulp.
- Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees (35’ tall), 2 barrels of oil (enough fuel to run the average car for 1260 miles or from Dallas to Los Angeles), 4100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space (one family size pick-up truck) and 60 pounds of air pollution. (Trash to Cash, 1996)
- It takes one 15-year old tree to produce half a box of paper. Use both sides of all paper. (Midpoint International)
- Recycled paper saves 60% energy vs. virgin paper (Center for Ecological Technology)
- Every year enough paper is thrown away to make a 12’ wall from New York to California.
- If everyone in the U.S. recycled just 1/10 of their newsprint, we would save the estimated equivalent of about 25 million trees a year.
- *If only 100,000 people stopped their junk, mail, we could save up to 150,000 trees annually. If a million people did this, we could save up to a million and a half trees.
*The junk mail Americans receive in one day could produce enough energy to heat 250,000 homes.
*The average American still spends 8 full months of his/her life opening junk mail.
*Every year we make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap Texas.
*In 1865, an estimated 10,000 hogs roamed New York City, eating garbage. Now, one of every six U.S. trucks is a garbage truck.
* In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his/her adult weight in garbage. If you add it up, this means that a 150-lb. adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 lbs of trash for his/her children.
The usage facts can be alarming, daunting, surreal, overwhelming, and depressing. They are all of these to me. However, there is a lot of good news. Americans are recycling and conserving more and more. We can expand that trend. And now I come to my contribution. My idea is a take off on the business practice of donating to a cause. I am not a business person. I love creating my art and salvaging used bits of our culture in the process. On the occasion that something I find or make connects with one of my etsy shop patrons, that's great. I do not expect, or even desire, to become a profitable business person.
{It's also impossible, but that's another story.}
But I thought of a rewarding way to further extend my recycling obsession via my shops, in a way that appeals to my sensibilities and lifestyle.
You will find this announcement in each of my four etsy shops:
ProJecT SNoWFLaKe: One housewife on a mission impossible loving our little blue swirling planet. Intrigued? Read more on my profile page. Thank you for your support. ox joon
And on my profile pages:
ProJecT SNoWFLaKe: One housewife on a mission impossible ~ loving our little blue swirling planet.
My art is based on recycling and reusing because I am obsessed with responsibility. That's a longer story which, extremely simplified, led me here. I enjoy the challenge of saving would be disposable goods and transforming it into who-knows-what? ProJecT SNoWFLaKe is an extension of my philosophy.
Beginning March 17, 2010 you can help me clean up our world, one little step at a time.
For every purchase in any & all of my etsy shops, I will pick up a baker's dozen worth of litter or spend 13 minutes throwing an eye, whichever comes first. I will keep a tally, post it in my shop announcements, and write about my venture on my blog.
Where does the SNoWFLaKe come in? I chose that name for several reasons. It seems like a SNoWFLaKe'S chance in hell that one housewife can make a significant difference. But here's my impetus.
{Captain Charles Moore on Letterman}:
Please access & view Part 2 as well.
And here's my inspiration. {Paul Rokich} I first read about this man and cut out the Readers Digest story in the 1980s. I still have it. I found THIS, which is similar.
Additionally, I began a novel 6+ years ago, called Snowflake N.H. {It's a sign.}
My dear husband and daughter have been waiting on tenterhooks for its completion. It is currently stalled on Chapter 9. As much as I love it, I find it hard to devote time to my writing. So, this challenge serves as an additional incentive for me as I will set aside 13 minutes to Snowflake for every item sold. {See Evan and Scout smiling.}
Many sellers donate a % of their profits to causes. My idea is a take-off on this practice. I'll be the action. It's a housewife thing. We'll see how it goes.
THaNK YOU for your support and, if you LoVe this idea, please spread the word.
Just doing my small part to save the earth and spread the treasures of the past for joy in our future. Please visit my other etsy shops to see more of my recycled & upcycled art with heart, my handwritten letter revolution and to learn more about me.
ox
joon
So there you have it.
You can find many recycled & upcycled practical creations of mine by browsing through this blog and my shops. I especially delight in creating ephemeral art with a half life of infinity. This small sack, now pencil holder, is based on a standard size bag fashioned into an Easter basket {2007} that relives as my paper recycling bin and kitty nap spot. This mini version was actually designed to hold 'pieces of paper too small to recycle' ~ for recycling. :) But when I found the pencils fit inside so tidily I repurposed my repurpose. Now I will make another one for those scraps.
It's the circle of life.
SMALL COUNTS
I want to end with two clarifications.
One: I love newspapers and am saddened by their demise. I believe they are a positive facet of our culture. I don't subscribe because of my own issues. I support reading newspapers. Oh how I would LOVE to see the practice of junk mail and paper flyers prohibited. Seriously.
Two: I am far from a model recycle queen and conservationist. But I regret the popularity of: 'Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff.' I believe the exact opposite. Small matters. You take the small stuff seriously and address it and the big stuff that survives this attention will dissolve so much easier and faster.
Don't underestimate small. It's powerful.
Please post your thoughts, questions & comments. I and my readers will enjoy your contribution. But, more than that, if you have read this far and taken advantage of the links provided I thank you. So much, in fact, that for everyone who has accomplished this and is willing to post a comment by March 31, 2010 to verify it, I will add 13 pieces of litter pick up to my mission. You're supporting my making a difference to our little blue swirling planet already.
Litter Tally Update next week.
ox
joon
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