Guys! Spring is almost here! In Portland I dare say it’s even come early, bringing the daffodils springing from every sidewalk crack and kissing the tree tops in blush pink buds. It’s intoxicating!

And it also means we’re coming up quick on planting season. Even if you’re not seeing it out your own front window, I assure you it’s coming . . . and soon!

Last year I offered a green alternative to plastic seed pots, with a recycled newspaper version. This year I present a new twist on the same concept – this time using your spent toilet paper rolls!

And once again, it’s just so easy. Like so:

Begin with your TP roll. You’ll need one per plant.

Cut! You’ll want a series of cuts around one edge, maybe 1.5 inches apiece. I did 5-6 cuts per roll.

It’ll look like this.

Fold down the tabs to make a nice flat bottom. No need to fasten or anything fancy – it should stay put on it’s own. Fill with potting soil and proceed with starting your seeds as normal.







When you’re ready to transplant, just unfold the bottom tabs and then cut the cardboard away. So start collecting those TP rolls! (and don’t forget to recycle or compost them once you’re done)

Don’t you love how the green DIY method is also always the most efficient, most practical method? I love that!!

Itty Bitty Bonzai is a collection of tiny tips and tricks for living a life more mindful. Small actions, collectively and compounded, become a powerful force of change.

#17

So the holidays are over and you’ve got a pile of greetings and gift cards, on display and collecting dust in a corner of the living room. But they’ve got to come down eventually, and unfortunately most will find their way into the rubbish bin.

Of course you, diligent Bonzai readers, would never trash that precious card stock, I’m sure. We’re all recyclers here, are we not?

But what about doing one better? Instead of tossing them in with the newspapers and tomato tins, why not hold on to them for later use? Simply remove that pretty (and valuable) front! (leaving the back, inscribed with your relative’s well wishes, to recycle) Now you have a brand new post card, a clever thank-you note, or a lovely gift tag!

You can also wrap a gift in simple brown paper (re-use a paper grocery bag), then tape the recycled card front to it, to add a festive image.

So save your holiday cards for the next years festivities! But don’t forget to save other cards throughout the year – this works equally well for Valentines, birthdays, and beyond!

BONZAI!

I think this is going to be the shortest wrap up ever.

After investing a minimal amount of energy into the setup, I finally ’sat down’ to give it a try. With a little apprehension and a little bit of doubt, I did what I needed to do (NOT doo-doo, haha) . . . and then reached for the cloth.

Okay, the second I actually did it I was like, “wait, really?” It was a similar feeling as when I switched to cloth pads. As in, WHAT THE HECK TOOK ME SO LONG??

May I be blunt?
1) Cotton *feels* a lot better than scratchy paper.
2) It’s really a relatively dry affair, if you know what I mean. There’s very little that’s actually transfered to the cloth. There’s no associated odor and cleaning them is just not an issue.

So all in all, I think this is one of the easiest, one of the most successful missions to date. I don’t know what I was so afraid of, and there’s no way I won’t keep doing this. I encourage you all to give it a try!

BONZAI!

How does one prepare to replace something as seemingly sanitary and culturally expected as toilet paper? Well, some times you just have to dive in . . . erm . . . metaphorically speaking. Ew.

If you’d like to learn more about why one would want to do such a thing, you can get the background story at this month’s Mission post. Now, you can go about getting started in one of two ways: buy them or make them. Since one of the major themes of this exercise is reduction, I opted for the DIY approach. A couple of my husbands old softened tee shirts was all it took!





An old sheet, flannel PJs, dish towels or bath towels – pretty much anything can stand in here. No sewing required! I just cut the fabric into strips the width of regular TP. Then, cut them into lengths so that when they’re folded in half they’ll make a perfect square.





From there you just need a place to store ‘em and to stash ‘em, close to the scene of the crime. I picked up this lovely secondhand basket at the thrift store, and found the perfect plain plastic waste bin for catching wipes. An empty drawer would also work great for storing the clean ones. I considered getting the biggest, tackiest vintage cookie jar i could find for used wipes. Ha!





There are really a million variations here. Highly customizable. Now as far as actually *using* them, that’s a whole other story.

We’ll revisit that at the end of the month.

On the first Monday of every month, we take on a ‘mission’ – a shift or habit or inspiration – to work on together. There’s strength (and support) in numbers! On the last Thursday of the month, we reconvene to see how far we’ve come.

#8

You’ve all been so amazing joining me in these grand experiments each month, willingly committing yourselves to new, sometimes drastic life changes. And I think, this month, I’m really going to test your faith in me! Eek!

Okay. So, this month I’m going to switch to family cloth. “Now, what is family cloth?”, you may ask. “That sounds so sweet, like a big warm blankey for sharing”.

But yeah, no.

Family cloth is cotton toilet paper. Basically, you replace your standard bleached, chemically-treated paper TP, with reusable wipes made of fabric (bought new or upcycled from old clothes/towels). Keep your clean cloths near the toilet, in a drawer or a pretty basket or bag. Keep a ‘dirty rag’ receptacle near the toilet as well, a bin with a lid or a hanging drawstring sack. Launder the used wipes as necessary.

Sound crazy? I thought so too, at first. It’s honestly taken me a while to warm up to the idea. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Obviously, it’s a great environmental gain. We already know from our research into paper napkins, that washing reusables is much more resource/energy efficient. And I remember from the switch to cloth menstrual pads, how surprised I was at the comfort that came with cotton. I hope to get the same benefit from the family cloth.

I’ll be spending this first month using family cloth for #1 only. So I’ll keep some TP in the bathrooms, for guests and for #2.

And what about you, my dear green go-getters. Is this just too extreme to be gotten? Or, are you with me? Will you accept this mission?

BONZAI!