Upcycle

This couch was left behind my apartment building and as ugly as the fabric is, I decided to reupholster it and make it mine.

Just so everyone knows, it took me 2 months to completely finish it...




But I think the end product was worth those 2 months! :)

Infographics for Principle of Computer Applications Class

I do not own these pictures; used with permission from Microsoft. Pixlar, ClipArt and pikochart were used in order to produce this infograph.

Decreasing Homeless Rate with Plastic Bottles

http://themindunleashed.org/2013/12/america-end-homelessness-one-year.html

Fear

I have let myself almost completely run out of food due to the fact that I have been busy, but more so that I know I can't go shopping without purchasing something in plastic. The way we live today, with copious amounts of plastic, Styrofoam, paper, glass etc. makes it really difficult to live as environmentally as possible. I have started a collection of glass and plastic containers to store leftovers in, however, I have more than enough now. I'm still trying to understand how life has evolved to the point we're at today. Why are we not willing to stop consuming so much excess waste? Do plastic bags, containers and packaging really impact our overall satisfaction in life? or do we simply purchase things without acknowledging what the actual item we want or need is packaged in due to convenience? Is that convenience really necessary?

Today I'm forcing myself to the grocery store with my reusable bags, however I'm really dreading it. Every time I look around stores, I think about how so much of the excess wrapping goes into the oceans and onto the streets, polluting our home at an exponential rate. Frankly, I'm scared of the future. I'm scared to make too much of an impact on the world because I know that there are others out there who are polluting their share and more. If you do anything environmental today, I ask you to put a reusable bag or a plastic bag to be reused in your car or purse. Try not to collect so many plastic bags. What good do they really do anyway? Just get more plastic containers full of food home from the store and then go to our landfills or oceans most of the time.

Plastic, like diamonds, are forever.

I found it really surprising that I was willing to eat, drink and completely trust that whatever plastic was made up of was safe. However, I really don't know what sort of chemicals and toxins go into the plastic making process that causes it not to be biodegradable. Plastic takes anywhere between 700-1,000 years to decompose, yet it never really goes away. Plastic simply breaks down by sunlight, salt water, and other natural occurring things wearing it down to the point of it becoming little bits of the same plastic we purchase every day in which animals constantly mistake as food.

Consider this: the plastic we pay for to be produced for our convenience that doesn't necessarily make our overall life any "better" is used for a short amount of time usually. After we're done using it, some plastic gets recycled, but the rest end up in the ocean or in a landfill. There seagulls and other birds or sea life consume the small parts of plastic such as bottle caps or view a plastic bag as a jelly fish and try to consume it. In some cases, animals actually suffocate from plastic bags! :( To continue, the animals who consume plastic bits are consumed by us... Therefore one could argue that we are consuming the garbage and plastic that was produced for our convenience and harming not only our health, but also taking over the only planet we have.

 

•The average American purchases 167 bottles of water per year.

•90% of the total price we pay goes towards the plastic, yet only 10% goes towards the actual water.

•Plastic makes up approximately 90% of all trash floating in the ocean.

•Plastic production uses 8% of the world’s oil to produce.

 

 Can we live without plastic? Are we in such a huge demand for it that we're willing to

ultimately be living on top of our own plastic that will out live not only us, but many

generations after us? If we were to reduce our consumption of plastic so drastically that

companies stopped making money off of it we could change the irreversible direction we're

leading our ONE home to. Not to mention that we'd be saving more money by reusing glass jars

and reusable bags. What if our supermarkets would take egg cartons back, provide all milk in

glass containers that we could simply refill or also return to the store so it could be sanitized

and reused. What if we didn't rely so heavily upon grocery stores in general and bought

everything we need to survive from the local farmers again like we once had? Plastic containers

seem to be overwhelming our lives, we can put an end to it though. Everything produced is

created for the people right?

Plastics, like diamonds, are forever.

 

 

Consumed into School

I'm sorry I've been so consumed with my crazy school schedule a majority of this month. I've still been picking up empty coffee cups on my walks to recycle as well as carrying a reusable bag when I go shopping. I think the facts posted below might shock some of you. It's always best to be aware of where all our trash goes and how we harm other species trying to survive on this planet.

•Over 1 million plastic bags are used every minute.

•Plastic bags remain toxic even after they break down.

• The average family takes 1,500 plastic bags home each year.

•At least 267 different species are known to have suffered from

entanglement, suffocation or ingestion from plastic bags.

•Save a life and carry a reusable bag!

First of November

This morning I noticed how much darker it's going to be in my apartment during the winter. Thus, I decided I needed a lamp for my room. My first instinct was to go to Target. While walking to the bus stop, I decided that I didn't need a new lamp, so instead, I ventured a little further down to The Salvation Army. I found the cute little lamp in the picture in which I'm going to use an energy saving light bulb and upcycle. I'm going to paint the base a vibrant blue with leftover paint I had from previously painting my kitchen.
Along with the lamp, I also got cute Christmas tins for 66 cents each to wrap my Christmas goodies in! Not only did I save a good chunk of cash, but I also didn't support corporations with making more. I thrift shopped and had fun doing it! What are some things you've upcycled from a thrift shop?