u/robotscantrecaptcha

The Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub Shop is an amazing community resource! They sell tons of items for super affordable prices (often just $1 per pound), which helps divert things from the landfill. They've got a ton of fabric scraps, yarn, craft supplies, and just endless random items. It's perfect for stuff to make Halloween costumes (or other art projects). They also sell holiday cards, gift bags, etc. too for very cheap.

You don't need to be a recycling center member to shop at their store as it's open to the public.

https://www.cincinnatirecyclingandreusehub.org/how-to-shop

[Note: I'm not affiliated with them, I just think they are cool]

I absolutely love the idea of toy libraries! They are libraries that check out toys for children instead of books. You can find these libraries in a number of different countries and communities around the world. Kids have access to high quality toys without contributing to the endless cycle of purchasing then discarding.

Does anyone have personal experience with a toy library in their own community?

Mine tried to start one about a decade ago and it hobbled along for several years before closing post-COVID for lack of funding and community support.

From https://ludo.ch/en/toy-libraries/portrait/

>A toy library is a public space where anyone – of any age – can borrow a wide choice of toys and games. In the same way that a public library loans books, a toy library lends out all kinds of games, puzzles, toys, party equipment and much more. Toy libraries promote play as an active leisure pursuit, and they foster the sociocultural value of play. They enable families and children to try out new toys and games, to spend time playing together, and to avoid accumulating unused toys and games at home. Schools and institutions can also borrow games for use in class or on camp. Some toy libraries have dedicated play areas and tables where you can try out the games onsite. Most toy libraries organise events or workshops for children, teens, or adults.

You can also read- How to Start a Toy Library: https://fairplayforkids.org/pf/how-to-start-a-toy-lending-library/

Photo source: https://www.ttgtoylibrary.org.au/

Was recently watching a video from Cut Off the Spigot, and started wondering more generally how folks in our community practice voting with your dollars.

Are there companies you won’t support even if they have the most affordable products or the best deals?

Being frugal isn’t the same as being cheap. So many of us have other things we value such as locally owned products or small businesses.

>There is a myth, sometimes widespread, that a person need only do inner work, in order to be alive like this; that a man is entirely responsible for his own problems; and that to cure himself, he need only change himself... The fact is, a person is so far formed by his surroundings, that his state of harmony depends entirely on his harmony with his surroundings. (From The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander).

Currently reading Happy City by Charles Montgomery, a non fiction book on urban design. The book discusses the intersections between urban design, community, quality of life, and sustainability. For too long, city design has favored corporations, cars, and isolation. He had a great discussion on reducing car dependency, urban environmentalism projects to improve quality of life, and the downsides of endless sprawl and suburbanization.

Has your community been able to organize a clothing swap, a seed exchange, ban single use cutlery?

Perhaps a more personal win such as mending a shirt or re-using an item rather than buying new.

Image is from https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/ (I'm not affiliated with them, just thought their image was nice)

Creative Re Use stores are specialized thrift stores for art supplies. They divert craft materials from the landfill and support local artists. Here we have an amazing “pay what you can” store as well as one just for teachers and educators. Folks can donate supplies to them as well and they also host craft making events.

Edit: Please do not name or link to your local store as this breaks rule #7 🙁 Your comment will be removed by the mods 🙁 Feel free to share more generally if you also love your local one or the great supplies you have gotten there. Sorry for immediately causing everyone to break one of our sub rules! I don't want this post to get locked for excessive rule violations.

Edit #2: Here are a few directories to help https://www.sadieseasongoods.com/creative-reuse-centers/ and https://www.reuseresources.org/find-a-center.html and https://swoodsonsays.com/a-creative-reuse-center-near-me-map-resource/

Edit #3: If you love your local creative re-use store, I highly recommend posting about it in your local subreddit to spread awareness instead. The more people in your area who know about the re-use store, the better for your local community. Please don't name stores here.

https://www.lapl.org/news-stories/articles/labor-day-america-not-just-another-beach-day

>Labor Day has officially been a national holiday in the United States since 1894 but was celebrated for some time before that. The first Labor Day observance was in New York City on September 5, 1882, when 10,000 workers took unpaid leave and marched through the streets to demonstrate the strength of the trade and labor organizations. The event, which union leaders put on, also included speeches, picnics, fireworks, and amusement. Labor Day soon became a tradition in the city and quickly spread to other parts of the country.

>These nationwide Labor Day celebrations were a part of the larger labor movement in post-Civil War America. At the time, working conditions were grim—with excessively long days, unsafe workplaces, and the use of child labor. Labor activists fought for improvements in these areas but also wanted a federal holiday to recognize workers.

>There was some disagreement among labor union leaders about when this holiday should be celebrated. Some advocated to keep the September date, while others favored May 1st to commemorate the deadly Haymarket Affair, which occurred May 4, 1886, in Chicago. The political establishment was wary of the May date since it was being organized by socialist and communist parties and gaining prominence worldwide. As such, conservative President Grover Cleveland publicly supported the less radically-affiliated September date. (International Workers' Day or "May Day" is still celebrated worldwide but has never had mainstream popularity in America.)

Image is from The Onion, a satire newspaper https://theonion.com/

Was is Marie Kondo who once said people already have all the boxes they need to organize their drawers?

Desk organizer made from three boxes (cut down to size) and a glass jar. I put all my little pieces of paper in one box to use as scratch paper while working.

A local co-op and mutual aid group teamed up to host a clothing swap. Folks could drop off a maximum of one bag of clean items in good condition and/or browse through the offerings. The clothing was organized by type and displayed on tarps or random outdoor furniture.

Extras were donated to several local non-profits who run clothing closets such as a local hygiene drop in center. It was a fun way to meet neighbors, learn about some local organizations, and divert items from the landfill. I think a couple hundred people attended in total which was amazing to see.

Highly recommend looking into local swaps or organizing your own!

The Chef Ann Foundation is a US-based non-profit that promotes from-scratch cooking. For folks outside the US, school cafeterias serving mostly ulta-processed foods is an issue in schools. Until a decade or so ago, school cafeterias mainly made food on site but a number of factors have led to cafeteria food being comprised of shipped-in and reheated ulta-processed foods in many places.

The foundation has a resource repository called The Lunch Box, which contains bulk kid-approved recipes that are healthy and affordable. It's a great resource for vegans, especially if needing to cook for a crowd or have recipes to share for a big event like a potluck.

General Site: https://www.thelunchbox.org/ and the recipes

RIP Dolly Parton! Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school. Dolly was a wonderful advocate for literacy and libraries.

Our local Imagination Library program operates in partnership with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and our own public library system. There are over 30,000 children enrolled in Hamilton County and the free program has provided more than 2 million books to children.

To register a child for Dolly's Imagination Library.

• Ohio residents: www.ohioimaginationlibrary.org
• All other states: www.imaginationlibrary.com

They deserve all the appreciation for their hard work (and cute book displays). We have an amazing library system.

Stats Source: https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-labour/

Image Source: https://www.si.edu/spotlight/labor-day

Happy Back to School Season!

A truly ironic part of our back-to-school consumption season is seeing all the teachers struggle to get classroom supplies they need like pencils and tissues. Meanwhile schools are wasting money on tablets they've been convinced to invest in by ed-tech companies. Then there are all the posts by families saying it's unfair for them to have to send their kids with extra supplies for the classrooms since it shouldn't be their responsibility.

There is also the new social media trend of family influencers filming videos letting their kids choose 7 random new things for 7th grade or 12 new things for 12th grade then showing their haul.

Anti-consumption is also about making sure that we are consuming thoughtfully and the people who need things are able to access them.

Image Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2015649445/

Ate 1/3 of the jar before remembering to take a picture...

Daikon Radishes were on sale this week at my local Asian grocery store. I've slowed down a bit on Cookbook of the Week just because it's honestly too hot here to do much cooking. The author runs Helen's Recipes (https://helenrecipes.com/), which has lots of great vegan recipes although she also publishes a lot of non-vegan recipes too.

Pic One: jar of carrots and radish

Pic Two: Cookbook

Pic Three: Picture of recipe

3CDC recently purchased the abandoned Garfield Suites building downtown with plans to redevelop it. Recently, I was thinking that this would be the perfect site for an affordable retirement community. It's walkable, near the street car, right next to the library, has some outdoor space for residents, close to downtown Kroger etc. They could even put in a cute over the street walkway right into the downtown library so residents could access the events and books.