Is there something about DIYing that turns you into an environmentalist? Or does environmentalism naturally lead to DIYing interests? That’s what I’ve been wondering since I finally discovered ReadyMade magazine’s editors’ blog — which lately seems to be all about fantastic plastic-free living and yummy eco-foodie-ism, thanks to a new weekly feature dubbed “A Week Without…”!

Take ReadyMade’s Katherine Sharpe’s A Week Without Plastic series, for example, which ran at the beginning of this month. Katherine blogged daily about her efforts, her motivations, her plastic-related rules for the week, her tips — and even wove in some history of plastics in there. (via everydaytrash)

Why did Katherine choose a ban on plastic? Apparently, she used to obsessively collect plastic containers as a kid out of eco-guilt — only to throw them away en masse due to the lack of a curbside recycling system: “Somehow it was easier to do so all at once, in a berserker frenzy. The guilt was intense but it was over fast, the proverbial tearing-off-the-Band-Aid-quickly approach to my ecological problem.”

So the plastic-free week tried to prevent the plasticky problem from collecting altogether. And at the end of the week, Katherine looked back on the pleasures and perils of going plastic-free — and came to a few conclusions. For example, not all plastic use is bad:

In a world without plastic, I’d be looking through wire-rimmed pieces of glass, and while I’ve never worn glass spectacles, I’m willing to bet that my plastic ones are lighter, more affordable, and more durable—all-around better at the job.

That said, most plastics we use are for disposable stuff — and that use needs to be drastically curbed:

I think that we as a society and as individuals would do well to try to identify the ‘higher’ uses of plastic and to phase out the lower. I’d like to see us start to think of plastic as something to use sparingly, like fats and sweets on the U.S. food pyramid—something from which we should be getting real bang for our buck. Use plastic where it’s necessary, where it’s better, where it will be used again and again, and rethink the throwaway culture that plastic fuels. Look for the low-hanging fruit in our dependence on plastic, and start to eliminate it. This would probably mean changing our attitudes towards consumption and disposability in some fairly large ways, but a girl can dare to hope, right?

Katherine also names a whole bunch of reasons why she plans to keep her plastic-free challenge going indefinitely. The reasons range from the simple fun of a challenge to the unexpected side benefit of healthy eating habits. To stay on the eco-path, Katherine wants answers to a whole bunch of plasticky questions — Test your plastic knowledge by taking a crack at answering them!

Once Katherine’s eco-experiment ended, Amy Palanjian took over ReadyMade’s “A Week Without….” series by going A Week Without Processed Foods. Her motivation: To get some answers to questions she has about processed foods, ranging from whether processed foods are really even so bad, to whether living sans processed foods is even feasible for a woman with a social life and chocolate cravings.

During the week, Amy found minimally processed chocolate, threw a dinner party (you can get recipes for Rosemary Focaccia with Caramelized Onions and Cherry Tomatoes in that post!), and mused about the time-and-pleasure equation involved in spending more time cooking from scratch. Noting that she’s really enjoying eating the food she’s spent time preparing, Amy writes:

Maybe it doesn’t have to be a choice between our careers, our families and our kitchens. Maybe the real issue is what type of hunger we’re trying to satisfy. And once we know the answer to that, perhaps the time issue won’t seem quite as overwhelming.

At the end of the week, Amy notes that she’s feeling a lot better physically — and seems committed to keeping her dining less processed. She’s even signed up for a CSA! Read her roundup post for a list of resources for finding, preparing, and eating whole foods.

I’m curious what adventures ReadyMade editors will cover this week….

Photos via Envirowoman, Amy Palanjian / ReadyMade

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