Week 56 – Halloweenies

Ben and I did a quick pick up today after work.  We had every intention of picking up litter on Sunday but we were still recovering from our colds.  Or maybe it was the debauchery at the Halloween party we went to on Saturday night. 

Ben carried his parasitic twin Sven upon his chest and I went as the Octomom. We brought our pumpkins for all to see and our 3rd annual pumpkin carving contest of Ben vs.  Lori is now under way so click here to vote for your favorite!

Either way, we weenie-d out and went for an easy pick up of litter at the bus stop on 35th which, unfortunately, never disappoints.   Five minutes and two buckets later we were done.

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween.  If you haven’t already, don’t forget to vote!

Week 55 – Sick of Litter

<cough cough>

After taking a few days off to show Cami our gray, cold city…I finally came down with whatever virus is going around our office.  Thank goodness I was able to squeeze in some tourist time before I lost my voice and energy.

A quick pick up of litter on Saturday when the sun peeked through for a few minutes was welcoming.  Ben’s taking excellent care of me and Cami is safely back in Portland.

Five minutes and two buckets later we were done.  Don’t forget to stay tuned next week for our annual Halloween Pumpkin Contest.  Winner takes all!  Bwahahaha… <cough cough>…ow.

Week 53 – Happy Anniversary!

Since traditionally paper is given to couples on their one year anniversary it was apropos that we picked up lots of paper on our first anniversary. It was a little windy and there was a definite nip in the air as we picked up litter this week.

Fall is here in Seattle and in our quest for that perfect soup; we headed to the local farmer’s market in West Seattle with a quick pick up at the park across the street from the market.

What a beautiful day! Yellow and red leaves scattered ever so poetically, children laughing in the park playing in the leaves and parents screaming at their soccer children to run faster.  Except for the last part, it was the perfect day and a wonderful place to commemorate our one year anniversary.

Looking back, we had no idea that we would accomplish so much.  We are very proud of our accomplishments and even prouder of our tenacity.

53 weeks

104 buckets

approximately 424 lbs of trash collected and recycled

Not bad huh?  How did it all start (if you are really curious you will see our first post of Oct 12th)? I remember Ben turning to me and saying, “How can we help in our small way to give back to our community?”  It seems easy and selfless….which it has been and is.  There have been a couple of times when one of us has said….”can we skip this week?” I’m flashing back to the massive snow storm in Seattle where we could barely walk a few feet in the snow much less find trash in the streets and we are always, always, always happy that we did go out that day.

We made memories… like that time I thought I found a dead deer in the ravine and it was a poor dog which mortified Abby (Ben’s daughter) and the time we walked through the mysteriously cool fog through Lincoln Park.  Some weeks are better than others but we never lose focus and reason why we are doing “this”…picking up trash every week.  It seems small and almost senseless, but in our small way, we feel we are giving something back.  We are giving something to our community, giving something to our children and giving something to ourselves.

It’s been a wonderful reflection on our first year.  We will again channel Obama’s humble speech as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize and said he would accept this award as a call to action as other nations as the well as the US  journey to find peace.  We have begun a momentum that can change history.  Well, maybe Ben and I can’t change history, but we can make a difference in what we see as our “small call to action.”

Week 52- Under the Bridge

“I drive on her streets… cause she’s my companion
I walk through her hills… ’cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds, and she kisses me windy”

The lyrics seemed apropos even though the Chili Peppers are, of course, not talking about picking up litter under a bridge.    Nevertheless, on the cusp of our one year anniversary (our first litter pick up was Oct 12th 2008 – I dare you to check) we went to a new spot under the West Seattle bridge and filled two buckets.

Seattle has such cool “under the bridge” sights.  For example we have the Fremont Troll and the cool sand worm looking things on Elliott Ave that leads to the Sculpture Park.    Unfortunately, besides the cool looking attractions, we have a lot of litter and homelessness under our bridges.

It would be wonderful if we could bridge the gap between ourselves and our readers and see if we can get more Bucket Heads to volunteer by our one year anniversary next week.  We promise we’ll post your selfless endeavor on our site and commend you as we reminisce how it all started.

Week 51- Funny Farm

Ben at the mall?  Bad idea.  Ben who is not feeling well at the mall?  Hide the children!  We intended to pick up litter on Monday when Ben felt better but since we had to go to the dreaded mall anyway, we decided to bring our buckets just in case.

It ended up being a wonderful idea because we were so eager to finish our stint at the mall we arrived there a half hour before the stores actually opened.  We headed South of South Center Mall and immediately came to farm country.  It was very strange.  We saw a llama farm that was in walking distance of Best Buy.  How convenient!  You may never know when that llama needs an upgrade.

We found a quick pick up spot next to another farm that had an abundance of trash near their fence.  I’m sure the guys in their tractors were a little intrigued at what we were doing but it was fun and different.  It was the perfect amount of time and we headed back to the mall where we accomplished both chores as painlessly as possible.

Week 50 – One Hundred Buckets!

Yay us! We reached the 100 bucket mark today at Alki Beach.  This is where it all started on October 12th 2008.   At an estimated 4 pounds per bucket Lori and I have rid western Washington of 400 pounds of litter!

Toss in 6 buckets from our Bucket Heads club and we’ve cleaned up the earth of 424 pounds of unsightly rubbish. It’s easy and fun, won’t you join us?

Week 49 – Show and Tell

I am always shocked at the abundance of litter around schools.  With all the anti-litter programs that schools have introduced to young children, you would think that it would have sunk in by now.  I picked up about ten freeze pop wrappers within a five feet span…it must have been a hot day.

With all the programs that we currently have in our school curriculum (which is a wonderful thing), they aren’t sinking in enough.  Parents need to take a bigger role in teaching their children about litter. Who do children emulate and listen to more than anyone else?

If they see you always grabbing a bag on your way to the park or the beach or picnic, making sure to clean up after yourselves, that will become routine.  If they see you not only picking up after yourselves but taking it a step further and picking up litter as you hike that path or walk down that beach,  they may not comment… but they will notice and remember.

Kids learn from watching their parents, they mimic our actions.  Whether it’s a casual thing or a significant lesson does not matter.  Not only do you teach them to be responsible for the earth but you teach them about community service.

Teach them by example….  2 buckets and 15 minutes later, Ben and I are first up for show and tell.  It’s your turn…

Week 48 – Health (and Earth) Care

Dedicated to our cause,  Lori and I headed out to a spot in West Seattle that appears to be a magnet for litter. It’s a wooded, curvy road that seems to be an easy target for ignorant and insensitive drivers. We filled two buckets but could have filled twenty more.

Now if we can just wade through the mountains of trash being thrown at our President and Congress we may end up with a decent Health Care bill that will benefit even the ignorant Americans who speak out against it.

Week 46 – Every Litter Bit Hurts

Ben’s family and I took a weekend camping trip to Ohanapecosh.  Ohana (just for fun) means “family” in Hawaiian.  This Hawaii girl felt part of the family as we camped, sang and hiked.

Ben took a hike with his mom to Silver Falls as the girls dipped our toes in the Hot Springs.  A day trip to Sunrise,  S’mores and Bingo (a new camping tradition) rounded out a wonderful time had by all.

Ben and I had every intention to fill up recycled grocery bags as a stand in for our buckets this week but the litter was minimal.  A piece of paper, cigarette butt and a napkin was all that Ben could muster on his hike.  We all found bits of plastic and trash around the camp ground leaving it cleaner than when we arrived.

But it doesn’t matter how little the amount of trash collected, because every tiny little bit of litter will effect our eco-system and our planet.  How vile is it to be in a place called Paradise and look down and see a random piece of trash?  It made us happy that the litter found at Mt. Rainier was minimal.

We encourage everyone to just slip a bag in their pocket wherever they go and pick up some trash along the way…no matter how small the amount.  It will help the earth tremendously.  As a bonus, it will make you feel good! It looks better and it could be a wonderful tradition to pass on to your children.  If you start now to make a habit of picking up any litter you find on your picnic, hike, walk on the beach, etc…you will be doing the world a world of good, because every litter bit hurts.

(Since we didn’t fill up two buckets on our camping trip, we dropped off the camping supplies this afternoon and filled up two quick buckets in West Seattle.)

Week 45 – Do the Right Thing

Several weeks ago we were interviewed on AM 1090’s Community Matters (to listen to our interview, click here). We do strongly believe that community matters. Today we attended a rally at the Tacoma News Tribune demanding a public option for health care. To take a look at Lori (black shirt at the counter) and me (red shirt to the right of Lori) in this picture click here.

This evening we headed out to pick up litter from the same stretch of roadway that we’ve hit for the past three weeks. We are making a dent but there’s still enough to lead us back to the same spot next week.

During our radio interview, Lee Callahan asked us if we have ever found anything interesting while picking up litter. We answered, “not really”. Well today that all changed.  While filling two buckets we found a registration holder (like those that would hang over your car’s sun visor). We immediately thought that a car thief had thrown this holder out the window and into the wooded area on Sylvan Way in West Seattle.

Being the community oriented people that we are, we have spent the last forty-five minutes trying to contact the non-emergency police line to no avail. While it is frustrating to not reach a police officer, we will persevere.

Just like we will continue to support health care reform, the bottle bill, the bag tax AND pick up a bucket of litter every week.  What will you DO?