#BARBIE DREAMHOUSE COLORING PAGES PLUS#

Putting the final touches on the Dreamhouse, I step back and look at the behemoth I have just assembled. I alone did not cause this climate crisis, and I alone won’t fix it. A great place to start is a local reuse store, or a food co-op that allows you to bring your own containers to fill up on essentials.Īnd I’m going to give myself some grace. I’m going to spend more time looking for plastic-free and sustainable options, and try buying in bulk more often. After all, the best product for the environment is one that lives multiple lives. So here’s what I’m thinking: I’m going to renew my commitment to my local Buy Nothing group on Facebook, where I can look first for anything that I need and pass along anything we’re through with. Breathing deeply through my attempts at installing the Dreamhouse’s four-doll elevator (did I mention it has an elevator?), I think ahead to a new year - a chance to try to do better. We can all do our part, but also, we’re allowed to be human.īack in my living room, I try to remember that lesson. She makes the changes she can, where she can, and she’s trying to change the system from the inside, lobbying for changes in packaging laws at the state level. But she’s realized she can only do so much. Sure, she said - it’s impossible not to feel overwhelmed. “Is this not a massive existential crisis for you every time you shop?” I asked her as we stood in the freezer aisle. The shame I felt - oh, the shame! - to be busted by the imminently cool store owner who really knows this stuff.īut then I looked at her cart, and it looked an awful lot like mine.

#BARBIE DREAMHOUSE COLORING PAGES PLUS#

Even these aren’t perfect - there’s a carbon footprint to their shipping, plus the pods are made from dissolvable films that may result in microplastics.īut these steps seem small in the grand scheme of things - especially with young kids who churn through endless sneakers, snacks, and toys.Ī year or so ago, walking through my local grocery store, cart piled high with lettuce in plastic containers, tubs of yogurt, and plastic-wrapped granola bars, I ran into the owner of the refill store, who I’ve become friends with over the years. We have subscriptions for laundry and dishwasher detergent pods, low-waste products that arrive in cardboard packaging. That’s also where I pick up silicone Stasher bags, and cloths to replace paper towels. There’s a great refill store near where I live, where I can fill my own containers with concentrated hand soap, dish soap, and all-purpose spray.

But their seams were always filled with the crusty remnants of snacks past - so back we slid to store-bought pouches.Īnd after pledging to stop using plastic containers to store leftovers, and buying all sorts of glass ones (though probably not enough) to use instead, my cupboard is once again a den of shame, filled with plastic containers of all sizes, some of which I suspect were left behind by friends or family. I bought reusable plastic pouches and filled them with homemade baby food and yogurt for my kids.

I embraced cloth diapers - buying up gently-used ones from friends and neighbors to cut down on waste - but then the pandemic hit and it felt like one task too many as we juggled young kids and full-time jobs. (I do own those nice mesh produce bags but they are somehow never with me when I arrive at the store.)īut it’s not always easy. And rather than using plastic bags for my veggies, I let them sit, naked and exposed, on the conveyor belt, vowing to wash them twice before serving them. I take my reusable bags with me when I’m shopping, and have found other ways, such as silicone bags and containers, to store food to avoid cling wrap, which is not recyclable.Īt the grocery store, I opt for the glass jar of Teddie peanut butter instead of the plastic tub, even though we consume a tub’s worth each week. So, I carry my reusable water bottle and opt for cans when I buy a drink at a store. One million plastic bottles are sold every minute around the world, and less than a third of those are recycled, according to the advocacy group Beyond Plastics. The obvious things - single-use plastic bottles, plastic bags, cling wrap - have been easy enough to cut out. Now, thinking about what I want to do better in 2024, I can’t help but reflect back on where things have gone wrong. Plastics clog our oceans, threaten wildlife, and spread toxins. Half of global plastics production is for single-use items, and just 14 percent of plastic packaging is collected for recycling, according to the World Economic Forum. After all, not only are most plastics made from fossil fuels, they also emit greenhouse gases. I am a climate change reporter, and sometimes tackling our household waste feels like the least I can do to quiet the demons I’m haunted by in my day job. For years, I’ve been on a mission to cut out waste in our household.

Barbie dreamhouse coloring pages