The Things I Carry

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I carry a small hand towel (really just a washcloth) in my purse with me. I use it to dry my hands while I'm out and about so I don't have to use (and throw away) paper towels, or air blowing hand dryers. The hand dryers are a better option than paper towels, especially the new Dyson ones (which were first developed in Japan and were in use there at least 2 years before they showed up here), but do still require electricity to work. And electricity is usually generated in a coal-fired plant, or a nuclear plant. Rarely via a solar, wind, or water plant. *sigh*

I also carry a set of chopsticks with me. They were given to me for my birthday several years ago by my friend Gretchen. They are dark brown, have little hearts on their far end, and are pointy. (I prefer pointy chopsticks to blunt.) I used to carry them in my purse, but was afraid of breaking them. While in Japan this past December, I bought a shorter pair of chopsticks to carry in the little purse I took with me. At another shop, I found a little "cap" the Japanese use to cover the pointy ends, as well as a lovely cloth wrapper to keep them in. I bought a cap & wrapper for the shorter chopsticks, as well as for the longer ones I got from Gretchen years ago. The cap & wrapper for the longer chopsticks is pictured to the right. I carry them with me, and have put my shorter chopsticks in with my lunch kit (which will be the subject of another blog post).

I keep my chopstick bundle in my utensil pack. This pack consists of a cloth napkin wrapped around a set of bamboo utensils which I got from Amazon. I got these because I already had chopsticks, but REI sells a set of utensils that includes chopsticks (and my friends Barbara & Gretchen carry those). I also got a set of stainless steel straws (I got the wider ones for frozen drinks, because I can use a wider bore for non-frozen drinks, but not a narrower bore for frozen drinks), one of which I keep in the pack. Many people recommend glass straws, but I thought those would be too prone to breakage, especially in my purse. To the left is a pic of my utensil pack.

Brian didn't want me to use any of our cloth napkins from home because he likes to keep a set together, so I went to Goodwill and bought a bundle of three sets of four cloth napkins for $3. I didn't need or want that many napkins, so I broke the bundle apart and re-donated the other two sets back right then and there. Isn't it lovely? ;-)

I looked for a napkin ring of some sort while I was at Goodwill, but couldn't find any. I am currently using a large rubber band from a head of romaine lettuce to keep it together, and hope to find a more permanent solution before it wears out.

Why not just carry a set of metal utensils? Because I fly quite a bit for my job and TSA frowns on taking knives - even dinner (ie. non-steak) knives - on the plane. It's not evident from the picture, but my bamboo knife is actually serated! But, because it's not metal, it is ok to take on the plane with me. Go figure!

This weekend, Sonos played two church services for the church at which we rehearse. After the second one, they invited us to partake in their weekly fellowship lunch (yummy Filipino-American food!). They serve it on styrofoam plates and with plastic eating ware & paper napkins, so I just used my bamboo utensils & cloth napkin instead. Gretchen & Barbara used theirs, too. After lunch, it took less than 5 minutes to wash them in the kitchen sink.

I am strongly considering getting a silicone collapsible bowl or plate or something to carry with me so I can avoid the use of styrofoam plates in the future. I am also strongly considering carrying a stainless steel collapsible cup for use on the plane.

I'll post some other time about my travel kit for flying. I've worked hard to reduce the amount of liquids I travel with because I prefer to travel carry-on only, and because in general, non-liquid toiletries cost less per use and are better for our health.

I want to close this post with a link to the "Going Green with a Bronner Mom" blog, specifically her post titled "10 Steps to Green." I believe these 10 steps are really important and especially like Number 4: "Start with one step at a time. Identify the easiest task for you to turn green, and start there." My blog is a record of this step. I am trying to identify things I can do to be more responsible to the environment AND save money at the same time. I hope some of these things help you, too.

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