Livining plants, water to drink and cleaning

It is very difficult to not see or understand the impact of our waste on the earth and environment, because most of it is out of sight and out of mind. During this exercise, I realized that I have about 2-3x as much recycling each week as waste. This is great at first thought, although I wonder how much of it is actually making it to be repurposed (I need to recheck the various guidelines in Oregon to be sure). Most of my waste was packaging from food purchases. This is frustrating! I wish that there were more grocery options that didn't have as much packaging. This also teaches me to look for, and choose, food that is more fresh and that doesn't include layers on layers of waste. It also is a great lesson in vocalizing the need for stores and companies to use compostable or recyclable packaging. Another question I have: how much difference does compostable packaging really make in our more immediate future (versus no packaging)...I know it will cut down on the time it takes for it to decompose. But it is still sitting in a landfill and we're using resources on creating it and turning it into waste.

Questioning the accuracy of my new 'smart meter' with the readings I got on the kill-a-watt meter. Time to chase down the missing energy sinks... if there is one...