Naught New

I am currently conducting a personal journey of living more sustainably called Four Months of Nothing New, modeled after my friend Kristin’s year of nothing new. My four months are from January 4^th to May 4^th 2020, so 122 days inclusive of the start and end dates. Here’s why.

It started when I finished reading Walden (which took me a rather long time to finally finish) and moved on to the next book on my to-read list: A Year of Nothing New by Kristin Skarie. I tend to read the first half of a book and then leave it for a while before starting over and trying again later. That’s what ended up happening with both Walden and A Year of Nothing New (and the book that I am currently reading, Why We Sleep). Anyway, I’ve pretty much always tried to live a sustainable life, and I was raised to live frugally and manage my resources wisely. Starting last summer, I attended a few climate conferences and joined the #FridaysForFuture climate strike movement, so I felt like I needed to take a closer look at my values and how I live them.

I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions. If I want to make a change, I don’t need the social construct of a “new year” to get started. I can generally generate enough motivation to at least start the process of making a change from the dissatisfaction I feel. I will admit, though, that the start of the new year (and the new decade) came at an opportune time, as I started reading A Year of Nothing New in December.

Just as Kristin did in her book, I need to start out by stating that I am VERY privileged in many ways, and I am aware that I am very privileged. Specifically in regard to financial obligations, I do not have to worry about student debt, having a place to live, having food to eat, finding a job, and having disposable income to occasionally spend on seeing local musicals and eating out. This privilege is what allows me to make the purchasing decisions that I do, and many people cannot afford to make such decisions. So many people in the world are struggling just to make a living and feed their families, and millions of people live in areas that will eventually be (if they have not already been) made unlivable by the effects of climate change, which is a related issue that I will probably (but actually most certainly) occasionally rant about, given how much I care about it. Financial insecurity is not a struggle that I know, and I try my best to remember and be thankful that I do not know it.  

In that same vein, living independently and living with my parents are two things that I would call mutually exclusive, and I currently inhabit the latter category. We share a lot of things for the sake of time/money efficiency (including the fact that I am not paying rent so that I can save money for when I do move out), and I can’t control their purchasing decisions. Therefore, I am doing what I can where I currently am, and I aim to incorporate my personal goals into my nothing new goals to become an overall better version of myself.

Given that I live in a developed country and do not have to worry about money, I have more time to think about other things, like how to reduce my personal impact on the planet’s limited supply of resources. Something that I was feeling guilty about that helped spur my decision to commit to four months of nothing new was the fact that I was buying frozen vanilla chai tea lattes from Wawa.  I visit Wawa to buy gas and sometimes during my lunch break when I work offsite, so I made little effort to resist the temptation. They taste so good, and I’m not going to miss the $3 (again, I recognize the privilege of not having to worry about tracking my spending). I was bringing my own metal straw, so I was able to recycle the plastic lid and cup, but I still felt guilty about using the plastic in the first place.

First of all, the majority of plastic does not get recycled, and in fact ends up in landfills, incinerators, or the ocean. Of the 20 or 30% of plastic that does get recycled, the type of plastic that generally makes up plastic cups and water bottles, polyethylene terephthalate or PET, is downcycled. That means that it decreases in quality and cannot be a water bottle again, so it instead must become a different product with lower quality requirements that may or may not be able to be recycled again after it is used. That’s why the slogan “reduce, reuse, and recycle” is in the order in which it is.

It seems obvious now, but it occurred to me that I should start asking for my drink in a paper cup instead of a plastic cup (I was already asking for no lid or straw), so that at least the paper would biodegrade and not sit in a landfill or the ocean for a thousand years, even if it still takes energy to produce that paper cup in the first place. I tried it, and although it was a bit awkward trying to explain why, I enjoyed my chai tea latte more knowing that I wasn’t using any disposable plastic. If I order any more frozen vanilla chai tea lattes from Wawa during the next four months (and beyond), I’ll have to very proactively request a paper cup with no lid or straw to make sure they do not resort to the faulty default.

I could continue with this essay of a first post about my four months of nothing new, but I’ll save the details and additional information for future posts. After all, Kristin wrote a book on her experience (which I recommend you read – you can buy a used copy on Amazon), so maybe that’s just what happens when you try something like this. Here is a condensed laundry list of some of my goals, organized in eleven categories, or tools, as per the book A Year of Nothing New. They should make more sense as I give my weekly updates and share what I hope will be amusing/relatable/educational stories like the one about my Wawa guilt.

January 11^th, Day 8: Saturday update- tool goals that I’ve already started and what I still need to start

• 1: implemented no new things except food and gas/try to buy local if new, $4 in fund
• 2: started to grow veggies on back patio, will actually plant beans soon (waiting for temperatures to be better)
• 3: started at Orlando farmers market to no avail, will seek Kissimmee farmers market and local produce; need to start tracking meatless day/part-time vegetarian
• 4: implemented buying from local restaurants and no chains/fast food, 1 local restaurant
• 5: implemented no phone until after breakfast and computer off by 9:30pm, tried to burn a candle while watching a movie on my laptop to save electricity and ended up filling my room with smoke and setting off the fire alarm, so that’s not feasible
• 6: implemented $5 fine for any disposable plastic utensils/straws/plates/cups, $5 in fund; need to start considering only buying products with recyclable packaging
• 7: need to start detoxing laundry detergent/deodorant/cleaning supplies, but because my nothing new exclusions do not include toiletries and it is short term, this goal will go into effect when I run out of what we already have; need to start by making my own soap with the glycerin I already have
• 8: implemented making things and using what I have for gifts
• 9: started to donate things I don’t need by collecting them, still have to bring them to donation center; started to think about textile recycling, need to do more research
• 10: implemented turning off water in shower when not rinsing; need to start planning additional goals such as researching waste collection/recycling in Orlando and Kissimmee, visiting a landfill, composting, doing a waste/water audit and carrying trash, researching reusable feminine products, considering not using paper towels for personal bathroom trips (needed for cleaning at my job)
• 11: started to track gas usage and train usage and eventually calculate my carbon footprint and offset with nothing new fund at the end of the four months; need to start considering trading in my RAV4 for a hybrid or electric car
• Additional goals: track nothing new fund of any new purchases/disposable plastic (currently at $9), track time volunteering and interning and working, determine motivation months based on larger-scale goals
• Possible motivation months: begin four months of nothing new, future plans (find/apply to summer positions), zero waste goals (do an audit, identify problem areas, reduce where I can), new old car (trade in used for used, goal with the most time/money investment)

Kristin’s classic closing is “Have a Nothing New Day,” but in spite of people wanting to call me Kristin or Christina (or Samantha???), my name is actually Christy and my free web address includes music, so I’ll end with a song. Go in peace and may thee use naught new.