1 More Month of Zero Waste | September 2021: Education!

We have already learned a lot about a zero waste, plastic free and low impact lifestyle in the last 8 months of our 1 More Month of Zero Waste project. We have decluttered, audited our trash and recycling, we’ve made switches away from plastic by using reusable bags and water bottles, we made ourselves kits to bring these things around and increase our potential for reducing our waste. We’ve talked about best practices, putting aside our own conveniences and that a lot of becoming more zero waste starts with our mindset.

Now it’s time to teach others.

Your challenge is to go forth and share your finding from the last 8 month with someone else. Tell your friends about your challenges, tell you parents about the low impact movement, share your zero waste kit with your coworkers, help you children make better less wasteful choices. Whatever and how ever you share, you got it right!

The second part of this months challenge is to learn something new. Has something come up in 1 More Month of Zero Waste that we didn’t delve into enough? Have you come across something that we haven’t discussed that you need to learn more about? This month, let’s deep dive into anything and everything that interests us in the zero waste, low impact movement.

What will you teach and what will you learn this month?

Mad Cat Capsule | Buying Pants and Finding a New Style

One of the reasons that I started a capsule wardobe, many years ago, was bc I felt I had lost touch with my style. I wasn’t sure what my personal style was anymore. I wanted to find a style that worked for me without constantly buying clothes and buying into trends.

All these years later, I find myself on a parallell journey. I’m still staying away from trendy things, but I have fallen into a trend of sorts.

I’m sick of wearing jeans.

It took a long time in the pandemic to get to this point for me. But I really only want to wear comfortable pants. Ideally somehting as close to pajamas as possible. You know, “going out pajamas”.

So lately I went on a thrifting quest. To find some comfy pants that are not jeans and are not skinny legged. And are high wasted, and have pockets (front and back). Is that really asking too much?

Oh, and also, they have to fit my style. But what is my style when it comes to pants like that? I guess I’ve got to find out, now.

I bought about 10-12 pairs of pants but swiftly whittled it down to only a few. Even some of those I might not end up keeping. Many of the thrifted pants simply didn’t fit. Some were not the leg I was after, or were too cropped (not a huge fan of that), some were the wrong material or didn’t have enough pockets.

When thrifting, I don’t tend to try things on in the store. The prices are cheap enough, and I usually know my style well enough, that I can pick out with out trying on and know I will get about 80% accuracy. I don’t mind supporting local thrift shops and I don’t mind donating back what I don’t end up using. But clearly when trying to find a new style my level of accuracy goes way down. I only got about 20% accurate with this venture. For this outing I felt lost, and I lost sight of some of the details I usually make sure to always check (the fabric, the pockets, etc….).

Finding new pants will be an ongoing journey. I have a few now that I like and are in a new style. I have to wear them, see what I like and what I don’t, learn about this new aspect of my style. I’ll let you know what I find out!

1 More Month of Zero Waste | August 2021

Last month the blog took an unplanned break so we didn’t talk about Plastic Free July. How did you do? What challenge did you set for yourself? What issues did you face? If you didn’t participate in Plastic Free July, it’s not too late, you can make August Plastic Free instead!

Something that will help you greatly on your zero waste and plastic free journey is a zero waste kit.

A zero waste kit is super easy to put together, and doesn’t require that you buy anything new. Usually a ZWK is any collection of items that will help you on your journey during the day and during the week. Some things that you might include in a ZWK could be

flatware - this can be only a fork, or a full on set! Fork, spoon, knife, spork, sharp knife, straw, chopsticks, etc… Whatever will help you use reusables instead of opting for a disposable that will end up in landfill.

napkin - you can use this as a napkin instead of taking a paper napkin that will end up in the trash. But you can also use it to clean, mop your brow, wrap left overs, or use it as a bag…. plus more. What else can you use it for? to dry a seat, to sit on on the grass, to cover your head in the sun? The possibilities are vast.

a reusable bag - for groceries, for retail, for carrying anything, just in case you need it.

a water bottle or coffee cup - for water, for coffee, for juice, for soup, to keep things warm, to keep things cold…

a jar or storage container - to keep other things in or get take out, or pick up interesting leaves, or birds nests, or whatever you might need a container for.

What else can you think to put in your zero waste kit? What will most help you avoid waste in your day to day life?

For August, make your kit, bring it with you, use it, and enjoy creating less waste!

Mad Cat Garden | March 2021

March is always the month that the garden really kicks off. We planted seeds this month and really tried to use the green house to it’s full potential. My husband has been making seed pots reusing newspaper. We also use found or donated pots. We have some kale and chard that had wintered over.

We also bought a few lettuces and chards to get our garden going.

Flowers and strawberries also wintered over in the green house. Both are already blooming!

Peas are the seeds that have come up the most but we also started pumpkins, radishes, tomatoes, peppers and more.

During the start of the month, almost everything was in the green house, but as the month wore on, we started moving plants out to the yard/garden.

We didn’t turn our beds in March, bc we were letting any bees, moths, pollinators, or other bugs stay sleeping under the ground as the weather is still chilly. The bluebs started budding, and the pear trees have leaves.

While a lot happened in March, it was still a month of waiting in the garden. Hopefully the weather will break and we can do a lot more in April.

What is happening in your garden this month? Was it gearing up or winding down?

1 More Month of Zero Waste | Food Scraps and Compost | April 2021

Each month we do a easy and free challenge to become better at a zero waste lifestyle 1 more month at a time. The challenges can be modified for all levels of zero wasters, from beginner to advanced. Every month, you can also choose how much you want to participate. You can do the challenge every day of the month, you can do one task, or you can take only what you need.

One thread that runs through all the challenges is to be more mindful and aware about the waste we create with each monthly challenge. If you only take a new awareness of what waste you create each month, you are succeeding in these challenges!

In April we are talking about food scraps and learning how to compost! Composting at it’s simplest definition is letting food scraps, yard scraps, and other organic waste rot and turn back into dirt. Home composts are most often kept in a container orpile kept in the back yard or garden, and allowed and encouraged to rot down into a nutreient rich siol, then used in the yard, garden or house plsnts. There is also industrial comoposting which is a whole other story. For this challenge we are mainly concerned with our home or community compost systems.

Step one to starting your own compost pile is to assess what food waste you are creating and reduce it.
Next is to research what is the best avenue of compost for you. Do you have a space in your yard for a pile or a compost container? If not, how else can you compost? can you put a bucket on the stoop or fire escape? Can you save your food waste and drop it off at the local farmers market? Does your city or town have a compost pick up program?

After you have figured out where to compost, you can start saving scraps and composting!

Do you have a compost pile? Do you use one of the other methods for keeping your food waste out of the landfill?

Weekly Video Round Up #15 - 3/15/2021 - 3/21/21

3/17 - BookTube Spin Vlog | Booktube Spin #1! | First Spin Vlog

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos three times a week. I post about creative simple living: books, cats, zero waste, bullet journaling, beach life, and more!

Rick MacDonnall invented the Booktube Spin and spun the first round at the end of Jan. The rules are simple: make a 20 book TBR, label them 1-20, put them into groups if you wish, post your TBR somewhere, and check out Rick’s video to see what book you need to read by March 31st. It’s easy and fun! I thought I might cheat, but in the end, I didn’t! I vlogged my experience!

Did you do the Booktube Spin #1? What was the book you got? Did you read it?

Rick’s first Booktube Spin video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc4Iz0dvGos
Rick’s first spin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6eYtA0X-2g
My Booktube Spin TBR video: https://youtu.be/UqXne0-dtWE

Books in this video:
Thunderstruck (2006) Erik Larson
Dead Wake (2015) Erik Larson

Cats in this video: Irving!

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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3/19 - Free and East Zero Waste | 1 More Month of Zero Waste | March Check in | Bag Swap

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos three times a week. I post about creative simple living: books, cats, zero waste, bullet journaling, beach life, and more!

How are you doing with this month’s 1 More Month of Zero Waste Challenge? We are keeping an eye on all the plastic bags that are in our lives and swapping them out for more sustainable options.

March Challenge here: https://youtu.be/ZEYaYJJf4fw

Feb: https://youtu.be/8RewurP4A-0
Jan: https://youtu.be/Gs2W6Ngdl0s

Cats in this video: Martin meowing!

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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Recommending Books to My Favorite Booktuber | 3 Books BooksnadLaLa Might Like | Books Reccs

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos three times a week. I post about creative simple living: books, cats, zero waste, bullet journaling, beach life, and more!

I was so nervous to make this video!! I have been wanting to make one like this for a little while. Thanks Hannah Snow White Reader for the inspiration and courage! Check out her channel here:

Here are a few book recommendations for @BooksandLaLa. I hope she reads them someday and I hope she likes them! But NO pressure!!

Books in this video:
Bunny Modern (1998) David Bowman
The Crying of Lot 49 (1965) Thomas Pynchon
The Raw Shark Textst (2007) Steven Hall

Bunny Modern was also mentioned in my Re Read Tag Video: https://youtu.be/haM9XJJkdus

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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Weekly Video Round Up #14 - 3/8/21 - 3/14/21

3/8 - 1 More Month of Zero Waste | Bag Swap | March 2021 | Easy and Free Zero Waste | Zero Waste Booktuber

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos three times a week. I post about creative simple living: books, cats, zero waste, bullet journaling, beach life, and more!

For our March 1 More Month of Zero Waste challenge we are swapping out bags to be more sustainable. Whether you are a zero waste newbie or a seasoned pro, we can all swap out what we use for a more sustainable option. In this challenge there is no need to buy anything new!! The most sustainable option is often what you already have and can get use of.

What bags can you swap this month?

Some of the bags mentioned:
(most of these are from Mighty Nest. I’m not sponsored but I wish I was bc I love them!!!)
Bee’s Wrap: https://mightynest.com/shop/kitchen/food-storage/bee-s-wrap-assorted-3-pack
Plant based Bee’s Wrap sandwich bag : https://mightynest.com/shop/kitchen/food-storage/wraps-and-covers/plant-based-sandwich-wrap
Silicone bag: https://mightynest.com/shop/kitchen/food-storage/reusable-storage-bags/silicone-food-storage-bag
Produce bag: https://mightynest.com/shop/reusable-bags/organic-cotton-net-produce-bag
Cotton grocery bag: https://www.simpleecology.com/shop/organic-cotton-deluxe-reusable-canvas-grocery-bags

Cats in this video: Martin!

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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3/10 - My Physical TBR | all the books I need to read | TBR Shelf | Basement Box Books | Backlist Booktuber

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos three times a week. I post about creative simple living: books, cats, zero waste, bullet journaling, beach life, and more!

Here is my physical TBR. Take a tour of my TBR shelf, my messy basement, and revisit my Booktube Spin list.

Books in this video:
too many!!

Cats in this video: Martin!

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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3/15 - I Hate Hauls | Or Do I?!?! | First Thoughts On video | Super rambling and ranty thoughts on hauls

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos three times a week. I post about creative simple living: books, cats, zero waste, bullet journaling, beach life, and more!

This is the start of a series of ramble-y videos about things that I’m not sure how to get in other videos.

How do you feel about hauls? Do you love them or hate them? Do you do do regular book hauls, library hauls, second hand book hauls?

Let’s start a convo!!

Booktube mentioned:
Emma - Drinking by My Shelf: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBv9PyaDIjq_7nnTreH93_A
Book Break: https://www.youtube.com/user/panmacmillanbooks

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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1 More Month of Zero Waste | Bag Swap | March 2021

Two of the main ideas behind this 1 More Month of Zero Waste is that the challenges 1) are free (or can be), easy 2) and can be modified for all levels of zero waste.

Too often the zero waste movement is focused on esthetics and buying items to look a certain way within the movement. Helping the environment through zero waste should be multi-sectional, easy and accessible for everyone. You should not have to buy anything to join the low impact movement or become more zero waste.

Another aspect of zero waste that is very important is that you will never be done with zero waste. Once you decide to start your journey, it ever ends. Even the most seasoned zero waster has more to learn and can do better.

In 1 More Month to Zero Waste, we try to achieve both these zero waste agendas.

For March, our challenge is a Bag Swap. If you are a beginner, new to Zero Waste, try switching to paper at the grocery, or try not bagging your produce before check out. If you are intermediate, try to challenge yourself to always bring a cloth bag when shopping whether at the grocery or any other shop, don’t bag your produce, or only bag it in reusable bags. If you are advanced, remember to bring your cloth bags to every shop, and try to cut out bags else where (the food you eat, the products you buy, etc…). If you have somehow mastered how to not use any plastic bags, try educating someone else or give up some other plastic item!

All the levels of this challenge do not have to cost anything. You can run out and buy cotton shopping bags, but try to find things around the house you can use instead. You can make reusable produce bags, but try using something you already have first.

Where are you in your bag swap journey?

One More Month to Zero Waste | February 2021 (Like Feb 2019)

Over the last two years, Mad Cat Quilts did a 6 More Months to Zero Waste project. In 2021, we are taking what we learned from that project and reenforcing it 1 More Month at a time. We will be looking at the orininal challenges and recreating them so that we can get better at zero waste. This project is happening at my youtube channel.

Learning to become more zero waste will always be an ongoing practice. One will never be truly zero waste. But that very fact is why we must strive towards that final outcome and refresh our practice continually. Each time we tackle a challenge we will learn something new, or get closer to our goal.

One important step to zero waste is to see what we have. We cannot all be minimalists, so many of us have a lot of things. A good first step is to see what we already have and see what of that we can use up. So this month we are taking time to declutter our homes and lives. Be decluttering, we can assess what we have, what we can use up and where we can cut down.

The thought of decluttering everything might be daunting. To make this challenge easier follow these simple steps:
Make a list of everything that is a priority for you to declutter
Declutter as many things on your list as you can during this month
Finish one area before you move on to the next

Check out the video here.

What are you choosing to declutter this month?

Find other 1 More Month to Zero Waste challenges here:
Jan Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog/2021/1/8/6-more-months-of-zero-waste-the-end-of-6-more-months
Jan Video: https://youtu.be/Gs2W6Ngdl0s
Jan follow up: https://youtu.be/Eu-k-JlTk8g
Feb Video: https://youtu.be/8RewurP4A-0

Weekly Video Round Up #8 - 1/25/2021 - 1/31/2021

1/25/2021 - How to Read More Nonfiction | 3 Tips to Read More in 2021 | Booktube and Cats | Backlist Booktuber

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I post about Creative Simple Living; books, cats, zero waste, bullet journaling, beach life, and more!

Want to read more nonfiction in 2021? Try my three simple steps! Name one nonfiction book you want to read in the comments!

Cats in this video: Martin is a menace.

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...

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1/29/2021 - Trash Audit Check In | 1 More Month to Zero Waste | Recycling Info | Low Impact Movement | Low Waste

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos on Mondays and Fridays. I post about books, cats, zero waste, bullet journaling, beach life, and simple creative living!

We have been getting closer to a Zero Waste Lifestyle, one month at a time. Last month, we took two weeks to audit our trash. Here are my results, how did you do?

1 More Month to Zero Waste: January - https://youtu.be/Gs2W6Ngdl0s

Cats in this video: none

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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1/30/2021 - The BookTube Spin | Round One | 20 Books to Spin! | Backlist Booktuber | Nonfiction

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. I post about creative simple living, books, cats, zero waste, bullet journaling, beach life, and more!

Welcome to The Booktube Spin! Created by Rick Macdonell, the rules are simple:
Pick 20 books on your TBR to read
Number each book (choose themes if you want to break them up)
Put that list up on social media
Check back in on Jan 31st too see what number the spin lands on
Read that book by March 31st!

Rick’s Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGujr-dBMVw&t=0s
and here is his list:

I broke my list into categories so let’s take a look.
BookTube Spin 2021 List
(intimidating)
1- The Private Patient (2008) PD James
2 - Big Bang, A Novel (2019) David Bowmen
3 - Be Here Now (1971) Ram Dass
4 - Witches of Eastwick (1984) John Updike
(modern classics)
5 -Our Man in Havana (1962) Graham Greene
6 - The Pearl (1947) John Steinbeck
7 - Starship Troopers (1959) Robert Heinlein
8 - Carry On Jeeves (1925) PG Wodehouse
(mysteries/thrillers)
9 - A Murder is Announced (1950) Agatha Christie
10 - The Maltese Falcon (1929) Dashiell Hammet
11 - Rebecca (1939) Daphne De Muriexx
12 - Mad Mouse (2006) Chris Grubenstein
(nonfiction)
13 - Mr Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonders (1995) Lawrence Weschler
14 - Salt (2002) Mark Kurlansky
15 - Dead Wake (2015) Erik Larson
16 - Continuing the Good Life (Maine) (1979) Scott and Helen Nearing
(short stories/collections)
17 - The Salmon of Doubt (2002) Douglas Adams
18 - Flappers and Philosophers (1920) F Scott Fitzgereld
19 - Japanese Fairy Tales (1903) Edited by Philip Smith
20 - The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1961) Ernest Hemingway

Cats in this video: no cats today

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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Mad Cat Capsule | Winter 2021 (Jan, Feb, Mar)

One reason for making a Capsule Wardrobe is to make getting dressed simple. Having a set capsule allows you to easily get dressed, easily have each outfit reflect your style, and take the doubt and confusion or concern out of getting dressed so that we don’t suffer from decision fatigue, over buying, and negative body images.

Ideally, everything in your capsule, no matter the season, goes together for the most part. Every piece is something that you like and fits you well, and that you feel good in. A Capsule should be curated and therefore thought out before buying, cutting down on over-buying. If you are interested in sustainability, many of your pieces will be slow fashion. In my opinion, even if you are not interested in sustainability most of your capsule will be slow fashion as well, bc I believe that that is what makes up the best capsule. Clothing that you have had a long time and love, staples that are well made, thrifted items (in order to try out new trends without spending too much money), are all items that should be your capsule and these are all slow fashion.

Things to avoid in your capsule are cheap fast fashion. Not only are these mostly made by slave labor with deplorable conditions (which we do not want to support and also do not want to let that energy into our lives), but they are made with only easy money and changing trends in mind. These clothes don’t fit well, don’t last, aren’t made of quality fabrics, get stretched or misshapen or simply fall apart. Not to mention a drain on our environmental resources, human resources, and our mental health. We should also avoid the clothes we love, but do not fit us, or make us feel good. Keep tee clothes somewhere and try them on periodically but don’t wear them if you they don’t serve you at this time.

For my Capsule this Winter, I’m thinking about all these things, but I’m also striving to push myself when getting dressed. Now that I will be going to work less, I could and have easily fallen into the trap of never getting dressed. Staying in PJs all day is very enticing. But this quarter, I want to make sure that my capsule is serving me and making my life easier, but also inspiring me to get dressed!

One of the great things about a capsule wardrobe, especially a slow fashion based one, is that you can play with it! It has all clothes you love, that you know work, so you can add a few pieces to try, or bunch some together that you normally wouldn’t. Do you usually wear all dresses, but have a pair of pants in each quarter? why not try all the pants together? If you don’t usually count athleisure in your capsule, but find that’s all your wearing, why not make a capsule of those clothes and see how you like wearing them in different environments? Have a collection of silk pajamas you just don’t want to take off these days, try making them outerwear!

Personally, I was in a rut of not getting dressed, so the first thing I want to do with this capsule is use it every day. It’s even one of my 2021 quarterly goals. Next, I want to wear things that usually get neglected in my capsule, especially in winter. Dresses, flowey pants, and specifically skirts are a priority for the next few months. Making sure I wear them and making them winterized is the challenge.

4 tanks - brown (10+ years), blue and white (above, 10+ years,) black strappy (15+ years). white lace (5+ years)

3 vests - this is an unusual category for me, but I want to wear my vests! - lace (5+ years), orange (handmade, thrifted, vintage?), blue wool cut out (15+)

5 T shirts - Forgotten Boardwalk (local biz), parthanon (3+ years), vermillion (thrifted), grey AA (ethical, sustainable, 10+ years), Sounds (gifted).

5 short sleeved shirts - grey wool sweater (vintage, thrifted), brown silk (vintage, thrifted), emily pleated (hand me down), black and white crop (10+ years), brown floral (vintage, thrifted).

8 long sleeved shirts - grey silk button down (vintage, thrifted), snake print turtle neck (vintage, thrifted), grey mockneck (vintage, thrifted), white button down (15+ years), grey scoop neck henley thermal (10+), blue tie dye sweatshirt (thrifted, perhaps my newest piece), AA grey thermal henley (15+), brown extra long thermal (18+), leopard turtleneck (vintage, thrifted), grey thermal (hand me down, 5+).

9 sweaters - grey cardi (hand me down, vintage), anchor (thrifted), grey turtle neck (thrifted), black and white (hand made, thrifted), vermillion cardi (10+), cream mockneck (thrifted), confetti (thrifted), brown cardi (vintage, thrifted).

1 jacket - leopard silk (vintage, thrifted).

3 dresses - this isn’t too many, but my plan is to wear them more often that in a usual capsule - white eyelet (hand made, vintage, thrifted), black sweater (5+ years), black and white rabbit (5+ years).

4 Pants - brown silk harem pants (vintage, thrifted), brown linen (ethical, sustainable, thrifted), brown plaid (vintage, thrifted), AA blue linen (sustainable, ethical, 10+).

5 jeans -fleece lined wranglers (vintage, thrifted), blue skinny (sustainable, ethical), Grey skinny (sustainable, ethical), black skinny ( thrifted, 5+), engineer (thrifted).

7 skirts - here is the meat of what I’m going out on a limb with this capsule - black sweater (vintage, thrifted), grey wool (vintage, thrifted), brown leather (vintage, thrifted), orange mini sweater (10+), floral cord (vintage, thrifted), black velvet skater (hand me down), black flowy (10+).

Thats a little over 50 pieces, which is right where I usually hover with my 3 month capsule. The prominent colors are grey (duh), brown, black, and vermillion with some white and cream, and orange. I didn’t include leggings and tights or shoes here. I’m counting them as the winterizing accessories this season.

A full flip through will be going up on the channel soon and I will add that link here when available.

Are you challenging yourself this season with your capsule? What challenges are does your current environment (working from home, the weather, your job or home life changing) present? How are you thinking about your capsule this quarter? Keeping it the same, or trying something new?

Leave your thoughts in the comments!

6 More Months of Zero Waste | The End of 6 More Months?

For more than two years Mad Cat Quilts has featured posts called 6 More Moths of Zero Waste. In this challenge series, we take 6 month increments to get started or work towards becoming better at zero waste. Each month for a 6 month block we tackle a zero waste problem and learn how to be more sustainable, more zero waste, become better at being plastic free. We would usually tackle these challenges the 6 months leading up to Plastic Free July and for the 6 month after PFJ.

In those years we have learned what trash we throw away when we did a trash audit, we’ve done meatless Monday, we’ve learned how to shop second hand, we’ve stopped buying bottled water, learned to grow our own food, and how to compost our scraps, we have become more aware of our consumption and waste, we have become better at the low impact movement lifestyle and we have found ways to use less plastic!

We were chugging reight along for those last few yers. But what happened in December of 2020? Well, that’s question that we could ask about every month in 2020. The last installment of the last block of 6 More Months of Zero Waste will happen…. Eventually.

This was a super fun series and it let me and my reader make new roads towards a more zero waste lifestyle.

But now, it’s time to reinforce some of what we learned in all those 6 month block. As we all know, Zere waste is the goal, but it’s a life long on going journey. We will have times where we fall back into bad habits, or get slack on those we keep. IN order to help us move forward, we can revisit the things we learned to make sure that we are still incorporating them in our daily lives. We will call this One More Month to Zero Waste.

If you feel ready for a refresher, you can go back to the beginning of the blog series, or take a look at any of the blog posts to see past month’s challenges. You can start at the beginning, or you can hop around. Over on my youtube channel we’ll be going month to month with small actionable challenges, based on 6 More Months to Zero Waste starting now! There are many ways to follow along and make every month a chance to be better at zero waste!

Did you have a favorite challenge from this series? One that surprised you? One you already did? What challenges do you feel the need to revisit? Leave us a comment!

Zero Waste Product Review | Who Gives a Crap Toilet Paper

I had heard about Who Gives A Crap Toilet Paper and it’s zero waste mission many times before. But I hate the name.

Why would I use a product, even a good one, if it’s very name is offensive to me? I would never have bought this product myself, but was luckily gifted it by my mother in law.

You know your family understands your zero waste aspirations when they buy you TP out of the blue.

Firstly, yes, at this point in my zero waste journey, I still use toilet paper. Secondly, we usually buy a very large supply of TP, that is made from recycled materials, comes wrapped in paper packaged in a cardboard box. We recycle the paper wrapping, the inner tubes, and the box. The box lasts us over a year.

What can one say about toilet paper? The WGAC paper is fancier, softer, has more ply then than the one we use. It also come wrapped in paper, has a tube and, when you buy in bulk, comes packaged in a cardboard box. I would guess the actual practices of manufacture are better than the one we use, with more of an eye to sustainability then thrift. The wrapping and distinctive narrative is much more trendy and “attractive”.

Besides the pretty wrapping, the major draw for WGAC TP is that 50% if the profits go to building toilets around the world. The website is a little vague about where and how these toilets are built, but the idea that toilets and a safe and sanitary place to do your business are a basic right seems great. Not only do they provide that, the also reduce waste in waterways and other forms of pollution.

WGAC is a little more than 2 times more expensive (when you buy the best deal supply) then the one we currently use, which over all is a small price to pay for the sustainability and activism that comes with it.

Even though I don’t really care about fancy TP generally, I would definitely recommend Who Gives A Crap in everything other than name.

Have you used this or any other sustainable TP you could recommend?

Video | 4 Easy and Affordable Zero Waste Bathroom Swaps | Low Impact Movement | Bathroom Swaps

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos on Mondays and Fridays.
I’m back with 4 easy and affordable zero waste swaps! These are all easy bathroom swaps to help you on your zero waste journey. When you are switching over to a more zero waste lifestyle, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to throw out the items you already have. Use up what you have before buying new! The zero waste life often seems unobtainable to many people bc it seems like you have to spend a lot of money, but that’s not true! Zero waste swaps can be really affordable and usually save you money in the long run!

Do you use any of these zero waste products? What other ZW bathrooms swaps do you use?

Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve Co: https://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com
QShave: https://www.qshave.com
Essential oils on MightyNest: https://mightynest.com/shop/wellness/essential-oils

Cats in this video: none!

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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6 More Months of Zero Waste | Find the Hidden Plastic | November

At this point in your Zero Waste Journey you might be getting pretty adept at avoiding the major plastic and waste items. Plastic bags, plastic straws and single use water bottles are among some of the easier, more obvious, single use waste generators to avoid. Some items we have identified, like tetra-paks, to go coffee cups, disposable bathroom items might be less obvious and took us more time to root out of our lives. These items may be harder to give up completely.

Having become used to avoiding these two categories of waste, we have to move on to the next step. Time to level up in our zero waste journey and learn to avoid the more hidden plastic in our day to day lives.

Moving to the next step definitely involves more research and attention to detail. Reading labels, identifying what other names plastic goes by, and making sure to weed out hidden plastic items that we already own will take work.

I’m not much a tea drinker, so it’s taking me a while to get thru these old tea bags. When I use one, I rip it open, put the leaves in the compost and throw away the bag that contains plastic.

Here are some items you might not know contain plastic:

Kraft or paper looking to go containers - similar to to-go cups, these seem like paper, but are lined with plastic cannot be recycled or composted. Don’t be fooled! Bring your own togo container, or choose take out that use non coated containers.

Most clothing - polyester, acrylic, and nylon, are all plastic fibers. try to avoid them. Check labels, and try to buy only natural fibers. You don’t have to donate or throw away the clothes you love that contain plastic, but get a micro plastic catching bag to wash the plastic items you have already in your wardrobe.

Tea bags - almost all tea bags have plastic in them. Get loose leaf tea to avoid worrying about it!

Tampons and other menstrual products - tampons and pads are mostly made from or packaged in plastic. There are many alternatives, like menstrual cups, period underwear and reusable pads.

Disposable masks - these may seem like cloth but they are actually mostly plastic and will break down to micro plastics that will get into the soil, sea and air. These and other disposable PPE are quickly becoming the fastest growing litter on land and in the ocean. Use reusable cloth mask to protect yourself and others!

These are only a few examples of everyday hidden plastics. Are there others you know of and avoid? Share them in the comments!

I try to avoid take out, but sometimes we do end up getting something to go in a box lined with plastic. I wash these out and reuse them as much as possible.

If you are new to this series, here’s what we are working on for this 6 moth block. Follow along or pick and choose challenges to try:
June 2020- Say NO, Say Yes
PLASTIC FREE JULY
August 2020 - Carry No Disposables
September 2020 - back to school/educate
October 2020 - Beach clean
November 2020 - Hidden plastic
December 2020 - Repair before you replace

We started our tackling new zero waste challenges six months at a time in 2019:
January 2019 - Trash Audit
We separated and looked our trash to see what we are throwing away and what we can reduce.
February 2019- Declutter Everything
We went thru what we have to declutter and reduce.
March 2019- Switch to Paper
This month we moved to paper to get one step closer to reusables.
April 2019- Compost
Composting is an easy way to reduce food waste and prevent it from reaching the landfill.
May 2019- Meatless Monday
One of the best ways to improve the environment is to stop eating factory farmed meat and industrial fish. Small steps lead to big change so this month we gave up meat (or dairy or fish) for at least one day.
June 2019- No Bottled Water
We gave up bottled water as an avenue to give up more disposable plastic in Plastic Free July.
July 2019 - Plastic Free July!
Go plastic free this month!

In late 2019, we continued our journey to becoming more zero waste:
November 2019 - Zero Waste Kit
We created a zero waste kit to help us be more zero waste in our day to day life.
December 2019- No Gifts
We took Dec to give no gifts and get no gifts.
January 2020 - Clothing and Fast Fashion
This month we explored what fast fashion is, and how we can stop buying it forever.
February 2020- Use Mass Transit
The shortest month seemed like a good time to explore alternatives to driving our cars.
March 2020 - Bathroom Make-over
You’ve swapped out a few items to more sustainable choices around the house. It’s time to tackle a full room.
April 2020- Grow Your Own Food
April marks the start of spring in the continental USA, and when we can start growing food easily. But there are many ways and time to grow your some of own food.

Pandemic Pantry | Zero Waste Winter Meals

Recently, I mentioned the joy of using up the last of summer’s bounty. We love summer for it’s fresh fruit and veg. We don’t buy many of these items in the winter bc they are heavily packaged, out of season, not local and don’t taste as good. It worth waiting for a really delicious fresh tomato in our opinion.

In the summer we tend to choose light fresh easy to make meals.

In the winter, we like to have the stove or oven on. We make heartier, warmer, more elaborate, more comforting meals. Here’s what we have been eating more since the weather has changed.

Soup!!
I was soo excited to start making soups again. I am a soup all year round kinda person, but in Fall and Winter, they are particularly enjoyable. Soup is great for your pandemic pantry: Inexpensive, great for using up ingredients that might otherwise go to waste, they freeze well, are quick and easy to make or reheat, among other reasons. We love creamy soups, ramen, and miso soup the most.

Tacos, quesadillas or taco like things
Rice, beans, veggies, tofu, cheese, hot sauce, sour cream, etc… add any and all the good thing to a tortilla, chip or bowl and you got a great meal. These are great Summer meals, with fresh Summer veggies, pico de gallo, but works just as well with pre made salsa, a good way to use the tomatoes you froze, or try winter veggies. All good ways to get the most out of your Winter pandemic pantry.

Pirogies
We love these warming hearty potato and pasta pillows with onions and sour cream. We buy ours pre-made, but choose them packaged without plastic. I like lots of onions, practically burnt. The sour cream in this meal isn’t zero waste, although I have been trying out vegan sour creams to reduce the waste it creates. I would also like to learn to make my own vegan sour cream someday.

Pasta with red sauce
I’m so happy that my favorite pasta company now uses less plastic! I was buying it anyway and recycling the bags, but now I feel even better recycling the cardboard. Pasta is always a great option and so easy top keep in your pandemic pantry. I always make my own tomato sauce: you can check out my recipe here. Make the sauce and keep in the fridge for about a week, or freeze in portions and defrost as needed.

Sides meal
Mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, stuffing, and/or anything else you can think of can be a sides meal. We def always have mashed potatoes and veg, but other than that, go nuts. Sometimes we play it up with gravy, or sauces and dressings, but mostly we just eat up what ever needs eating in the fridge.

Tofu and rice
This is one of the simplest meals we make, but literally every time we eat it, I’m amazed at how delicious it is. I make the rice, set aside, boil broccoli for about 2 minutes, throw large diced tofu in there right before draining to warm through. Assemble and serve. We like chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and peanuts as toppings, but this is another area where you can use up any sauces or extras you need to eat.

We’ll rotate these meals a few times a month in the Winter. With some of the meals, like soup, we’ll eat them a few days in a row. when this happens we often have a big soup for dinner, bread, maybe a salad, and then the next day soup for lunch with any left overs. Finally, we may have the last of the soup as a side, or starter.

None of these meals are totally zero waste, but we try our best and that’s all you can do. With Winter meals we just try to be as mindful as possible.

What are some of your favorite Winter meals? Do you eat differently season to season?

Video | Fall Capsule Wardrobe Flip Through | Fall 2020 Capsule Wardrobe | Thrifted Slow Fashion Wardrobe | Zero Waste Wardrobe

Hi, I’m Mo.
Thanks for joining me today! I post videos on Mondays and Fridays.
Here is (most of) my Fall 2020 capsule wardrobe. My capsules usually consist of about 50 items give or take. I don’t count sleepwear, underwear, or outerwear in my capsule. I didn’t include a few items that were in the wash or what I was currently wearing in this video. All my capsules are slow fashion, thrifted, and zero waste.

More about this capsule here: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog/2020/9/25/mad-cat-capsule-fall-2020-oct-nov-dec

Do you keep a capsule wardrobe? would you like to see more videos about my capsule wardrobe or about them in general?

Cats in this video: Flounder

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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Mad Cat Capsule | Fall 2020 (Oct, Nov, Dec)

Let’s talk about capsule inspiration pieces: what’s new and what stays the some.

I find that there are lots of pieces that I never take out of my capsule. I often look at these items and think about switching them out. Then, as I’m going thru making my new capsule, I find that I just can’t take them out! This is not to say that they are always a great inspiration to me. Mostly they are too useful, too basic to let go of, even for one season.

In making my fall capsule there were many peices that I left in. I didn’t even complete my capsule until over a month into the quarter. I even thought about not changing my capsule this quarter. I knew I would need more cold weather clothes, so I did eventually switch over. But I feel that the next shift, from Fall to Winter, will be very minor.

In a way, this sounds like there was no inspiration in this capsule. But really, the basics, the utilitarian and simple are the inspiration! My Summer capsule was working so well, was so easy to use, that I almost didn’t need to switch it over. I anticipate this happening again Fall to Winter. In Many ways, thats the goal for a capsule. Not needing to switch out an entire wardrobe only a few weather dependent pieces.

My color scheme for this quarter is dark and light grey (surprise, surprise), black, deep brown, denim blue, and various pops of color. I’m really into thermal long sleeves this capsule.

4 dresses - dark denim (thrifted), chambray (thrifted), white eyelet (thrifted), rorschach (small biz, ethical, 7+ years old).

6 pants - everlane blue (ethical, sustainable), everlane grey (not pictured, ethical, sustainable), red (thrifted), brown linen (thrifted eileen fisher, ethical, sustainable), American Apparel brown (ethical, 10+), raw edge (not pictured, thrifted).

1 skirt - tea length (10+)

3 cardigans - light grey (hand me down), brown (hand me down), dark grey (hand me down).

4 sweaters - teal (not pictured, 5+ ), black eye (thrifted, vintage), black and white (7+), orange vest (thrifted, hand made, vintage).

5 button down - red and blue (10+), white (15+), blue henley (5+), brown (5+), blue chambray (found).

3 long sleeve - lace sweat shirt (thrifted), talulas baseball (work tee, local, ethical sustainable), leopard mock neck (vintage and thrifted).

4 waffle tees - dark grey henley (10+), AA light grey (10+, ethical, sustainable), dark grey (5+, hand me down), brown (15+).

4 “nice” tees - rainbow (vintage and thrifted), pleated black (hand me down), brown silk (vintage and thrifted), yellow silk (vintage and thrifted).

7 tee shirts (not pictured) - aa grey (10+, ethical, sustainable), black mets (thrifted), blue mets (thrifted), spiritualized (band, artist), sounds tee (aaa baseball, gifted), talulas hugging pizzas (work, locally printed, local artist).

4 tanks (not pictured) - white lace (7+), black crop (15+), grey (10+), purple (5+).

that’s about 45 pieces, but I’m sure there are one and two that escaped me as I made this post. A lot of these are staple items, but that’s what was inspiring this quarter! Since this capsule took me a long time to put together, I will be only swapping out a few items for my next capsule this winter. I’m already feeling happy with that idea. And I already have a few of the swaps in mind…

What does your capsule look like this quarter?

Video | Garden Walk No. 1 | Late Fall Garden | Cat in the Garden | Walk with Me

Hi, I’m Mo.
I post videos every Friday and Monday. Thanks for joining me today! Walk with me in our raised bed garden. Here is late Fall in our garden. There are still flowers, tomatoes, peppers, kale and lettuces, and much more. But bc the weather is getting cooler, the garden is winding down. I’m not the only one taking a garden walk today! Irving is walking in the garden, too!

What other plant and flowers can you spot in this video?

A word about zero waste and the garden:
We try to live a zero waste lifestyle and this extends to the garden as well! We do buy plants from local markets, but we always reuse the plastic pots they come in. We do occasionally buy bags of soil but we try to buy soil in bulk. When we have plastic soil bags, we reuse them or wash them out and recycle them with other plastic bags. We thrift or forage a lot of our pots and containers, wood and shelves for the garden.

Are you a zero waste gardener? Do you have tips or tricks? Would you like to see a video on how we use or reduce waste in the garden?

Cats in this Video: Irving

Original music by audionightlight. https://soundcloud.com/anlight/tracks

Blog: http://www.madcatquilts.com/blog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madcat1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120401161-ana-mo-shoshin

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Something New | Seed Saving

We had our garden for several years now and this is the second year we have saved seeds. Last year, we saved seeds ideally. “let’s keep the seeds and see what happens…” but this year we are saving with a purpose! Almost with a fervor. So this can still be considered something new.

The first year we saved seeds, we saved pepper seeds almost exclusively. When we planted them at the beginning of this year, a lot of them were viable! We got a pepper crop from our old peppers! How exhilarating! It made us want to collect all sorts of seeds and try to grow them next year. We saved seeds from all our favorite items that we grew this year; tomatoes, peppers, flowers, peas, edamame, and more. My husband is great about researching how is the best way to gather, and save seeds. I usually just pick something, let it dry and get those seeds. what’s the worst that can happen?

Once we exhausted everything in our garden we started looking else where for seeds. Anything we ate, the question came up, can we save the seeds? If we took a walk and saw a fallen flower or plant. Can we save the seed? When we got our holiday pumpkins we thought - we can save the seeds! And when we visited community gardens we searched for fallen fruit and veg to save the seeds!

Now we are seed foragers and plan to grow all sorts of interesting things that we might not have if we hadn’t found the seeds. Ground cherries, why not? Pumpkin patch in the yard, sounds good! It’s been a fun adventure to seek out seeds. It’s zero waste, saving us money and it’s an enjoyable pastime. And it will be a fun adventure to see which seeds are viable next year.

If you garden, do you save seeds each season? Have you had good luck or bad?