i have started them really but as my parents do the shopping, they go to supermarkets and buy food with lots of food miles and lots of packaging, but its cheaper like that, but im doing recycle(i recycle newspapers cardboard etc) i think the reusing one is great one for me to try any ideas?
True it's the shoppers of the family with the most impact but there is still some things u can do to reduce. You could do your part by buying only what's necessary and rejecting some purchases. Buy 2nd hand when possible and only if it’s something you want and need and not just for the purpose of buying 2nd hand. Keep shopping bags on u. Reuse water/soft drink bottles and keep them w/ u, this helps u save $$ too. When u eat out: Take Tupperware along for leftovers (this also helps u not to overeat as u won’t feel guilty for not finishing your meal or for having to use styrofoam). Take the excess paper napkins that would otherwise go to the garbage. These can be use for household cleaning or for accidental spills. See thread [thread=146669]146669[/thread] for this and other ideas. Paper towels used to dry freshly washed hands in public washrooms can be pocketed and reused like napkins above. Reusing water or using the same water for more than one purpose: When washing fruit, hands, etc. look for a dirty dish that needs to be rinsed and place that under the running water. That way when u wash the fruit the dish also gets a rinse. I wash my face in the tub with a bucket underneath the tap to catch the water, this can be used to flush the toilet. If u don’t have low-flush toilets, place in the tank a filled 2 L bottle. To reduce paper: Write smaller. In uni I was able to fit my notes in a duotang instead of a much bulkier binder because my writing was so small. It also made studying much easier as I didn’t have to leaf back and forth thru so many pages, I was able to see entire concepts by glancing at a single page. This also makes for a lighter backpack. Become a power user of a good word processor like MS word. It was hoped that computers would bring us into the paperless society. Unfortunately the ease of printers and the rampant ignorance of the full power of the PC has led us clear into the opposite direction. I will be creating a website for office workers, esp. those on mainframe systems with advice on how to use the power of the PC to reduce reliance on printing. Before printing something for someone else offer them an electronic copy first. Find sources of paper from printers where printing is single sided. My coworker prints off a lot of stuff and sets aside the coverpage (which is single sided) into a pile for me to take home and feed to my printer. This may not be suitable for prints that have to be submitted but for personal consumption it’s adequate. You can find sources of such paper in offices, schools, just ask around. Misc: For the ladies, nylon stockings w/ runs have a myriad of uses. I use mine to tie my hair back and as part of my menstrual rag, I can elaborate if some1 expresses interest. Worn clothes not suitable for donation can be used for rags.
Liguana has good suggestions. Carrying a backpack with reusuable stuff (cup, Tupperware bowl, shopping bags, spoon) is a good habit.
Not far from my house there is a recycle/reuse center where you can take ANYTHING...bathtubs, refrigerators, old phones and computers...etc. and you can also buy stuff from there, as well...some people will buy anything. And everythng is SUPER cheap. My boyfriend goes there a lot to get stuff for his art and sculpture... Look around and see if there are any places like that to buy things you need...or to take things that you or your parents don't want anymore.
Most communities will have a centre like that. Also check out http://www.freecycle.org/ for free stuff or to donate without having to drop stuff off at some centre. Check the curb side b4 garbage pickup to salvage good stuff from landfill doom, aka dumpster diving, and I've done my share of it. A growing boy of 13 will still have a need to replenish your wardrobe for years to come. But I'm letting u know ahead of time that when ur done developing, clothes will accumulate and last longer, keep this in mind when u stop growing out of your clothes. I've had 20 years from the time I reached full development to now and my closet is bursting at the seams, and this is with not much shopping. Some clothing last a long time, others wear out sooner than others. I wear out of tight jeans within 4 years but loose fitting tops last 4ever, I still have some clothes from highschool ...2 decades ago. Unless they suffered a tragic loss, most grown-ups have way more clothes than they need, see [thread=141566]thread 141566[/thread]. What I'm trying to say is to keep this in mind when shopping and build your wardrobe up slowly and in 20 years your wardrobe will be less cramped and less dated (hard to buy fresh styles when u have lots of clothes). U can also get free clothes by friends, acquaintances, parents' friends' kids of your size. Ask, ask, ask, that's the best technique to get reused goods. Ppl have stuff in the basement just waiting to be put to good use and ppl have a strong inclination to help out. I had a friend who would say "let the universe provide". She's right, if ur not shy to ask around and search u can find free stuff for most of your needs. Entertainment Alot more resources are put into manufactoring and distributing CD's than into downloading. And we all know *cough* that we should be downloading paid music *cough*. But until the riaa adapts its business model to the new reality, doing what's right for the environment may not be 'right' for the industry. Don't take up smoking cos the packaging, distribution, manufactoring consumes resources. Shopping Resist buying souvenirs and cheap trinkets for yourself or anyone else. Again these add up over time and accumulate as clutter that is a pain to maintain. Even souvenirs that can be used such as T-shirts can become clutter if there's too much. Become handy with tools, a 4th R is Repair, as oppose to Replace. Stationary Excess binders, folders can be had from almost any office, again just ask. I already covered paper above.
liguana, you are my enviromental hero! I learn so much from reading your posts on here, and they challenge me to step up to the eviromental plate a lot more. Most of this stuff no one else could even think of at causing clutter, or even ways to reuse stuff and all that. Thanks so much!
I am the queen of reusing/recycling. My habits have spilled over into my children as well. The one day when my oldest son who is in kindergarten was at school, the teacher was trying to get him to throw away a plastic cup that had contained his fruit in it, saying it was trash and that he should just throw it in the garbage (we save those and reuse them for a ton of other things) and he refused, tucked that cup into his lunch bag and brought it back home. He always brings home his little plastic baggies and we reuse those as well. No sense in wasting when things can easily be reused! But yes, my husband teases me at times because I refuse to throw much of anything out. But I can find so many more uses for things, it doesn't make sense to me to simply throw things away when they can serve for so much more! Oh and great tips liguana!
That he can stand up 4 the enviro at such a young age is impressive congrats HCM, you've done a good job of raising your son on these issues, u are the queen The pressure to dispose in this disposable society of ours is incredible. So many times ppl are zealous in their efforts to 'tidy up' and they're there w/ a waste receptacle urging u to dump your 'waste' there. I had to catch myself a number of occassions from complying. I get strange looks alot so i know where you're coming from HCM. Yes, plastic baggies can be reused over and over, depending on their condition of course
