We are all guilty of this: We want a quality item that will last a long time, but we want to get it for the cheapest price we can find. So we usually turn to the internet and start reading reviews. We find the item we want, we sort by price (lowest to highest), we select the cheapest one... 

Then we are deeply disappointed when the reviews suck. 3 stars or less. "Piece of junk. Broke the first time I used it. Sending it back. Would not recommend. Would give 0 stars if possible."

Some of us buy it anyway and hope for the best, some of us move on to read the reviews on the higher priced items. In the "Amazon Economy," as I call it, we demand quality, but we refuse to pay for it. 

That leads me to the topic of this post. Would you be surprised if I told you that most of the items we use everyday are available at incredibly low prices, and will last virtually forever? I say virtually, because forever is a long time. Let's face it, what actually lasts forever? 

Products made of these space-age materials last anywhere from a few hundred years to several thousand years. We can get just about anything we want in this stuff: Cups, utensils, plates, clothes...even cars!

This isn't some magical material of the future. You are already using this stuff. The weird part is that you may not be aware how long it lasts, so you've been throwing away these items after just a single use! Imagine that! All you've wanted your entire life is to get something for cheap that will last forever. You actually have it, and you're throwing it away after only one use. 

If you haven't guessed already, I'm talking about plastic.

A sturdy set of utensils can easily run $50+ a place setting (fork, knife, spoon for one person). We hold on to these items. Take care of them. Pass them on to our grandkids. They become family heirlooms. 

For less than 2 cents, you can purchase a fork that would last just as long. I bet you've purchased or been given thousands in your lifetime. But instead of taking care of it and passing it down to our grandkids, we've been throwing them away after a single use.

It's absurd that we demand quality at a low price, in the first place. It's even more absurd that once we have a quality item at a low price, we chuck it in the garbage after using it only one time. 

To demonstrate the absurdity, here is a short list of single use plastic items we use every day. Items that could last generations and become family heirlooms if they were taken care of. If you are interested, we have posted links to alternatives that we have been using ourselves. ​For transparency, we get a kickback if you purchase from the link.
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• Cups (Bring your own reusable cup for coffee. It's been MANY years since I've been turned down when I bring my own, even at grocery stores and gas stations. Get one with a good lid so it stays hot longer. Another bonus to having a good lid: To mix the cream and sugar just give it a shake...skip the stir stick.)
  • Lids
  • Stir sticks
  • Straws (don't forget to order drinks at restaurants without a straw! This is becoming quite common. We are located pretty far from the major metro areas of Baltimore and DC, and even out here in the sticks wait staff and bartenders are getting used to it.)
• Utensils (keep utensils at work to keep from having to use plastic)
  • Forks
  • Spoons
  • Knives
  • Sporks
  • Plates
• Doggie bags and other containers for leftovers (restaurants are getting better about this! Bring your own containers! The glass containers in the link below are great for this!)
• Bottled water
  • Just about every drink we buy in a bottle (consider that for a moment: how many bottles of water and soda do you drink every week?)
• Bags from the store
  • Grocery bag (Super cheap, or free reusable bags are everywhere. No excuses any more. :) Baltimore has a reusable bag trading system, but I can't find it to link to it. I'll link it if I find it.) 
  • Fast food bag (looking at you big sandwich shop) (Bring your own containers!)
  • Produce bags (see the link below for a reusable option)
• Zip style storage bags (use glass containers instead! They save room in the fridge and freezer because you can stack them. They last a very long time and look soooo much better in your kitchen than freezer bags. Imagine the difference in serving leftovers from an ugly freezer bag, or from a glass container.) 

What are your tricks for moving away from plastic?

Work on our house!

The best things you can do to protect the health of the Chesapeake Bay start with your home. Chesapeakify your yard (Brent's Native Plantings term for making your yard Bay friendly), and make your home more energy efficient. 

​Chesapeakify your yard!
A Bay friendly yard reduces runoff and the pollution it carries to the Bay. Blame farmers and construction sites all you want, but there is more surface area of yards in the Chesapeake Bay watershed than there are farmland and construction sites. As homeowners we are not regulated, or very good at measuring correct doses of all the chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, weed killer, etc) we spread across our lawns to keep them beautiful.

A Bay friendly yard consists of local plants (non-invasives!) that are hardy enough to need less water and need no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Our yard is beautiful and safe for pets and kids, and other than regular weeding in the beds, requires very little maintenance.  

​Be more energy efficient!
On this rainy day I've been in the attic adding insulation and sealing holes that are allowing cool air from the house to escape into the hot attic. By making your home more energy efficient, you reduce the need for fossil fuels being burned to produce electricity. The burning of fossil fuels lead to poor outdoor air quality, but also pose a hazard for our waterways. Pollution from power plants is a source of heavy metals in the water, which is the cause of seafood being dangerous to consume. 

Prevention is the best medicine!  

The first run of Chessie stickers are available! If you missed your opportunity to win one on Instagram last week, they are only $3 and we will ship them for free! 

The stickers have been really popular, so get them before they run out. This first batch is a very limited run, and we probably won't offer this exact sticker again. 

Proceeds from the stickers will go towards Chesapeake Bay conservation efforts.