Oh no, not another post about depression
We miss you funnyman
Sorry, I know that the media has been going on ad nauseam about depression since Robin Williams killed himself but as someone who has suffered from depression for as long as I can remember I need to add a little bit more to this discussion.
First, my deepest condolences to his family and I pray that all of the asshats that constantly harass, stalk, and use all other manners of digging up some pathetic story from a tragedy that just happens to involve a celebrity find themselves with no one willing to read or pay for their filth. (Sorry, that’s a rant for a different time and probably a by a different person).
It’s funny (strange, not haha), I can almost tell who has or does suffer from depression by their reactions, those that mention selfishness of suicide, can’t understand how one who “has it all” could kill himself. People who question how he could leave his family that way. They don’t suffer from it, they may have a cursory understanding, maybe even feel sorry for Robin that he went through life trying to be the funniest guy in the room so no one knew he was the saddest but they don’t really get it.
If you know depression this is likely your reac
tion, “well shit, it got him,” or, “he’d been doing so good too.” We wouldn’t blame him, it wasn’t him it was depression.
I’m not saying that if you live your life with this disease you’re going to die from it, there’s remission which most of the time under the right conditions and treatment (btw I have no opinion on what is good or bad in this regard so I DO NOT want a debate) will keep you from going to that darkest place. You may have it flare up again from time to time but not as bad.
Sometimes though, like a cancer it just rips through someone and it doesn’t matter what you do you have no control. I know this and I pray to god that this knowledge will be enough for me to recognize this force if it ever comes for me.
It’s really hard to explain to someone who isn’t depressed, they just don’t get it. There is no “snapping out of it,” you can’t just eat a piece of lemon meringue pie and it goes away (okay, this almost works with me but I really love lemon meringue pie). Things that make people sad don’t necessarily make me depressed, I get sad too but it doesn’t send me into depressed state. I actually find that I get the most depressed after something fantastic happens, when I’ve been really “high” (thank god I’ve never fallen into drugs or heavy drinking). Instead of just slowly fading down back to a state of normalcy I find myself free-falling into a black hole. Once again I know this and I can force myself to pull the rip chord. That’s the thing, you have to know yourself.
I have no idea if others have the same issues, it’s different for everyone. Even my shrink didn’t really understand me, he was looking for the “trigger” that started my depression, I don’t think there was one, I believe I was born with it which is fine (he still doesn’t but I don’t go to him any more so I’ll let him hypothesize without me). Being depressed means having to be aware of your feelings at all times, watching your moods and feelings because if you slip down to far it’s really hard to come back out. My medication helps tremendously and honestly I’m terrified to go off of it because it may not be quite as easy to manage.
There is so much more I could say to try to explain but I just want to add this one last bit. For people who aren’t depressed (it be so much easier to say “normal people” but I don’t want to offend, I wouldn’t be but…) there are lists of choices, let’s look at some standard decisions and the options available for things in everyday life.
What time should I get out of bed tomorrow?
a. 6:30
b. 7:00
c. Whenever I wake-up
d. Why don’t I just lay in bed all day
What choice would you want to make? Probably a, b or c and perhaps from time to time d. What option might a depressed person make? Did you pick d?
Wrong
e. If I just kill myself I won’t have to worry about it.
Oh, didn’t you see e? It’s really only visible to us depressees (tired of saying depressed people or people suffering from depression). In all fairness they have all of the other options as well and would likely chose a – d 9999 times out of 10,000 however e is always lurking there. It’s always that little quiet option that lurks around, T/F/Die, Y/N/Die, a,b,c or die. It’s the ultimate way of not facing a problem.
I’m very sad that Robin Williams died but I’m happy that he has caused a fire-storm of discussion on depression. Yes he had drug and alcohol problems in the past but for the most part he seemed like a pretty outstanding guy and he had talked for years about his struggles with depression but always seemed to be doing okay. Philip Seymour Hoffman also suffered from depression we didn’t talk much then because he died of a drug overdose (no he didn’t, he died of depression), same as Cory Monteith and many others. It took a really well love celebrity without obvious other issues (of which depression is often the underlying issue) to kill himself to really get us talking and I hope we keep talking. Having this affliction out in the open and getting people talking about it, thinking about it, learning about it is the best way to combat it. I have grown comfortable over time talking about my depression. Once I opened that door, telling those closest to me I found that I could tell others. I don’t just bring it up out of the blue, “So nice to meet you Bob, I’m Dennis. Hey, did you know I’m depressed?” But when I’m in a conversation and people are talking about it I share my experience. It helps me understand and hopefully them too.
Sorry I’ve talked so long but if you’ve read this far I thank you. I just want to leave with two other things.
If you suffer from depression, tell someone who you know, in your heart (not in the fog of depression) truly loves you (or you remember had truly loved you at one time) and do EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAY. It doesn’t matter who they are, there are even strangers out there who truly love you and you just don’t know it yet.
I also want to share these two posts from Hyperbole and a Half which have been getting a ton of well deserved press as of late:
Adventures in Depression
and
Depression Part Two
If you are a depressee read these then get everyone who knows (or that you want to know or that should know) that you are depressed to read them too. It’s the best explanation of depression I have ever read. If you are not depressed, read them anyway, they won’t make you depressed but they will keep you from telling a depressed person to “Buck-up” or that “everything will be okay, don’t worry.”
And here is a cute puppy.
My wife is not the same woman that I married | The Matt Walsh Blog
A must read for everyone. http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/05/29/wife-person-married/
Fodder O’ The Year’s Sandwich Loaf
Hate making sandwiches everyday? Frozen sandwiches tasteless and frozen, luncheon meat not getting used in time?
This tasty loaf has all the regular ingredients of a sandwich but you don’t have to make it everyday just grab a slice from your freezer and it will be thawed and delicious by lunchtime!
Yields 2 8¼” x 4½” loaves
Time: 5:00
►20 mins prep
Tools
2 8¼” x 4½” x 2½” Loaf Pans
Breadmaker
Rolling Pin
Measuring Devices
Ingredients
Favourite Bread Maker Recipe, this is the recipe that I use
1½ Cups Luke Warm Water
2 Tbsp Milk
1½ tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Molasses
2 Tbsp Butter
3¾ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1¾ tsp yeast
2 Large Carrots, shredded
1 Large Onion, shredded
1 Cup of Cheddar Cheese, shredded
16 slices of Roast Beef/Ham/Turkey or other favourite luncheon meat
Spices to taste (I used Victorian Epicure‘s Beef & Steak Spice and their Cheese Chives and Bacon Salad Topper)
½ Cup Butter
Use your favourite bread maker bread recipe but put the setting to dough.
If you have never used your bread maker, here is a tip: ALWAYS USE MEASUREMENTS EXACTLY AS GIVEN!
TIP: Create a well for Yeast, can’t remember why but since I’ve started doing it my bread rises better.
Yeast Well
About half way through the process (or if equipped, when the machine prompts you to add ingredients) add 1/2 of the carrots, onion, cheese and all of the spices. (You could also add small chucks of peppers or other cookable vegetables don’t overload though as it may mess up the dough consistency)
Add half of the veg and cheese
When the bread maker is finished, immediately empty the dough onto a hard flat lightly floured surface.
A butcher block works great!
TIP: Flouring the surface keeps the dough from sticking to it)
Using a floured rolling-pin flatten the dough out until it is a rectangle with a width the same length as two 8¼” x 4½” x 2½” bread pans and about 1/4 inch thick.
Set your pans sideways at the end to measure the proper width
Add the meat slices so they cover the entire surface, top with remaining vegetables and cheese. You can also add spinach for some extra greens, do not add lettuce! (I also added mustard once but for some reason the loaf came out under cooked).
Ready to roll
TIP: If you don’t have enough meat for full coverage space them out long ways (full line of meat across the short side) so that there will be meat throughout the loaf.
Tightly roll up the flattened dough the long way like a sleeping bag, slice into 2 logs and place in greased bread pans.
They Kind Of Look Like Un-sliced Cinnamon Rolls
I used parchment paper to line my pans but you can grease them if you want.
Cover with a damp dish towel (don’t let it touch the dough) and Let rise for appropriate time for type of bread used (1-1/2 – 2 hours for 100% whole wheat).
I put something between the pans to lift the towel off of the dough
Place loaves in oven pre-heated to 350•F for 20 minutes. Loosely cover loaves with tin foil and bake for another 15 – 20 minutes.
At this point they will look cooked, they aren’t. The tin foil makes sure that the outside doesn’t get over-cooked
Use the ½ cup of butter to coat the outside of the loaf while it is still warm, olive oil or coconut oil also works.
Let the bread rest in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing
Once bread cools cut into sandwich width slices (about 2-3 inches), place in zip lock freezer bags and freeze, it should yield about 12 sandwiches.
Look at that nice swirl!
Your Sandwich is ready to go!
Of course who can resist a nice warm slice, the cheese is still melty!
Feel free to play around with the ingredients, try different bread, roll-up sliced instead of shredded cheese, the sky’s the limit!
TIP:Great idea for kids, use only the added veggies for the dough and make it with ham and cheese.
Family Time and Financial Comfort
This stay at home Dad gig is great but we’ve come to the realization that money is far tighter than we anticipated. I am not going back to work, at least not in the normal 9 – 5 sense of it. There really aren’t a lot of options out there to make a living while still staying at home during the day that pay enough to make it worth while so I’m taking a chance. I’ve signed up with a company called World Financial Group. We’ve had our investments and retirement planning with them for some time and I like how that end of the business works and our “money guy” suggested that maybe I should come work for them. I thought about it long and hard. I told him what I wanted, a decent wage, extremely flexible hours and the ability to put my family first no matter what. He convinced me they could offer that. Now selling insurance and mutual funds is not really what I’d call my dream job but as my dream job is being a writer and a full time stay at home dad (neither of which pay very well) this is just a tool to keep me going at that. I know it’s going to be a struggle and that a lot of (most) people are dubious about such careers I’m going to get some flack for it but you know what, I have nothing to lose.
So I’m studying away, carefully juggling evenings and weekends with my wife’s home business and staying positive. In the end if things go as they should we will both work alternate evenings and a day on the weekend and have all the rest of the time for each other and the kids. Wish us luck!
The Wheels On The Bus (Speed Style)
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round,
Round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town
The wipers on the bus go whish, whish, whish
whish, whish, whish,
whish, whish, whish
The wipers on the bus go whish, whish, whish
All through the town
The driver on the bus goes come aboard
Come aboard
Come aboard
The driver on the bus goes come aboard
All through the town
The speedometer reads fifty now
Fifty now
Fifty now
The speedometer reads fifty now
All through the town
A watch under the bus goes click, click, click
Click, click, click
Click, click, click
A watch under the bus goes click, click, click
All through the town
Keanu Reeves races to the bus to save, save, save
Save, save, save
Save, save, save
Keanu Reeves races to the bus to save, save, save
All through the town
Keanu says to Sandra don’t slow down
Don’t slow down
Don’t slow down
Keanu says to Sandra don’t slow down
All through the town
Dennis Hopper’s getting mad and says I’ll blow you up
Blow you up
Blow you up
Dennis Hopper’s getting mad and says I’ll blow you up
All over town
The passengers on the bus say what’s the fuss?
What’s the fuss?
What’s the fuss?
The passengers on the bus say what’s the fuss?
All through the town.
Keanu says that there’s a bomb on board
Bomb on board
Bomb on board
Keanu says that there’s a bomb on board
All through the town
The passengers on the bus go AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
The passengers on the bus go AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
All through the town
Keanu’s partner gets blown to smithereens
Smithereens
Smithereens
Keanu’s partner gets blown to smithereens
All over town
They drive to the airport to trick Dennis
Trick Dennis
Trick Dennis
They drive to the airport to trick Dennis
And save the town
They crash through the gate going fifty-five
Fifty-five
Fifty-five
They crash through the gate going fifty-five
Pieces fly all over town
Keanu says to everyone off the bus
Off the bus
Off the bus
Keanu says to everyone off the bus
Before you die
The bus blows up with a big KaPOW!!
Big KaPOW!!
Big KaPOW!!
The bus blows up with a big KaPOW!!
Seen all over town
Sandra and Keanu save the day and fall in love
Fall in love
Fall in love
Sandra and Keanu save the day and fall in love
All over town
Then they make a sequel and we scratch our heads
WTF
WTF
Then they make a sequel and only Sandra signs up
Keanu does the Matrix!!!!
No, Actually, This Gig Is NOT Stressing Me Out
Today is Thursday and I usually do a useless/useful products for parents post but my life got turned upside down, 100% of my own doing, the last couple of weeks when I decided to let my brain go haywire, anyways… not going to dwell on that. Yesterday I went to see my shrink for the first time in many years and we had a great conversation about how I thought I was much less stressed in my current situation and he thought I was nuts (para-phrasing). I think my shrink thinks I’m full of shit most of the time which is probably why I rarely go see him, anywho…
This stay at home Dad gig is less stressful for many reasons:
You don’t have to be at work on time
You’re already there. My kids aren’t overly demanding and we usually get a good half hour of in bed TV time (waking up time for me) in the morning before they start asking about breakfast. It’s also serves another purpose. We avoid the chaos that is getting ready to head out the door. Before I started my new gig there were two adults showering, getting dressed, having breakfast and making lunches all the while trying to get kids dressed, fed and getting ready for Daycare. It didn’t matter how early we got up there was no calm way of achieving this and one monkey wrench (daughter has a poop after we get her coat and shoes on) and everyone is late. I need time to wrap my head around the day, a cup of coffee, a smoke, a few minutes to relax then I’m good to go. If I got up at 5am I could’ve achieved that (ha ha ha, good one!). Now, I get to start my day how I want, my kids are kind of like me, they hate getting rushed.
Job Satisfaction
I’ve said this before, many feel that they aren’t appreciated for what they do at home. Perhaps it’s because their spouses are morons or maybe they feel like they are making a lot of sacrifices to do what they feel is necessary but it’s not what they want. Neither of these apply to me. I’m sacrificing nothing of importance to me to do this and my kids and wife appreciate me and what I do (of course sometimes what I don’t do gets pointed out fervently). I feel good at the end of every day.
Family Time
Well obviously I’m spending more time with my kids but that’s not what I’m talking about. When I was working a big chunk of my paycheck went to Daycare, which was fine. The kids loved it there, they learned lots, made friends and if we could afford it I would still send them a couple of days a week for their sakes. In the end though I was paying an exorbitant amount to pay someone for something I could do for free, if it also included house keeping and errand running it totally would be worth it, but, no. With both of us gone all day the only times for doing errands and cleaning and general tasks was when we should have been having quality family time. That’s not fair for any of us. Evenings are still a bit of a write off as our kids aren’t being very cooperative at bed time but at least the two hours taking getting them down no longer means piles of laundry, sinks full of dirty dishes and a house that looks like we have an Ogre for a room mate (occasional overnight guest, yes). I also want to add we are eating better, I have time to cook actual meals rather than desperately throwing something together.
Yes, my stress levels have gone down, am I still stressed? Of course. Even my bacon bits I brought home above the Daycare costs helped and things are tight but family is far more important than money.
Anyway, it’s time to make everything I said above true. I’ve had a bit of a hiccup and that Ogre has over stayed his welcome. Time to make the kids lunch, clean up a bit and run some errands so I can have some playtime!
Update-Well This Just Sucks, My Anti-Depressents Quit Working
I suffer from depression. It’s not a taboo to me, I don’t see myself as different or sick or disabled in anyway. I’ve always had it. I can remember times when I was really young getting way too anxious or upset (even by a kid’s standard) over the most minor of things. A couple of years ago I finished a year and a half of group therapy to try to discover the “root” of my depression and, although my psychiatrist disagreed, I decided my depression was chemical imbalance, not situational, mostly because I’ve never had particularily bad situations in my life that could have triggered my depression.
About seven years ago I had finally had enough. Normally I would just be minding my own business when WHAMO! I was in bed with no desire to do anything but sleep, cry and tell the whole world to just fuck off and leave me alone. Often this would happen after some sort of exceptional day, a day when I was really “high”. So, I went to see my family doctor who got me on Effexor. My whole world changed.
I still had ups and downs but when I was down I was able to work through it and bring myself back up rather than bury myself under a rock and wait. I’ve heard some horror stories about this drug but for me it was perfect.
Over my time on it I’ve increased my dosage twice, once because I mentioned to my Doctor I occasionally had suicidal thoughts which got me a date with a Psychiatrist and into group therapy. He immediately bumped me up once and then again when he thought my depression was more on the anxiety side. The group therapy was great even if it didn’t find the root of my issues in that it made me believe there were none which in and of itself is just as beneficial.
Now, I have a problem. The trouble with anti-depressents, and especially effexor, is that they are strongly addictive. If I miss my pills I get about a half day of normal before light-headedness, weakness, lack of concentration, foginess and a slew of other withdrawl effects kick in. What is going on now is that my meds are no longer working. I may as well not be taking them. For about a week and a half I’ve been living in a cloud, barely able to function. My joints hurt, my glands are swollen, I can’t think clearly unless I’m really concentrating (like now, I think a bomb could go off beside me while I’m writing this and I wouldn’t notice). My poor kids, I’m doing my best but there’s been a lot of self guided play and me having to go hide when I feel my anger bubbling up for a minor problem.
This morning we went to the library. I usually have been getting a couple of good hours in the morning, this morning my anxiety kicked in full force as we were standing in line to check out books. It took everything in my power to not just leave everything, grab the kids and bolt. Usually I let the gets check there own stuff out, I grabbed their books and movies, ran them under the scanner ignoring their cries of objection and dirty looks from other parents (I made a point of answering one “why?” with, “because I’m not feeling well and if we don’t get out of here now or we’re getting nothing, I hate being judged by parents).
It wasn’t until last Saturday that it really sunk in that I wasn’t getting sick (many withdrawl symptoms are similar to the flu). I had to wait, overly anxiously, until Tuesday to call. When I was able to book an appointment today at least the feelings I had of never ending suffering and helplessness went away.
I don’t know what he’s going to do for me, wean me off or give me new meds. I am thinking about trying a micro-nutrient called TrueHope but right now I just need to deal with this withdrawl then start thinking about what to do next. I can’t think that clearly or make those kinds of decisions in my state and, I highly doubt my Doctor would dream of recommending a homeopathic remedy, it’s just not how they operate.
Well, I’m off, I’ll update when I get back.
—UPDATE—
I hate how sometimes the obvious must be pointed out to me when I’m irrational. As it turns out, my recent change from working full-time to being a full-time stay-at-home dad caused some stress. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I’m doing. Once again I don’t think my psychiatrist believes me that 80% of the time my kids are awesome (I would actually love for him to spy on us for a while and see that the sunshine and roses that is my life IS actually my life most of the time), he does have a point though, that was a pretty big change and I didn’t address all of the issues that comes with it. Just talking to him has made me feel better and now it will just take a few minutes with a hammer and a chisel in my head carving away the “my medication isn’t working thoughts” and I should be in a mindset to look at these new stresses. I have a feeling in a day or two I’ll be great again.
Five hours later and am back to normal. WTF? The brain is a weird ball of fat. I’m told by a professional that my meds were working fine and suddenly, they are. Well, next time I’ll see if I can take better control of myself and stop jumping to conclusions.
Stupid brain, could you at least try to work for me for a change?
Have A Good… What?
I'll have the best root canal I can… thanks.
Can we kill the phrase, “have a good one?”
I absolutely loathe this salutation. It is the most impersonal, I don’t give a crap about life or you thing you can say. Do you not even have the smarts to know what time of day it is? Or perhaps you don’t know it’s the weekend. I know you work at Walmart or McDonalds or don’t know me but come on, make an effort! Perhaps I’ve just bought party supplies then is “have a good party,” or, “have a good time,” so hard to come up with?
Sometimes I feel like replying, “I will have a good colonoscopy, thank you for your wishes!” Maybe I should reply, “I was about to drop a good #2 actually.”
If you are someone who uses “have a good one,” in your common vernacular, stop and think. What could show a little more interest in the person you’re talking to or at least know what f**king time of day it is so people don’t think you’re too daft to know.
Have a good Sunday!
A Hole In The Bottom Of The Sea (Complete Lyrics)
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a man with the rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a man with the rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a pier with the man with the rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a pier with the man with the rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a post holdin’ the pier with the man with the rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a post holdin’ the pier with the man with the rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole with the post holdin’ the pier with the man with the rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole with the post holdin’ the pier with the man with the rod with the line with the hook in the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea
There’s a hole
There’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
Yeah,
There’s a hole
There is
A
Hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea
A hole in the bottom of the sea
A hole in
The
Bottom
Of
The
Sea
Useful/Useless Products – City Of Calgary Blue & Black Bins
This week’s product post is a little different. You can’t just go out and buy and use garbage and recycling bins like we do in Calgary but you can look at our program and try to get something similar in your community if you don’t already.
A few years ago Calgary implemented blue (recycling) bins for all households. Prior to this if you wanted to recycle you had to take it to one of the recycling stations and sort everything. The new system is simply a bin where you can put all recycling in, no sorting, no special packing/squishing etc. Every week a truck comes and you’re done! It’s brilliant.
After this they implemented the black bins for garbage. Other than really messy stuff you don’t even need to bag stuff in them. It’s a great system and easy to use.
Blue Bin Program
Black Bin
