So I continued my paper pulp making into the last 2 weeks. I’m working to make more pulp for papercrete and paper mâché clay. We don’t have a huge amount of stuff coming in- bills, flyers and such. Over the last few days we had some amazon orders arrive that are on subscription- dog food and dish soap. IMO Cardboard is a superior material for making paper pulp. My medication also arrived*. Despite making several rolled briquettes with the cardboard I had a lot of cardboard left over. I dutifully tore it to size and ran it through my paper shredder. It’s not slow but it’s not fast either. It does give me a moment to think about stuff.
The process is simple: bring in paper and boxes, shred paper. Break boxes down to pieces that will fit into the shredder. Shred. Bring shredded paper and cardboard down to basement and dump into a bucket, cover with water. Let soak for a few days. I have found that the longest i can reuse the water or soak my pulp is for 3 weeks. At that point it smells foul. After the soak for a few days, I blitz it with a paint mixer. At that point it can be used for briquettes, paper mâché clay or papercrete.
Today as I broke down another cardboard box I found myself annoyed with the size of the box and the whole process. I was annoyed that I had to order a new electric kettle because everything is made to break down these days. (But the simple kettle I bought in the late 90s, despite being wildly inefficient is still running but is stashed in the MIL apartment that my parents have.) At this point we spend about $50 every 2 years on a new electric kettle. And we do that because I’m afraid that any repairs I have made might cause a fire. I digress. I thought a lot about planned obsolescence and expenses.
After the arrival of this kettle I considered sending it back and ordering a basic kettle without a temp control. Maybe that would last longer?
As this month of grinding paper and cardboard to pulp has continued I find myself thinking, “Oh we need XYZ!” then heading to a website and thinking, “Actually, do we need this or do I just want this?” Then I contemplate the need vs want of something, I also think to myself, “I’ll have to break that box down into pulp.” Then I mostly don’t buy the thing I just thought I so desperately needed.
For me the realization that I am the one who must deal with the paper shreds makes me consider if I need to bring an item into the house or not.
Tomorrow I am doing the grocery shopping and running some errands and I find myself wondering what I do and do not need. I feel like the making of these recycled paper briquettes has done as much for self reflection as many of my art projects. Which feels like a head scratcher.
Anyway, I think that for myself the regular examination of my consumption of stuff is necessary and needed.
*My current type 2 med must be refrigerated and arrives in a cardboard box with paper fiber insulation, bubble wrap and 2 ice packs. Yes even in winter.