Are We There Yet?

The other day I was writing my To Do list when the pen I was using, it was from a fancy hotel I stayed in just a few months back, sprung apart collapsing from my hand into pieces.

Annoyed, I got up to throw the pen away and noticed a gift bag from a little design event I went to the night before. I unloaded the contents which included this mug.

Are we really still using these antiquated marketing devices? What am I going to do with this ugly mug- find a mosaic instructor looking for donations? I started looking around my work area and spotted a re-usable bag from another industry event- so cute and colorful- this is a good thing, right?

Could be, except that it's made from new materials and shipped here from...

you guessed it- China. This is from a major company who touts their eco-friendly products and environmental concern. hm.

This is just a bunch of free stuff-  what about the stuff I buy, the packaging on things, things I buy that don't work, the things that fill my cupboards and closets that I don't use. How much do I really need?

Rather than rant about it all, why not just step back and pay attention to exactly how I'm living now so I can make small simple changes to live more consciously, more easily and maybe even more effectively for myself and everyone else.

This week, Are We There Yet, is about small changes that collectively can greatly improve the quality of your life and even make change on a community and global level. But let's just start small. Stay tuned and share your brilliant little ideas with me too.