Time. It’s a commodity we never seem to have enough of, yet it’s amazing what we can get done in a short amount of time if we set aside distractions and focus. When I received a bonus hour last weekend, I learned a lot about the power of an hour.

Welcome to week 41 of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a sustainable living tip for the week. In addition to how I used my bonus hour, this week I look at biodegradable poppies, sustainable dye for jeans, skimpflation, and saying no to glitter.

The Sunday Spark – Week 41

On my mind this week: The power of an hour

What would you do if someone gifted you an extra hour of time? No, I’m not about to wade into the great Daylight Savings Time debate. (I did that in the spring. You can read my thoughts on changing clocks in this post.)

Thanks to my trip to England, last weekend I had the opportunity to “fall back” for the second weekend in a row. This bonus hour wasn’t repayment of an hour I lost when we sprang forward in March.

This unexpected luxury was a gift not to be squandered, so I wanted to make the most of it. After careful consideration, I decided to dedicate the hour to a project that has been on my monthly goals list for three straight months. In short, I used the hour to kick procrastination’s butt!

The experience taught me that a single hour—less than one percent of the week—can be pretty powerful when you put it to good use.

Find out what I did with my hour in this week’s post on Wise & Shine: How would you spend a bonus hour?

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Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:

• On Tuesday, I went out for dinner with some co-workers to celebrate a friend’s retirement. We had a lot of fun and lots of giggles. Working with such a great group of people is a blessing.
• I got a great compliment from a co-worker who said he wished he could copy and paste a version of me into all his projects.
• On Friday, I travelled to British Columbia to visit my daughter Laura who moved there in July. My travels went smoothly and I’m grateful for the time we’ll get to spend together.

Three things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here’s what I learned this week:

Biodegradable poppies

Saturday was Remembrance Day—a day to remember those who fought for our freedom. In Canada and many other countries, the poppy is the symbol of remembrance. During my trip to England, I noticed their poppies are made from paper—a more eco-friendly option—although they do still have a plastic centre and stem. The problem with paper poppies is they don’t stand up very well in wet weather.

After I returned home, I was happy to learn that the Royal Canadian Legion’s poppies are now biodegradable. In 2022, they switched from plastic to paper and cotton velvet. So our red poppies are now green too!

(Source: The Weather Network) 

Sustainable dye for jeans

Using dyes in clothing production is a practice that dates back over 5000 years.

Early blue dyes were made from the Indigofera Tinctoria plant. Over time, chemical dyes replaced these natural dyes—causing harm to workers and marine life.

Levi Strauss & Co. is returning to the use of natural dyes for some of its products. They are growing these plant-based dyes on former tobacco farms in the southern U.S. That sounds like a win for farmers, consumers and the environment to me!

(Source: Happy Eco News)

From shrinkflation to skimpflation

We’ve been hearing a lot about inflation over the last couple of years, which has led many companies to adopt a practice of shrinkflation—giving you less product for the same money. But this week I heard a term I’d never heard before—skimpflation.

Skimpflation means replacing more costly ingredients with cheaper items. Like shrinkflation, it’s a way companies sneakily cut costs while hoping consumers don’t notice. For example, Quaker (a subsidiary of global giant Pepsico) recently changed the milk chocolate coating on its Dipps granola bars with a “chocolatey coating” made with palm oil. (Source: CBC News)

As consumers, it pays to scrutinize packaging and read ingredients.

Sustainable living tip: Say no to glitter

With Halloween in the rearview mirror, you may be starting to think about Christmas. This year, do the Earth a favour and avoid cards, gift wrap, and other items with glitter. Most glitter is made from plastic, contributing to the microplastics problem that’s threatening our health and our planet.

Make 2023 the year you say no to glitter!   

I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.