Mari-Lynn Flaig

I find myself buying less, but buying things that are more quality. The less garbage/ consumption I waste money on, the more time and money I have to purchase the things that count.

I have been out to restaurants this weekend, and was offered straws, which I refused. There was one waitress who made a great effort to emphasize that not using them was bad for everyone's health, like I was carrying some disease. I had a conversation with the manager. I expressed my concerns about cleanliness at the restaurant based on her comments.

In turning the conversation around, we had positive discussion about fear based habits, and he liked the idea of staff education, a quality control check on the glasses, not mandatorily handing out straws, but offering one to those who would like them. He saw that was "upping his game" and providing more quality to his clientele, as well as doing his part to save the environment. He's also decided to switch to paper straws as a result of our talk. Let's hope for best with the waitress.

I've collected popsicle sticks, straws, discarded bubble wrap and other miscellaneous things most people would trash to create toys to keep my bird stimulated and busy while I am at work.

Birds are smart and can be destructive if left alone for longer periods of time. You give them toys so they can use their foraging instincts and keep their beaks and claws trimmed.

I didn't realize how hard this was! I used to buy prepackaged seasoned rice dishes, so now I am using bulk rice and putting it in a cannister jar. I'm not as good as a chef in figuring out what seasonings go well with rice. I've also switched from beans in a can to buying dry beans in bulk, but I have to work out the logistics better on when and how long to soak them for.