where to start??

So much! and many places! i am easily overwhelmed with this idea, and i have found that just thinking about it, i can take it really out there! So i'm going to take it down a few notches and go slower.

Although i chose to launch the blog this week, i have decided to "officially" start once we move into our new place. For obvious reasons, mostly because at this moment i don't have access to basic things like my canvas shopping bags, jars, compost pile, etc. And as i have been going through my last few days, i see that you can't just stop cold turkey like, it looks like it'll be a process of transformation of our mindsets, household, lifestyle and general patterns which typically doesn't happen overnight.

For instance, Michael and i decided to get dinner out last night. Seems simple enough, and definitely an activity that we enjoy and don't want to give up entirely...i mean really, we are "foodies" at heart and i do come from a restaurant family. So how do we make this work?
This was a place we had not been to before, and all would seem in integrity except for the butter wrappers, paper napkins, little cups for dressing and credit card paper stuff. I'm finding that i am in high observation mode right now, taking notice of all that is "disposable". And i see that what i can do next time (once i;ve moved out of my storage unit!) is to bring with us our fabric napkins, or take home the paper to compost along with the paper cups, or ask them to just put the dressing on there directly, forgo the butter and bring home the paper receipts for recycling.  

My idea for starting this project was to hold onto all the "trash" we accumulate for 30 days...to really see and connect with the amount we generate and produce. i mean that right there speaks volumes, i will really think twice before taking something to-go, especially if i have to live with that wrapper or box for a whole month!

again, for now it's just research, and observation.

the idea

the idea...
the plan is to live as trash free as possible for at least a year. reducing all of our intake of non-recyclable, reusable items.
this idea started before our year abroad, and for a brief moment i thought about taking it on the road and although it would have been great to initiate it while traveling, i wanted to save it for a return project.

the inspiration...
> my trash can, your trash can, all the trash cans... there is no "away" when you throw away
> every plastic wrapper i've ever tossed out
> seeing how far flung this plastic obsession is....finding plastic bags in the far reaches of Bolivia, the green hills and sharp craggy peaks of the Andes, and my beloved pacific ocean... E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E!
> the completely biodegradable adobe house we saw be tilled back into the field it was built from
> leaving no trace, hence the title "Living No Trace"

> actually doing something different, not just buying "green" 

the first challenge...
getting everyone in my house to buy in???

who we are...
me
michael
xylia
gloria (gg)
lucy, the min-pin