As personal goals go, this is going to sound really weird:

I want to reduce the use of kitchen sponges in this world by half. I’m starting here, at the UUA, but you’re all going to take this practice into your homes and the seed will have been planted.

Here’s how this is going to work

• Find a pair of scissors
• Go to the sink in the kitchenette on your floor.
• Take the sponge in your hands
• Cut it in half
• Put one half away (under the sink, wherever)
• Wash dishes normally*
• When the first half needs to be retired, locate other half.

This is one of those “eco” practices that I find utterly unassailable. There is no loss of quality of life to the people involved. It’s not like, say, demanding everyone needs to go out of their way to wash the last bits of mayonnaise from the impossible-to-reach corners of the bottom of the jar in order for it to be recycled. With a little planning, you could cut the entire package of sponges in one sitting, thereby freeing yourself from the chore for months to come.

Half the number of sponges in the world means half the waste, of course, but also half the manufacturing energy, shipping and packaging.

I’m happy to consult with any floor here who needs guidance. (I’m looking at the sixth floor of 25. The last time I used their sink, the sponge was roughly the size of my head.)

*When you go to use this newly halved sponge, and you discover how much easier it is to handle, and how easily it goes inside glasses, you will wonder why you haven’t been doing this all along.