After years of attending kids' birthday parties and potlucks where, by the end, the trash bins were overflowing with disposable plates and utensils, I decided to invest in a community party kit.
It was a simple idea, or so I thought: I spent $20 on a large set of reuseable plates, cups, utensils and cloth napkins. I stored them in the storage space accessible to the 4 families who live in our "compound" (an accidental community of four families who live in a row).
I sent an email to all three families and to the 20 families in my son's class (his school is conveniently located next door to our house so I thought they might like to partake as well). The email invited them to make free use of the party kit.
This year, we’ve seen Mutual Aid in Motion.
From scaling sharing hubs to Mutual Aid 101 trainings, we’re helping communities build the tools they need.
Every dollar fuels lasting resilience – proving that when we move together, we all move forward.
The outcome: My family trots out the party kit all the time, but no one else does. We continue to see disposable stuff being used at most of the parties we go to. I don't want to nag or pressure my neighbors, and I know they haven't forgotten about the party kit because we use it all the time. These are well-meaning, environmentally-aware (but very busy) people — a category that includes just about everyone I know. I'm guessing that the barrier is that they don't want to wash the stuff afterwards (though they all have dishwashers).
How can I get them on board without coming off as judgmental or nagging? Ideas?
