trash pick up Archives

Sometimes, simple things matter. Sometimes, it’s all that matters. Our household lives by the adage, “Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”. Curating a home is part of living an intentional life, and the things with which you surround yourself does define your lifestyle. In my opinion, a few simple things bring so much more beauty to your home and value to your life than a hundred gadgets. This series is dedicated towards those simple things.

I’ve wanted wooden hangers for a majority of my adult life, which equates to about the last ten years. Many a time I’ve visited department stores and turned towards the hanger aisle, if only to longingly run my fingers along the smooth edges of polished pine, or unfinished walnut. But the cost of wooden hangers is too great, at about a dollar a piece, for me to ever make that leap. So I have spent years begrudgingly using free, hand-me-down plastic hangers that leave pointy shoulders in my tees and dismay in my heart.

But providence proves just and patience is the best virtue, for this weekend when we were walking the two dogs that we were sitting on Rover (get our side hustle monthly income report here), we swung by the recycle bin behind our garages to find it overflowing with unwanted things from what we assume to be a recent neighbor’s move. And there, sitting on the floor next to the miniature Australian shepherd was a box FULL of wooden hangers. Now I am not one to dumpster dive, but in the name of frugality I am also not completely opposed to it. As my roommate fairly stated, it can’t even be considered dumpster diving. Rather, it’s as if someone plopped a box of beautiful wooden hangers in the middle of my path, already unwrapped and ready for use.

I looked to Mr. Debtist hopefully and with pleading eyes. Can I please take this home without you judging me? He carried the hangers home himself. Once we got inside, I started wiping them down with white reusable rags. They were in pristine condition. I couldn’t believe my luck. I was completely prepared to polish them up but there was no need. In fact, there was hardly any dust.

No chore could stop me from immediately switching out those icky, flimsy, plastic hangers in our bathroom nook for these “new” wooden ones. You see, we have no closet in our main living space (only one under the stairs) and so we’ve lived with this makeshift rod hung up in a tiny indent next to the shower. Our clothes have been hanging on plastic hangers exposed to all guests and visitors who use our restroom. We’ve made do, but it’s not been pretty.

Now, they still do hang exposed, but my heart is full. The beauty that I feel from wooden hangers make living with no closet that much more bearable. In fact, it makes it that much more exciting. I could live without a closet forever if it means I could stare lovingly at these wooden things every day. Plastics be-gone! Don’t worry though, they won’t end up in the trash. We got these plastic hangers from my parents and they will be returned just as my brother conveniently leaves for college in two weeks. I am sure there they will find a new home.

What about you? Things you’ve found in the trash that have made your home that much more beautiful?

How many times can one hear me babble on about the need to reduce waste? Not endless, I presume. But hear my out, just one more time. I want to invite you to join me in keeping the world neat, but not quite in the same way I have before.

Past blog posts were all about ways you could reduce waste at home. Mostly, how to reduce plastic consumption, and alternatives to single-use plastics. However, I get that most people feel as if that doesn’t make much of a difference. What impact can one person’s actions actually have? While I am a non-believer in the word negligible, I can see why some people will feel as if removing plastic completely out of their lives will be a lot of work, for “very little outcome”. We define an action’s worth based on the results. The trouble is that the results are not very easily seen. Who will actually see how keeping one plastic ring that holds soda cans together out of the ocean can prolong a turtle’s life? The effects of our actions may not be visible, but it does not mean they don’t exist. But since results are better convincers for most about the need for action…

I want to invite you to participate in something a bit different, but equally neat. I invite all readers, friends, and families to join me this Sunday for a trash pick up! Doesn’t sound fun? There will be free coffee from my friends at Neat Coffee and free pastries from my friends at Rye Goods. It will be at Newport Aquatic Center, and there will be kayaks so that participants can go out into the water and look for floating trash. For those who prefer to stick to their own two feet, there will be terrain to cover. Consider it the last hurrah for Plastic Free July!

Mike and I have participated in the monthly trash clean up events organized by Ally from Neat Coffee for the past three months. It’s something we do to continue living our truth. We have been to a different park each time, and each time, we learn something new.

We learn that passerbys are impressed, as well as shocked, when they see us picking up trash.
We get thanked by strangers for our work, which shows us that they acknowledge there is work that needs to be done.
We always find a ton of trash, which also teaches us that there is work to be done, in terms of educating people about the impact they are making on the environment.
There is trash that is purposefully left behind. For example, beer bottles hung up on tree branches, out of reach, which required someone to climb up the tree, and hang them upside down on branches that would support the bottles’ weight.
We learn that we are not the only ones. One of my favorite memories was when we came across another person holding a bag and walking around with one of those extended claws. He saw us and commented, “Someone else is awake.” Yes, we all need to wake up. It seems he picks up trash on the regular too.
We learned that some people feel like other people’s trash is not their responsibility. A couple came across us picking up trash on one occasion, and the man commented, “If you’re looking for trash, there’s always a lot down where the homeless people stay. Just stay on the path to the right and you will reach it. I always see trash there.”
Lastly, we learned that seeing the results is a way bigger motivator than not seeing the results. Seeing a group of people come together for a cause is a bigger inspiration than doing something yourself. And seeing how much trash we collect from a two hour stroll is a better convincer at how much still has yet to be done.

So will you take two hours out of your Sunday, and let the world teach you something too? Together, we can keep-it-neat!

Please RSVP here so that they have enough kayaks, coffee, and pastries.

Sunday, July 29th
Time: 8am – 10am
Location: Newport Aquatic Center- 1 Whitecliffs Dr. Newport Beach, CA