In my continual quest to get rid of plastic, I have set up a new system. I am trying to reuse empty glass jars, that I would just normally recycle, to put bulk items in. When I buy the bulk items I am going to use my little bags I made and then transfer the food into the jars. I think that will reduce our plastic a lot.

Notice the plastic in behind the jars… my enemies! I have to find a good place to get organic bulk food. The little place I go to right now is SO expensive. I spent $17 on raw almonds the other day (I didn’t even get that many!) NO THANK YOU!

So I have been slightly obsessed with decorating, arranging, nesting- call it what you like. This is mostly because I have been looking at this  website everyday. It is so inspiring and lovely (thanks Jamie!) So I decided to post some things that I have found at thrift stores (I know this is not a need, ok…) and things that I have been given lately that I like in my house (basement suite).

I got the lamp base for $3.00 and the shade given to me by a friend! It is dark down here and any extra light is MUCH appreciated.

$1.99 thank you very much.

This was given to me by a friend (same friend actually). She found it at a thrift store. I painted it.

This I found at a thrift store for $5- I kid you not.

So, I think that it is very possible to have a nicely decorated home and not buy new. Almost everything in our home is second hand and I think it looks nice. I have found that it brings me so much joy to find a little gently used treasure for my home lately. You can find such unique additions in thrift stores. I feel like I am slowly losing interest in shopping at stores for new things. I think this is mostly because a lot of the items that we go to buy in stores are made in other countries that do not pay their workers fairly. The more I learn, the less places I can go!

On a completly different note, here is the site for our garden. Tom and I hacked away at the ground yesterday (and we are feeling it today let-me-tell-you!) It may not look like much now, but soon, a multitude of produce will be shooting out of the earth!

We have received many emails and comments from people that we do not know from all over the place. From Calgary to Tennessee! Emails of encouragement, questions, and stories about how our experience has impacted people.

It is encouraging to know that there are people throughout the web reading our blog and being encouraged and challenged by it. I have been really bad at responding to emails and comments. So it is my goal to respond to every email or comment that we get…if a response is needed. Sorry if you have sent an email and not heard from us. We will do better.

I will be speaking at Calgary Christian School on May 20th about our compact life. I am really excited to share what we are doing with the high schoolers there and challenge them to rethink their consumption. Hopefully we get more chances to share experiences like this in the future.