Wednesday, March 23, 2011

What A Waste!

I am not a Tree Hugger. I am not a Save The Planet or forest or ocean person. But I HATE waste! I LOATH...yes I said loath in 2011...the Buy and Trash Lifestyle America has embraced. Flip on the tele. Nothing is good enough. Isn't that what they're telling us? Isn't that what we are teaching our kids and feeding ourselves?? That what we buy today will be less than next year. Your phone, your clothes, your decor, your video games, your Rubbermaid lunch thingy, even your cool BPA Free water container. I think we have lost the reality that these things have to go somewhere when they are discarded...the trash. In a big hole in the ground...forever...doing nothing...going nowhere...forever.

This bugs me. Can you tell?

Call me crazy...this is what we have changed:

We use glass not plastic for almost everything.
Why? Because there are no toxins in glass and you can use them over and over and over again. And food just looks so much better in glass, all pretty and shiny.

We use our own grocery bags (when I remember to put them back in the car!).
Why? Because you can use them over again, wash them, buy really cute/fun or masculine ones, and sometimes get 6cents off (each bag) your grocery bill!

We recycle cardboard, paper, and soon plastic.
Why? Because it's so easy and you'll be amazed at how your pick up trash can is only half full each week or less.

We donate instead of trash. And buy used when we can.
Why? Because someone's trash can be someone's treasure. And! It's so much cheaper to buy used of course :)

We buy from the bulk section. 
Why? Because it's so much cheaper! And! there is so much less packaging (to waste).

Our newest thing is using reusable produce bags.
Why? Because throwing those flimsy plastic bags away drives me nuts and I detest food in plastic.

I first planned on sewing fabric ones with drawstrings but then the checker would have to take them out of the bag for their #s and you don't want a frustrated checker so I decided to look for laundry bags with zips but I was at the Dollar Tree and found a four pack or mesh bags with drawstrings. So $3 later I have 12 bags and didn't sew a stitch!

I didn't one day wake up and say 'We are going GREEN!' It happened one thing at a time. I want to be a good steward with what The Lord has given us; with our health, with our money, and with his glorious land. We can not save our planet. Because of sin we are living on an earth that is slowly dying just like us but that doesn't mean we throw caution to the wind, right?

Here's a link on making your own grocery bags:
http://tipnut.com/35-reusable-grocery-bags-totes-free-patterns/


Check out this video and be inspired!