^[1]
It’s been another month already. Life is just flying by. And I haven’t had a drink in two days. Now, before getting into this month’s tally, I just want to clarify something I wrote on Monday. Many readers took exception to this statement:

Alcohol helps to quell the fear of unpunctuated silence ^[2], the endless possibilities of what could be if I sat with my feelings instead of trying to push them aside. Wine especially is so damned tasty and enjoyable and helps me forget what a loser I am.

Contrary to MonkeyJen’s assertion ^[3] that I am clever because by writing that I am a loser, I got all of you to write and tell me I’m not, I wasn’t fishing for compliments or even reassurance. The fact is that I have an addiction problem. There, I said it. And part of addiction is feeling like crap. Feeling like you are nothing without your crutch and then feeling like you are even worse because of your crutch. And then fearing that if people knew what you were really like outside of your public persona, they would see right through you and realize what a big old fraud and loser you are.

Please don’t write that I’m not a loser! I know that. And please also don’t tell me I’m too hard on myself. I’m not trying to be hard on myself but just to see things as clearly as possible. Look, it’s pretty easy for me to live without plastic… or with very little of it, anyway. Getting to this point has been mostly enjoyable, in fact. But living without overconsuming food and alcohol? Not so much. When “Anonymous” ^[4] commented on my baby chick post that “Being vegan is so much easier than being completely plastic free,” it really touched a nerve because for me, it really really isn’t. We all have things that come easy to us and things that are hard. One of the points of this blog is that we are all human and struggling with something. And still, we have to do the best we can.

So anyway, I’m not special. No more so than anyone else. I’m here stumbling along like the rest of you. Meditation helps. Walks in nature help, as does riding my bike, when I can get myself off my desk chair to go out and do it. Singing really, really helps. And slowing down to savor life is a must. My point Monday was just that it’s not easy, and looking closely at the places where it’s not easy can help us learn what it is about ourselves that not only keeps us trapped in our unhealthy habits but is also helping to wreck the planet.

Okay, rant over, such as it was. Here is my plastic tally for Month 3 of Year 3. Plastic used up this week but purchased before the plastic project began:

• 1 bottle of cayenne pepper, sprinkle thingie, and cap. Replaced with cayenne pepper from the Whole Foods bulk bin in my own reused glass jar, packaging-free.
• 1 outer plastic package from Bonito flakes. I went through and cleaned out the kitchen again last week. I’ve had these bonito flakes (which actually come in small individual packages inside this bigger outer package) for years! I think I was going to make miso soup with them or something. Finally, I realized I was never going to eat them, but my kitties would. So the smaller bags are in the kitty drawer and will be added to the tally as they get used up. And to all the people (RobJ ^[5], LisaNW ^[6]) who think I am mean for not giving those rascals treats on top of the homemade food I cook for them every week, are ya happy now?!?
• Plastic package of wonton wrappers. Old, stale, and freezer burned. In the compost.
• 2 plastic bags from rancid oat bran and even more rancid sesame seeds. Also in the compost. See what I mean about wasting food?
• Plastic package from fresh oregano & plastic tag from fresh sage. Freezer burned. Don’t even know why they were in there. Compost.
• Bank of America ATM card. Received a new one this month. Don’t know why it was replaced.

New plastic waste:

• 2 strips of plastic packing tape. From No Impact Man book shipment and Express Mail package from my dad returning my forgotten retainers from Hawaii. Yeah, I wear plastic retainers at night. TMI?
• 1 plastic tear strip from the same Express Mail envelope.
• Plastic cap & plastic threads from a glass bottle of Spectrum Naturals olive oil. The same free bottle I wrote about in last month’s tally ^[7]. Used up in a month.
• 2 plastic seals from around cartons of Ben & Jerry’s coffee Heath bar crunch. I had a melt-down last week and broke open two of Michael’s B&J ice cream containers. I don’t count it if I don’t eat it. And man, did I eat it.
• Tyvek wrist band from Outside Lands music festival. No, they wouldn’t believe that I was old enough to drink wine. :-)
• 7 plastic envelope windows. 1 from BofA (new ATM card); 2 from National Financial; 2 trade statements from Financial West Group; & 2 notices from AT&T.
• 1 plastic bag of World’s Best Cat Litter. My cats will use nothing else.
• 1 bottle, cap, & scoops from BalanceIt cat food supplement. The bi-monthly supplement we use to make the homemade food. The only plastic involved.
• Foam seal from new bottle of BalanceIt.
• 1 plastic wrapper & tray from HP inkjet cartridge. Have written about this before. The printer will not run without color cartridges even if you set it for all black. So this had to be replaced.

There’s a ton of stuff happening in the world of plastic pollution this month. Come back tomorrow for a list of activities and ways you can get involved. I’ll be Julie McCoy, your cruise director.

Related posts:

• Find out what envelope windows are made from. ^[8]
• All about our homemade cat food. ^[9]
• The cat litter saga. ^[10]
• About recycling plastic gift cards ^[11] (which are kind of like ATM cards, right?
• What is Tyvek? ^[12]