Remains of the Day

Our compost bowl and our trash can are opposing barometers for the way we are living. When the compost bowl fills up each day, I know we are shopping and eating the way we should (unless of course the bowl is half full with coffee grounds). Conversely, if the trash can is full, I know we are creating too much waste and not living sustainably. I pride myself on the weeks when the garbage can is nearly empty. Such was not the case this week after cleaning out several closets and throwing away broken toys and other non-recyclables. I can just imagine our garbage sitting at the dump, not rotting away but just taking up space and doing no good.

The fact that our compost bowl filled up several times over this week makes me feel a little better. Not only does our compost bin create usable soil, it also generates food.



We relocated these sprouting potatoes to the garden and we're looking forward to eating our "garbage" sometime this summer. Our compostable garbage has also been an inspiration as of late. I find myself taking pictures of food remnants while making dinner. For some reason the ingredients that don't make it to our plates are much more interesting to me than the finished product fit for consumption.







For this reason, I've created a Flickr group entitled "Remains of the Day" in hopes that you too will be inspired to take pictures of your kitchen waste and share them with the rest of us so we can be inspired by your "garbage". Think of it as documenting the journey rather than the destination. The shells that held the eggs of the pancakes you made for breakfast, the stems that supported the broccoli you steamed for lunch, the skin that protected the potato you mashed for dinner; they are all part of the journey of food to it's destination: you. I can't wait to see the remains of your day.