What have you removed from your life to bring you more happiness?

This month we held our meeting in the new Laughing Planet location in the Ecotrust building. A little cold, but wonderful somewhat sunny Saturday afternoon.

Tangible Items

Almost half of our attendees could relate to moving in the last few years, long or short distances. Brie recalled her story of getting all of her boxes and packing materials from a family who had just moved, used them on her trip out east and then completed the cycle by giving them to another family who was getting ready to move. It’s almost as if those boxes had a long story of their own!

We all related on the many ways to donate and get rid of items we no longer need: Freecycle, CraigsList, Goodwill, Salvation Army and garage sales. None of us missed our old stuff and we all felt freer for doing so. Jennifer related that she had one room in her home that she purposely left empty and loves it. Maybe you could do the same and turn it into a mediation, dance or partying space.

Brie and a few others could relate on signing up for Green Dimes (now Tonic) and have found a definite reduction in junk mail. You can also do this at a few other site: Do Not Mail, Catalog Choice, 41 Pounds, and the DIY version at the Direct Marketing Association. It was also mentioned that you can feed your shredded papers to your worm bin. Never thought of that! Of course, you have to keep in mind the amount you are feeding them.

Some other ways of keeping items out of our homes, but still in our lives, was to use the library. You can borrow so many movies, documentaries, music, books and other entertainment and never have to keep a collection in your own home. Granted, you may need to wait for some of the latest releases but it’s free!

Local Experiences

Jennifer brought up how she would like to create a bike machine that could provide her with energy using her existing bike. Most businesses are trying to sell the whole machine, but we should be able to buy just a few parts to transform our existing assets. If anyone has any information on how to do this, please contact us!

We also touched upon low price or free yoga instruction and it was mentioned that Portland City Parks holds yoga classes in your local parks. We weren’t able to find a link for it as they were still showing their winter schedules, so if anyone has a good link, please let us know! You can also find instructional videos at the library or some studios hold a free class or two to let you find out more about their services. Here is a good example from January that allowed 21 free classes and you could try out 21 different instructors, seeing which one best fit you.

You could also try finding others to skill share with. Maybe you can provide some services for their services in return.

Brie also shared with us that she had done a presentation for her local Toastmasters group about living green and was surprised with how many people were interested and had questions for her after the presentation. Although we all may share our experiences in our green circles, it’s when we step out of them and share with others that we are spreading the message.

Wrapping Up

A book worth checking out: The Gort Cloud by Richard Seireeni

Barbara shared an upcoming event with City Repair and the Humanities Sustainability Research Project. Cheryl shared her new about Leave No Plastic Behind and her efforts to live plastic free for three months. See if you can take up the challenge!

Attending sisters were Kelly, Barbara, Brie, Cheryl, Siobahn, Jennifer and Kaytlyn. Great meeting everyone. Always inspiring.