Aspen's Plastic-Free February

Each week this month we plan to feature a different Methow Recycles employee and their family, and describe their experience during Plastic-Free February.

To kick it off, we interviewed Aspen Kvicala, the Education and Outreach Program Manager at Methow Recycles:

Methow Recycles: How many people are in your family, and what are their ages? Do you have any pets? 

Aspen: There are four people in our family, Scott (34) and I (35), Cody who will be 4 in June and Ira who is 7 months old. Mia is our 12 year old Husky/Lab, Brody our humongous 5 year old cat, and 24 chickens. And hopefully a colony of bees, if they survive the winter 😬

Methow Recycles: What was the most difficult part of this challenge for your family? 

Aspen: The most difficult part has been being consistent. With the kids, life can be so full and wonderful and chaotic, there are times when I welcome anything that makes it easier, like single serving snacks in the car or individual yogurt cups. I do make granola bars in bulk and yogurt at home but my available time to do that is inconsistent week to week and I find myself grateful that we have options, even if they are wasteful. Also, we are on a budget with groceries so when Hank's has crazy good sales on packaged items like beans and lentils it's hard to stick to the bulk price.

Methow Recycles: What was the easiest part for you and your family?

Aspen: The easiest part has been remembering shopping bags and produce bags. I've gotten into a good habit with those!

Methow Recycles: Are there any products that have made staying away from plastic easier? 

Aspen: My mesh produce bags I got at Hank's have been huge plastic savers. I love Ball jars, the variety of sizes are great from bulk storage to serving snacks. Plus the lids are great for fine motor skill development :)

Methow Recycles: Did you find a plastic-free hack in the valley we should know about?

Aspen: Hank's and Mazama Store have bulk cheese!! They may not always have the kind I'm looking for but they always have something good. And you can bring your own storage containers :)

Big thanks to Aspen for letting us take a peek into her life during Plastic-Free February!