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School Supplies
School Supplies
It’s still full summer…but the beginning of school is not that far away. Although I don’t have any K-12 aged children – there is a Missouri Master Naturalist core training I am in the final stages of planning that will be happening in September and October. School/office supplies are something to think about.
I have a lot of office supplies that have accumulated over the years so most of the time I simply draw on what I have rather than buying anything. Printer paper is my most frequent purchase – and that doesn’t happen all that often; I did notice that the last ream I bought had a ‘sustainable forest initiative’ label but was wrapped in plastic!
Most of the pens I have are from organizations or hotels…lots of plastic there. My plan is to stop picking up pens at events until I have drawn down my supply! There are a few that might take common refills – a way to reduce the amount of new plastic but not eliminate it.
I am already packing waste free lunches and carrying a reusable water bottle…but I need to make sure the students in the core training think about doing it if they are not as far along in their plastic reduction journey.
Check out 8 Plastic-Free School Supplies & Zero-Waste Tips
Added note: I recently purchased printer paper. It was the only kind that was wrapped in paper rather than plastic…and it was the least expensive per sheet…and its packaging said it was sustainably made from sawmill waste chips using wind energy and hydropower!
Posted on 7/27/2026 by Gwen Morrison
Dryer Lint
Dryer Lint
A few weeks ago, I laundered the polyester table clothes that were used for our tables at the Butterfly Festival. I don’t usually put synthetic fabrics in the dryer (heat causes them to wear faster) but the table clothes were too big to hang dry without a long clothesline – which I don’t have. It was an opportunity to look at the lint from synthetic fabric.
I used my phone and a hand lens too look at the tangle of thin fibers. It is easy to imagine them breaking up into small segments. They are already microscopic in diameter. This is fabric that does not look fuzzy at all – but is still shedding fibers. It also provides an inkling of what is shed during washing as well (and is mostly leaving in the water).
Years ago, there was a suggestion to put dryer lint out for birds to use as nest material. DON’T DO THAT unless you are sure that what was dried is 100% natural fibers – which is very rare these days.
Posted on 7/20/2026 by Gwen Morrison
Bring your own...
Bring your own...
One of the biggest ways to reduce single use plastics is to remember to ‘bring your own’ more frequently. The easy ones for me are:
Bring your own water bottle. I have three different reusable water/beverage containers – stainless (although – aargh! – with some plastic in their lids). It’s very easy to refill them; lots of places have water fountains that include a bottle filler above the fountain! I even use my water bottle when I brush my teeth in hotels – avoiding a single use plastic cup that they provide.
Bring your own bag/basket. I have a collection of bags that I use for my usual shopping (square bottoms, sturdy enough to handle heavy items, easy to keep clean). I keep a canvas bag in my car and a stuff bag in my purse for ad hoc shopping. I’ve recently added a basket to my collection but haven’t quite gotten used to it. Overall – I manage to avoid single use plastic shopping bags almost completely.
Bring your own eating utensil. I am reusing a gel pin tin for carrying silverware when I travel. If I buy a fast-food salad, I can avoid the plasticware – although I haven’t figured out how to avoid the plastic container it comes in. I generally put the used forks in the ice chest and then into the dishwasher when I get home.
Bring your own bowl. I pack a glass container when I travel to Lewisville since the hotel breakfast has Styrofoam plates (the hot items are in metal trays, and the serving utensils are metal). I get my scrambled eggs and bacon in my own bowl…and use my own silverware too…..making the breakfast plastic free!
Bring your own cup. When I travel in the wintertime, I bring my own ceramic cup to make hot tea (with my own tea) in the hotel microwave. The cups they provide are Styrofoam or plastic-coated paper….and more hotels have put in Keurig things which have a lot of single use plastic.
Bring your own snacks. I frequently cut up veggies or make my own chicken/egg salad and put it in my own reusable (glass) container for when I am away from home at mealtime. It does mean that I am taking an ice chest as well. During the summer – I always have an ice chest when I travel to keep food and toiletries from getting too hot!
These are just a few ideas of how ‘bring your own’ can reduce your contributions to the huge piles of single use plastics.
Posted on 07/06/2026 by Gwen Morrison
Avoiding Plastic Wrap
Avoiding Plastic Wrap
This is the season for watermelon! In prior years, I generally cut it and put some plastic wrap across the portion I was putting back in the refrigerator. This year – I thought about an alternative…. wanting to avoid single use plastic entirely.
My solution: turn the watermelon upside down on a tray! So simple. If the juice leaks a little, the tray will hold it, so it is better than plastic wrap from that perspective. I found myself wondering why I didn’t think of this before.
Posted on 7/13/2026 by Gwen Morrison
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