I'm coming back! I don't know how frequently, but I'll do my best. I felt self-conscious about my last post but I've met so many people, even on Etsy, who also are trying to navigate during the best of times and the worst of times. (Rings a bell, somehow)
I'm working daily on recovery and am going to relate my story, a little at a time. This is about recycling ME. I was at a time in my life when I felt so shiny and new, felt thrown away and am now on the precipice of re-purposing myself so I invite you to share this journey with me.
I was fired from my 26 year teaching career on Friday. I've been fighting a total lie for 3 years now and it finally took away part of my soul.
In 2006 I created a worksheet containing 10 math problems-8 different concepts. I was teaching 6th grade in a school with 12 sixth grade math teachers so I gave a copy to other teachers of math in our 6th grade group. I gave this worksheet to them after our first day of state achievement testing-right after all of our students had completed the reading test. When I gave the worksheet to the teachers, it was my intention for them to use it if they wanted to or not if they didn't. The 8 questions were based upon areas of difficulty my students had experienced so it seemed that other 6th graders would also need additional practice. As I gave this worksheet to the teachers, I thought I was clearly exaggerated and outrageous when I joked to them using comments like, "Don't send this home.", "Shread this when you're done." or "Chew this up and swallow it. Destroy the evidence!"
Totally without my knowledge, my comment made one teacher uneasy and he subsequently helped create an exaggerated concern with some of the other teachers. Instead of anyone's coming to ask me about their questions concerning my comments, one of the teachers turned me in to the administration of the school.
In the meantime, the remainder of the testing week went by without incident. The Thursday before the final day of our school's testing was my birthday. As was our tradition in our 6th grade, we gathered to eat lunch together, chat, joke and MOST IMPORTANTLY eat CAKE! As usual, it was a fun and much too short time spent among "friends". Little did I know of the talk and worry among the colleagues whom I held so dear. I wouldn't find out about any problem until first thing Monday morning!
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- If you have not yet signed up not to receive junk mail through GreenDimes or a similar organization, there are ways in which you can reuse some parts of the paper that plagues your mail box and eats trees with a vengence. Pages with blank sides can be cut and stacked for jotting notes. Envelopes used to mail the junk can be used for list writing or saved as note paper. If you're crafty, the colorful pieces can be torn and decoupaged onto "things". These are ways you can use the junk until you remember to join GreenDimes.com :)
- Save the little bits of soap that you might otherwise discard. When you've collected a sufficient amount, soften overnight in a bowl of water. Put mixture in a blender with more water and use as soap refills. WE DON'T NEED ANTI-BACTERIAL SOAP! These soaps contribute to the development of super bugs!
- Add a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle of your laundry load instead of fabric softener.
- Use plain baking soda to freshen carpets. A drop or two of natural oils in a large container and WELL mixed eliminates the need for commercially produced carpet fresheners that are filled with chemicals.
- Use foam food trays to make Shrinky Dinks. Preheat to 350 (toaster oven if you don't have a lot to make), cut shapes and place on shiny side of foil, cook until shape curls and flattens again
- White sinks and baking soda! I made the huge mistake of choosing a white Corian style sink when we built our house. It is very suseptible to staining. I used to use Soft Scrub with Bleach but not any more! Simple baking soda and some elbow grease work just fine most of the time! NO CHEMICALS!
- (SAVE MONEY AND LOTS OF IT! Use vinegar and baking soda and salt for most of your cleaning needs. Adding vinegar to your laundry will soften clothes. Spray vinegar in the shower when you're finished showering-it helps keep lime and soap scum from building up. When it's time to clean use baking soda and vinegar for a gorgeous bathtub shine!):
- No need for furniture polish! Use a lightly dampened microfiber cloth instead. NO chemicals (well, maybe a little chlorine), no propellents, no metal can to have to throw away. OR do like I do and just don't clean.
- Keep shipping envelopes for another use. You can dress them up a bit by cutting out a fun or beautiful picture from a magazine and taping it on the envelope to cover the old address information. Use recycled paper index cards to write the address and return address.
- "Room Fresheners" for the most part are really "Room Chemicals Adders". The handy sprays are also propellant air polluters. Plug-ins use energy and are also chemical distributors. Try using natural essential oils or candles made with natural essential oils instead.
- Again, if you own a disposable mop, don't buy cleaner refills. Use vinegar-it's great for wood floors too.
- Pay your bills online whenever possible. You save the transportation energy and you can keep the enclosed envelope for your future use.
- If you own a disposable pad mop, use a towel or washcloth instead of the disposable pad.
1 comment:
Have you tried the Green Bag yet? I got mine at Harriet Carter
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