the ReFab Diaries

If, like me, you're dragging through the final frozen weeks of winter, then this post is a treat for you! A well-timed chance to win some sustainably-made, minimally packaged, totally beautiful beauty products. Ready to spring clean yourself?

Meet the world's first slipper that's helping to fight plastic pollution

When you're thinking about booking a vacation for you and your family, it can often feel like you need to put all attempts at a sustainable, or eco-friendly, lifestyle on hold. Not so! While you may not be able to duplicate your at-home habits (composting!) there are definitely ways to continue to act sustainably, repurpose and upcycle while travelling. Here are a few ways to ensure that you're able to enjoy a vacation while still choosing to protect the environment and reduce your waste.

Written by Nat Smith, Rover.com community member. Rover is the nation's largest network of 5-star pet sitters and dog walkers.

If you're a dog owner and also trying to find ways to reduce packaging and plastic waste, this post is for you! As Nat Smith (from Rover) points out, do-it-yourself treats and toys are not only a great way to cut down on packaging: sustainable pet care can also save your money and improve the quality of your pet’s life. What could be better? Here are five ideas from Nat:

Happy Earth Day lovely people! 

I'm going to keep this short and just share these fab tips care of one of my favorite comic-strip characters, Chrostin. Follow Christina and Chrostin on Facebook and Instagram.

The cut flower business is bloomin' wasteful. 

Cartoon credits: Zapiro and Green Humour

Since my last post, the USA elected a climate-denier as the next President. We will soon have the embarrassing honor of being the only major nation on Earth led by someone who rejects climate science (although that hasn't always been the case). If you know anything about me or this blog, I don't have to explain to you why I've felt paralyzed for a while. I wrote and rewrote reactions but never published them. Then I thought of saying nothing because I try to keep this blog light. Then I calmed down.

Week 41 goals: 

1.  November 8 is about more than the presidential race
2.  There are LOTS of ballot measures related to environmental protection
3.  Do a little research and use your vote to elect representatives who will fight for the air you breath 

Week 35 goals:

1. Shop cleaner. Eat cleaner.
2. Boost my immune system

Last week I explained how and why I've committed to eating differently. This week, a little insight into what I'm eating, how I'm feeling, weight loss and lots of links in case you want to try any of this yourself. Then I'll take a break from blogging about food. Just to be clear: I'm not "on diet". If you do want / need to shed pounds, this will work. But that's not why I'm doing it.

It's week 34. I'm way past the halfway mark and you may have noticed that I have not yet mentioned food shopping, cooking or eating. In the zero-waste niche, this is odd. Search #zerowaste on Instagram, and you see a lot of this:


Why not me? Well, I knew a change in my shopping habits would be the hardest to pull off. I get to the farmer's market sporadically. I squeeze in grocery shopping when I can. I feed a fruitarian 6-year old and once I know I have what she needs, I tend to buy what's convenient for me. Not junk - think pre-grilled chicken, precooked lentils, cheese, apples. Just convenient. A lot in recyclable packaging. But still. A ton of packaging.

When you commit to 51 weeks of posts and then you skip a week ... well, it feels odd. But I had to thanks to being sick. Again. My immune system has been less than effective this year.

How is this relevant to breadboxes? It's not. But it has provided the kick I needed to take a hard look at the way I eat. And I'll tell you more about the changes I've made next week because they are, actually, relevant. To both breadboxes and trimming my waste!

Meanwhile... I needed to go back to my blog roots a little to get back on this wagon. I used to do a lot of these repurposing round ups in pre-Pinterest days (remember those?). So let's have some fun with old breadboxes before I tell you about my much-lower-waste eating.