When in doubt, wash it, sort it, and stack it. If you’ve been here before you’ve heard about my rubbish and recycling learning curve. How hardcore recycling can be. The solstice miracle when the city sent us a second recycling bin.
Yes, that’s right. I spend a significant portion of my day thinking about recycling. I’m not proud of this, but I am becoming more efficient. Someone said to me the other day, “I have some rubbish, and I thought of you.” Glamour, I tell you, my whole life here is glamour.
Anyway, here is where I am now with my recycling process at home — again, remember, family of five, recycling is picked up once every two weeks. The city at first provided one small recycling bin. I added the two white ones, the city later dropped off a second green one, and I have no idea where the top green bin came from, but it appeared one day and I will leave no potential recycling container left behind. I toss overflow in there, or items that are accepted at the main recycling center but won’t be taken up at the curb. The compost is taken weekly, which I imagine I will appreciate even more in the summer.
I’m a little depressed that “recycling” should have its own category on my blog, along with baking and days out. On the other hand: it’s good to have found a niche. A bizarre, hand-washed, sorted and stacked recycling niche.
In possibly more interesting news, I’m once again participating in the Busy Nothings Photography Club. Check out the views people took on the world in February.
Crumpets in Camelot 
I wish we had easy recycling here. I have yet to live somewhere with curbside recycling but my personal favorite was where everything recyclable went into a blue bag and got tossed in with my regular trash. And still most people didn’t do it. You are wonderfully organized!
Ah, Zazzy – I hear you. We came from one of the best recycling programs in the States to one of the best in the UK. But in the States people would have their trash and recycle out – trash overflowing, recycling barely full – and I desperately wanted to root through their trash and “help” them. Sometimes we would see bottles and cans in the trash and my heart would just break a little.
Monique – I’m sorry your recycling is such a pain. I’ll never understand why it’s so easy in some places and so tough in others. And I will add my easy recycling program in our part of the UK to my “grateful for” list. I recycle with reckless abandon, and I wish it for the rest of the world.
It’s organize or die, I think! If it isn’t tidy they won’t take it — and if they don’t take it I’ll drown in cardboard and bottles — and if I do end up going out to the recycling center, I need everything sorted in order to put it in the correct spot there. If only I could turn this in to a marketable skill — hahaha.
I really enjoy reading your blog. Good info and really presented well. You have a very good sense of humor. Keep it going.
George
Thanks for reading & for the kind words!
Hello! We have heard from my husband’s company that we will be moving to the UK sometime this year! I have been pouring over American expat moms blogs and I loveeee yours!! Your blog is the first blog I have ever “followed” and I don’t think it will disappoint.
Thanks for writing and I look forward to reading more posts!
Welcome, Hana! I was in your shoes not long ago, hope everything is going well. If you look to the right you’ll see links to several other expat mom blogs I started following when we moved. It’s comforting and inspiring to find you’re not alone. Any questions, just ask…
Ok, Monique
It looks like the move to London is in motion!
Do you have a resource I could review that might help with the financial aspect of the move? We can’t seem to tell if the offer my husband received will be sufficient for a family of 5. I have two little boys (4 and 2) and a new baby girl (6 weeks old today!). I know we will save money with being in London and not needing a car.
I know I would like to work, but I don’t know how long it will take a job and how long it will take us to “settle in.” I am a clinical psychologist here in MN.
Any suggestions or resources would be helpful!
Thanks in advance!
Oh, wow, Hana, congratulations! There are so many variables, I am a terrible person to ask for information about finances. I found sites like this helpful: http://www.uk-yankee.com/ I find the UK overall to be more expensive than the US. Apparently London is the 18th most expensive city in the world in which to live (by contrast, NYC is 32nd!) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_cities_for_expatriate_employees). Are you getting help via work with the move? Good luck!! (And congrats on the newest member of the fam as well)
Way to take control of a crappy recycling situation! I love to see all that organization! Like Sarah said, I don’t understand why recycling is so easy where I live, but so tricky in your little part of England. We get a nice big green wheelie bin for all of our recyclables.
btw, thank you for the nice shout-out and for including my blog button!
=) It’s a cute button.
I don’t know why our bin is so small, either! But they don’t seem to mind that I’ve added on extra bins at the curb, so I shouldn’t complain. It all works, in the end!