2022 Declutter thread, Pandemic edition year 3

Our habits shift over time, tilting more toward environmentally sound practices. Organic gardening, recycling, buying products in containers that are recyclable (glass and metal and corrugated cardboard are most likely to be recycled; plastic and mixed paper less so), and looking at our closets and thrift stores for slow fashion. Gardening because it's good for us and good for the planet; when the carbon footprint of your meal is nil because you carried that eggplant or tomato 25 feet from the garden. Growing from seed. Driving prudently and making several stops in one trip instead of single task trips. Walking more, driving less, or even moving to a place where everything is nearby and transit is efficient so a car is unnecessary – that's more difficult, but might be a goal we need to shoot for in our lifetimes.

It has been many years since Katlaughing started these declutter and fitness threads, and now it is quite a few years since we lost Kat La France who went by that moniker. Other members have drifted away and drop in occasionally with updates (we love those!) We lost Alice Flynn in early December; at one time she was quite active on these threads (and in the Facebook cognate). They were interested in all of these things we're still talking about, an aspect of these threads unlikely to change, and chances are these conversations will lure in a few new participants.

COVID is still here, with its recent companions RSV and the Plague Influenza. Planetary scientists are looking at the super storms racing around the planet (we just finished a horrible long freeze that hit the lower 48 US states, when on Christmas day they were all simultaneously frozen at least somewhere.)
We need to continue using our spaces as efficiently as possible including the making of compost to fertilize the garden, buying clothes to last, mending clothing, remaking existing clothing, learning food preservation, learning to trade or barter, etc. I've been reducing the amount of turf that needs mowing every year, though I still have gas-powered equipment along with the electric tools. I don't know if I'd ever use a push mower on this half-acre, but that is a possibility at some point. I have planted and will continue to plant various sized trees, while leaving myself a sunny area to garden.

I don't make resolutions – though late in 2022 I decided a few things that I have already started on, like weeding out the email I never read (unsubscribe) and make a bigger effort to sell things in the house now that I know the kids aren't interested in. Redistribution of resources to declutter and avoid the need to manufacture new is a task to refine. If you use the Japanese or the Swedish approaches to household inventory, or other trends that come along, please share.

National Wildlife Federation: Gardening for Climate Change