Cupcake Holder Dilemma

So I was at Aldi recently and had a hardcore life decision to make.

Yes, it was good vs. evil.

Angel vs. devil.

One side of my brain vs. the other side.

This was calling my name:

This is a cupcake holder.

Made of plastic.

It was $4.99 on clearance.

And calling my name...

As a Mom to two young kids where cupcakes are almost a monthly requirement for some sort of school event or fundraiser, I really could use this cupcake holder.  But it was plastic...made from non-recycled plastic and sure it had a recyclable triangle on the bottom which means at the end of it's useful life it could be recycled technically, but I really had a hard time with this because I promised I would stop buying plastic.

That is much harder to do than I first thought.

So I ended up putting it back on the shelf and walking away from it.  I reminded myself that I have cupcake pans and pretty dishes and containers I can use to transport and display them.  I reminded myself that I also have muffin/cupcake tins that came with a plastic cover that I can use to transport them.  Sure they aren't as pretty but hey, you just take the cupcakes out of the oven, decorate them and put the cover on and voila, you are good to go.

So even though I thought to myself "yeah, but this means I can make even MORE cupcakes for the fundraisers", I reminded myself that sometimes less IS more.

Plastic, Plastic and More Plastic

Many of you know I have an issue with plastic.  Anything with plastic.  Food containers, shower curtains, raincoats, shoes, disposable utensils, cell phones, appliances, my mouse, my laptop, paintbrushes, eyeglasses, hangers, prescription bottles, peanut butter jars, trash bags, water bottles, McDonald's Happy Meal toys, and yes, even balloons.  As much as I love them and my kids love them, I have a serious issue with balloons. 

Some of these things you can recycle so they can made into "new" plastic things.  But many of them can't be recycled or are simply so darn toxic (plastic #3 being the worst) that you don't want them recycled and made into another toxic thing.  And remember, in the U.S. we still have a very low recycling rate (I think last I heard it was around 30% of all recyclable material was actually recycled by households?).

Now some of these things have non-plastic versions.  Like paintbrushes--many kinds out there are made with a wood handle and real boar's hair bristles, not plastic.  Why am I ok with wood if a tree had to be cut down to make it?  Or a boar shaved of their hair for the bristles?  Because it's about choosing the lesser of two evils.  Because trees can be replanted and hair regrown. Because both decompose and return to the earth if I put them in my compost pile or bury them in the back yard.  Because they aren't toxic and don't have BPA in it.

We are human beings who consume resources no matter how hard we try not to.  So when we need a paintbrush to express our inner artist, we make a choice. When we tell the carry out clerk "no thanks to plastic utensils" or the food court guy, "no thanks, I brought my own reusable utensils", we make a choice.  When we go with the pretty fabric shower curtain liner instead of a PEVA toxic plastic liner, we make a choice.  When we donate our laptop or cell phone or used plastic eyeglasses to a charity instead of chucking it in the trash, we make a choice.

So what choice are you making today to make tomorrow better?