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Reduce Recycle, Reuse & Re-Purpose
Many years ago, I made a commitment to living a more sustainable lifestyle. I entered through the door of recycling – an unfamiliar door, at that. Everyone recycles cardboard boxes, right? because . . . that’s just what you do (?). All of our pop cans we acquired would be recycled, because in Michigan those cans equal cold hard cash, or atleast coins. However those dimes add up.
Shorty story alert... when I was in community college, we would toss our cans in the trash, too cool to carry around a empty can all day, right? well this guy would go around and collect them out of the trash, (hey garbage picker, ewww) Well that guy paid for his college classes on those cans, sooooo. yeah. Let that sink in a minute.
My family just didn't recycle. I don't really know why, we just didn't. But as I got older I began to explore my craftiness into a more artistic view. I love junk art. I would save all these odds and ends of trash to use together in larger art pieces. Ok yes it got out of hand. I had all kinds of Styrofoam and metal, mirror chunks, beads and shiny baubles, oh you name it, All in the spirit of saving it from the landfill. However the land fill just moved in to my house. oh my. I slowly acknowledged and with lots of tears. I had a daily mantra "I will never live long enough to complete these projects". I had to atleast share them with others. Hello eBay. Yes I sold off collections of stuff. I donated to the habitat center, local craft groups and, and and. I'm still working on it. In reality I just didn't know how to use them or organize them.
I continue my mosaic work to this day. It was the medium that most resonated with me. I use many mixed media items and glass jars hold my "artsy junk" It's also part of my self care regimen and income.
When left the country life to the big city. For what ever reason, I became a much better recycle-er. I don't know if it's timing or what. Maybe it's the curb side service? Maybe I am just more focused? Maybe I just have better ideas now, than before.
I am being more mindful of the waste I take on and put out into the world. I try to look at things and decide if I can re-use them or how to recycle them. Its a question many of us are asking these days. What should or can I do with this? Reuse, reycle, repurpose, Often these terms are all rolled into one
Here are a few tips that have helped my family:
I Don't get sucked into the Eco-Friendly trap: I don't fall for all the promises.
MAJOR POINT HERE: buying that new shiny environmentally-friendly thing is not necessarily better than repurposing something of your own that could fill the same role.
Here are some examples of ways I reuse rather than be tempted to consume more
The hard stuff
So sometimes (or a lot of times!) I find myself with stuff with stuff that we have to find a home for. Often times, recycling is the best way to maintain hazardous waste and divert it.
Cell phones
Metal
Batteries
Computers
Paper
Carpet
Clothing
Glass
Items containing mercury
Living a little more mindfully will essentially saves me money and engages me to think about my way of living. Live a more mindful and less self centered. Try it.
Shorty story alert... when I was in community college, we would toss our cans in the trash, too cool to carry around a empty can all day, right? well this guy would go around and collect them out of the trash, (hey garbage picker, ewww) Well that guy paid for his college classes on those cans, sooooo. yeah. Let that sink in a minute.
My family just didn't recycle. I don't really know why, we just didn't. But as I got older I began to explore my craftiness into a more artistic view. I love junk art. I would save all these odds and ends of trash to use together in larger art pieces. Ok yes it got out of hand. I had all kinds of Styrofoam and metal, mirror chunks, beads and shiny baubles, oh you name it, All in the spirit of saving it from the landfill. However the land fill just moved in to my house. oh my. I slowly acknowledged and with lots of tears. I had a daily mantra "I will never live long enough to complete these projects". I had to atleast share them with others. Hello eBay. Yes I sold off collections of stuff. I donated to the habitat center, local craft groups and, and and. I'm still working on it. In reality I just didn't know how to use them or organize them.
I continue my mosaic work to this day. It was the medium that most resonated with me. I use many mixed media items and glass jars hold my "artsy junk" It's also part of my self care regimen and income.
When left the country life to the big city. For what ever reason, I became a much better recycle-er. I don't know if it's timing or what. Maybe it's the curb side service? Maybe I am just more focused? Maybe I just have better ideas now, than before.
I am being more mindful of the waste I take on and put out into the world. I try to look at things and decide if I can re-use them or how to recycle them. Its a question many of us are asking these days. What should or can I do with this? Reuse, reycle, repurpose, Often these terms are all rolled into one
Here are a few tips that have helped my family:
- Buy only what you need
This is tricky, for sure, but can be done. Impulse buying, assess whether you really need it or not. Try asking yourself the following questions before you make a purchase:
Will this improve my life?
Do I already have this or something like it?
Will this replace something I need that is old/worn-out?
Is this good quality & long lasting?
Is there space (and a purpose) for this in my living quarters? - Refuse freebies
Oh my. This one is even tougher than the first. When I see a dilapidated couch on the side of the road. Just say no. Hubby has not mastered this skill. We are in babysteps on this topic. We all know the temptation of free stuff. This can often fit in with a simple living/DIY lifestyle, as there’s lots of emphasis in acquiring thrifted or free goods. While this is definitely a great practice, it’s important to be sure we need something before we load it up in the vehicle
- Declutter your living space
As my landfill hoarding materialized. I realized that I / we needed to reduce our belongings a lot. This leads into reusing & recycling as well. There were certain situations where we had so much stuff that we couldn’t locate the things we actually needed, and then would go out and buy something new when we had that thing all along! So decluttering can really lend itself to reducing waste in a number of ways.
I Don't get sucked into the Eco-Friendly trap: I don't fall for all the promises.
MAJOR POINT HERE: buying that new shiny environmentally-friendly thing is not necessarily better than repurposing something of your own that could fill the same role.
Here are some examples of ways I reuse rather than be tempted to consume more
- I cant remember that last time I bought paper towels. Laundry day I pick out all the holey socks and use them to clean and polish with. then I toss them . I at least get another use out of them saved some money and I guess you could wash them again but I don't.
- I invested in some glass lunch containers and I bring my own silverware to work. I don't eat out (much) at work. Tupperware especially dollar store type Tupperware is a headache. forget everything else. You know it's a pain to match lids, microwave warped it, spaghetti sauce stained it. Just say no.
- You know all those cute canning jars you have laying around? Pickle jars, Starbucks bottles, those tall and skinny Olive jars? . Or the variety of glass jars you’ve acquired from who knows where? I use them to fill up all your bulk goods. I clean them out spray paint the tops so they all match (of course that's a preference) and ta-da no more messy flour/sugar/rice bags.
- I am saving money buy re-using things. yeah me! Am I also helping the enviroment? why yes I am.
- Compost. Oh I used to think this was hard. I took a sustainability course and I decided the least effortless way, was the way to go. I use these tubes and put them in my garden so many feet apart. They are below the earth and maybe 2/3 feet above ground. I drop all my compost down the tubes. I also put the weeds and leaves in them and done. I use the tubes as trellises with stings bewteen them. I just let mother nature do her thing.
The hard stuff
So sometimes (or a lot of times!) I find myself with stuff with stuff that we have to find a home for. Often times, recycling is the best way to maintain hazardous waste and divert it.
Cell phones
Metal
Batteries
Computers
Paper
Carpet
Clothing
Glass
Items containing mercury
- Know what you can recycle & where. The list above are just a few things that can be recycled, some that are more “alternative.” Earth 911 is a great resource for finding locations near you that recycle items other than the common paper, plastic, glass, & metal.
- Once a year my city has a hazardous waste day for all these types of things. Does yours?
Living a little more mindfully will essentially saves me money and engages me to think about my way of living. Live a more mindful and less self centered. Try it.
Who has big feet? I do and that's about to change.I'm going to be adding many pages and tips and tricks here to help you lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
My mini-sustainable farm garden is off to a clean slate start. It's 20 degrees out today so I'm indoors planning for a warm spring. |
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