No Impact Experiment -- Day 2

Today was all about reducing the amount of trash I create.  I generally don't create so much, but today was one of my worst days!  First, I failed to collect my trash yesterday, so I couldn't separate it into two piles, a pile for the waste created from stuff I used for 10 minutes or less and stuff I used for more than 10 minutes. The trash I did create was from my lunch, which was leftovers from a meal out this weekend, so it was in a plastic clamshell, and a few napkins. This afternoon, though, I arrived home to find several packages on my doorstep.  Two packages were iPods, which were in small boxes. One was a big box from Amazon.com, which was pretty full (I hate it when you get a big box from Amazon with only a tiny thing in it). I will definitely recycle the cardboard, and I will try to reuse the plastic bubble packing materials. Finally, there was a battery that arrived in one of those plastic mailing bags. The bag is not big enough to use as a trash bag, but maybe I will find a use for it. So, the experiment today DEFINITELY made me more conscious of the amount of trash I am creating. The one thing I could have done differently that could have made a real difference was to take my own container to dinner on Saturday night in anticipation of the leftovers.  Maybe next time.  My daughter has a birthday party coming up. I will try VERY hard to limit the trash it creates. Anyone have any suggestions for alternatives to goodie bags?