Hey girl. Thanks for checking in today. It's been a month since we talked about our new monthly challenge initiative, idea courtesy of my sister-in-law. If you recall, we were hoping to limit plastic shopping bags to zero in the month of March. How'd we do? Four. We brought in four bags - NOT including the plastic bags our Amazon Fresh groceries are delivered in, and which we reuse as recycling bags (NYC requires recyclables be packaged in clear bags, so this seems like a legit exception to us). The bag tally: One from me, shopping for Bret's birthday present on a rainy night, one from bagels, one giant one from Burlington Coat Factory just last week, because I couldn't get home Lou's new rug without one, and one in the mail.

Yeah, my grandmother actually sent me a plastic bag in the mail. From Oregon. She wasn't trying to be mean - if it had come from, say, my college roommate, on March 31, as part of an entire shipment of plastic bags, that would be one thing. Almost expected. But my grandmother was using it as sort of cushioning for this very lovely and very festive St. Patrick's Day garland (which she made. She's a crafter).

The garland was a nice addition to our March calendar, and using the bag as packaging is reusing it, so that's green, right? But still, Bret and I were cracking up. Me: "Bret, you brought home the bagels in a plastic bag?" (Subtext: You are FAILING at our monthly challenge Bret). Bret: "I tried! I only have like a 50% success rate in getting them to not put things in bags." (Subtext: The bagel people have all the power. Which is true. The zeal with which New Yorkers double and triple bag things that don't need bags remains astonishing). Me, opening package: "Um, my grandmother just sent me a plastic bag. In the mail. From Oregon." (Subtext: Forget about the bagel bag. We are dealing with forces beyond our control).

So anyway, I don't think four is too terrible, given the level of commitment it took to get there. It's clear from this monthly experiment that it's actually something you have to commit to, more than cursorily, to make a real dent. We'll keep it up, because it's important to us. But, though we were pretty good about actual shopping bags, the broader scourge of plastic? That's still a thing.

These are all the plastic bags we collected this month, including the four I already talked about. They show the ways in which plastic bags are part of our lives - food bags, mail packages, cereal bags, random plastic bags from packaging and the like. If it's in the same vein as a bag I'd get from a store, I take it to our local recycler, which in NYC is many retail stores. If you're interested, NYC stores accept these bags for recycling, as long as they're clean, dry, and food-residue free. Of course, that by itself is a thing - cleaning out these bags - so it's time for me to rig up another drying line to keep in the kitchen for drying these things out. Ideally, I'd like to limit this influx of plastic as well. As we head into spring and summer, we'll do more of our produce shopping fresh and locally and at the farmer's market, so that will mean less packaging. I can buy other things, like grains, in bulk and use my own bags...but they don't sell Kellogg's Special K with Red Berries in bulk, as far as I know, so I'll have to make some lifestyle adjustments. I should probably stop ordering things online. And businesses should probably stop packaging every darn thing in plastic bags. Especially when those bags are doing nothing for security or protection - they're just sort of there. So I guess we'll see how we do.

So that was March. For April, let me introduce you to my secret, sad shame.

That's the fridge. I don't know why we have such trouble with it, but it is always a disaster. Sometimes, like right now, it even smells bad. My goal for April is to get a serious, actual hold on the stupid thing. I plan to clean and organize it and check in weekly to make sure it stays that way, possibly using any tricks I pick up from the blogosphere. We do have zones, I do use baskets to corral things, and still, things are such a mess. So if you have any tips you want to pass on now, please do. I care because I think it makes a difference whether we're using all our food (I HATE wasting food), and I find it stressful to find things in here.

So that's the goal check in, this first Friday in April. Bret's home the weekend, so we rented a car and are going on a family trip. We're not totally sure where we're headed yet, so if you have any thoughts on awesome get-outta-NYC-adventures, let us know. Then next week is Spring Break, so I have a long bucket list of things for Lou and I to "accomplish" in that time. More on that next week! Hope everyone is well, and that if you're celebrating holidays this weekend, they're festive and feature yummy food. Talk Monday!