Delays, delays.

My life has been on a delay for a while due to Hurricane Isaac. I've been back at my mom's house in my hometown in northeast Louisiana waiting out the storm. Unfortunately no matter if I stayed in Baton Rouge or came to my hometown, being zero-waste isn't working out well.

If I were home in BR, I would have had to bought a ton of emergency supplies including bottled water (which was already sold out most places), packaged snacks, use-once batteries, and flashlights.

Coming back to my home town meant driving four hours and now living in a more disposable minded home. It's okay though. I suppose it's nice to be home, and I'm trying to adjust as much as possible. School keeps getting canceled, so I'm trying to be as productive while I'm here.

I've been needing a cup for my makeup brushes, so today after I ate some soup, I cleaned out the can to use as my new cup. It may not work for everyone due to the sharp edges on the cans, but my mom has a special can opener that gets rid of those. I found this article about upcycling aluminum cans. Apparently a sanding block or just sand paper is enough to get rid of those sharp edges. I had to soak it in warm soapy water for a while to make sure it didn't smell like soup anymore. But it's great now! A perfect cup for my brushes. Later on, I figured I could paint it or wrap it in paper to make it cuter, but I think I like the can look for now. But that's my reusing project for the day.

Unfortunate update on my brush holder: mom threw it away cause she didn't realize I was reusing it. But that's okay! I'll recreate it with another can when I go back to Baton Rouge and I'll make sure to get a picture of it.

I've also been brainstorming for preparations for the next storm. For now on, after my roommates and I are done with our jug of milk, I think I'll just wash it out and fill it up with clean water. I'll store it in pantry, and hopefully we'll collect enough water as to not have to buy any next storm (I really hate the idea of buying water and plastic). As for the batteries, I only own four. Literally. They're all rechargeable though. I plan on buying some more soon. You can always use extra when the powers out, and your only light is candles and flashlights. I own one flashlight, so I suppose I need another one.

Lately my mind has been more consumed with school than organizing my zero-waste thoughts. Because we've missed three days due to the hurricane, we'll be playing catch up for a while, and my mind will be completely consumed with school. I hope that after that, I'll become accustomed to my schedule and find more time to work on this which is all I ever want to do anyways.

Maybe I'll come up with something this weekend. For now, I'm heading back home and celebrating my water-free first floor apartment! Flooding would honestly be a zero-waste nightmare.