a new perspective

I'm still reading the down-to-earth(DTE) blog and a thought was expressed that I found really interesting. The blog writer, Rhonda, loves to knit, sew and do what she calls stitchery. Stitchery doesn't seem to be cross stitch but rather outlining a picture on fabric. Anyway, she said that she doesn't really consider those activities to be "crafts". Rather, she considers them to be part of the work she does for her home. For example, she knits washcloths that she uses to wash dishes and do housecleaning. She sews to mend clothes and other fabric items around her home; as well as to create new and useful fabric items for her home.

A blog post from DTE I read last week talked about three gifts to the earth. Not only does Rhonda really advocate for a simple lifestyle, she also advocates being good stewards to the earth. She said she was going to work hard to do three "green" things that would be her personal gift to the earth: never accept a plastic bag from a store again; never buy plastic water bottles again; and make sure that cigarette butts from the people who smoke at the place where she volunteers are disposed of properly.

About a year or so ago, I bought a few reusable shopping bags from a few different stores. I really like using them (when I remember to take them) because they hold more; they are stronger so things like cereal boxes don't tear holes; and of course they are better for the earth.

So I was thinking about what Rhonda said about not using plastic bags anymore. I admit I have gotten really bad about using my fabric bags lately because I often use them as holding containers when I'm clean sweeping the house so they end up scattered around the house, filled with "stuff". Plus I don't just bring plastic bags home and throw them away—I use them to hold kitchen recycling items as well as to line the small garbage cans we have around the house. But I thought, I don't need to do that. I used to have a second garbage can in the kitchen for recycling. I'm not sure where that garbage can migrated to but I'm going to round up all the garbage cans in the house, give them a good cleaning and then put them back where they are really needed and I think I will find that one garbage can that can resume its purpose as a recycling container. I have to admit that I haven't always lined the smaller garbage cans with bags but it doesn't really seem to hurt anything as we empty them out each week before garbage collection. So really, I can't see why we need to have plastic garbage bags around.

Back to my original point. Over the years I have collected blue jeans that have been outgrown or gotten holey knees or other problems that make them unsuitable for wearing. My original purpose for them was to make denim quilts. This week I decided to do something else with them and make more tote bags for shopping. I looked online and found several websites with directions for making grocery totes that look remarkably like the totes that Lands End sells. While I have never owned a Lands End tote, I know several people who do and those totes are roomy! So I started cutting those blue jeans apart and cutting them into squares which I have been sewing into larger pieces of fabric that I will eventually use to make totes. It also occurred to me that another way I can reduce my use of plastic bags is to make smaller ones of a softer fabric (flannel, maybe) to use for produce. A couple of times when I've been at the grocery store, the small plastic produce bags were out so I just put the loose produce in the cart and the checker didn't give me a hard time about it, so I figure I can just put the loose stuff in the cart then when I'm bagging up at checkout, put them in the fabric bags. Then I don’t have to worry about the tare weight.

Anyway, I've really enjoyed the opportunity to sew this week. I've got everything set up on my kitchen table, and things get moved to the bar counter when it's time to eat, so my kitchen's not all that tidy, but that's OK—I am looking at this sewing project as part of the work I do for my home, as well as something to be more earth friendly. I am looking at my home as something of a "production center"—a place where I can work to produce what will benefit my family—whether it is a good meal, clean clothes, a happy environment for my children and their friends, or market totes to help me in my goal of being a good Earth steward. Among other things.