Waste: Day I don't even know... but it's over!

So… we had a family emergency last week that kept me from writing, but I wanted to let y’all know how the fast played out. So here are the highlights.

I finished 2 more projects!

1)    The non-paper paper towels… what this really means is  Cassie fighting with a not well functioning sewing machine for about 5 hours on what should have been an hour and a half project max. Result… material sewn onto car cleaning towels in order to have something “cute” to wrap around a paper towel holder. I use the word “cute” very loosely here because they did not turn out at all the way I envisioned… but they are done and functional… so project complete!

notice the screwdriver and multiple bobbins... it was not my day!

finished... but not at all what I intended...

2)   Laundry soap! It took a lot of tracking down… borrowing things, purchasing from my local store, going to another town to purchase from their locally owned store… but I finally tracked down all the ingredients and the soap was made. Smells great and there is a ton of it!

I know it doesn't look like it... but there is a LOT of soap there!

So I completed a couple projects, we continue to recycle everything we can, and we are conserving and being conscience of our water and energy usage. We have gone from 2-3 bags of trash 2 times a week to 1-2 bags once a week. That is a BIG difference when you think of the amount of waste over a month… so we will continue on with that. All in all this was my most enjoyable month so far. There were challenges (as there should be in any fast). Like tracking down an apple cookie cutter… Normally I would just run to Wal-Mart or Michaels and grab what I need… but seeing as chain stores were a no go this month… it took two days to track one down, then a 40 minute drive to pick it up. The cookie project was completed (though wasn’t used as its original purpose) and I guess that is what matters this month.

I ate at a couple more great local restaurants. We have some amazing local dinning in our area, both for dating/friend get together purposes and family friendly restaurants.  I also enjoyed finding “local” places when we weren’t local. Just FYI… Joe’s Deli in downtown Washington has some of THE BEST carrot cake I have ever had (and I am kind of a carrot cake snob). Definitely in my top 3 for sure!

God taught me so many wonderful things this month. For a girl who likes to make a list and check things off, this month was a great eye opener that it is not always completing a task that is the accomplishment. The slowing down and doing things the “right” way, or “slow” way,  or “hard” way sometimes teaches you so many more lessons and lets you enjoy so many more moments during the process, and there are sooooo many moments this month that I am eternally grateful I got. And if I would have been doing things the way I always do them, they would have just passed me by. This month has truly made me appreciate my family in a way I did not before, and for that I am abundantly thankful.

The next fast starts Sunday!

 

Thanks for joining me on the journey!