There are 3 R's We've got to Talk About...

I know you've all heard it before, but is REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE actually put into action in your home?

I do my best in my own home, but I will admit that I frequently get overwhelmed and slip. I just can't handle all the junk and the time it takes to "do the right thing." Especially with my biggest excuse - two very young children in tow.

But that's not good enough. I will try to do better, will you?

I had a big conversation with my husband last night after the upteenth time he said "I'm going to throw all of that _____ in the trash!" Usually he's referring to the toys, seemingly never played with, but constantly strewn across the living room. But there are other things, too. Everytime he says this it makes me want to scream. Can't we give them away? Certainly some other kids can get some enjoyment out of our old toys?

Then he says, "Does it really matter if we put them in the trash NOW or someone else does in a year?"

Ack! I think it absolutely does matter. If another child can play with our toys, we are buying that much more time with that toy not in a landfill. And what if everyone passed the toy on? Then maybe it would never be in a landfill! I know that's not really realisitc, but we have to start somewhere!

And what about all the resources that we can save by not manufacturing 2, 3, 4, ... 1,000,000 of that toy? If it is plastic, an enormous amount of water is used in it's production with the formation of toxic chemicals and greenhouse gases. And then there's the packaging! Then, when it ends up in the landfill, it will take at least 10,000 years to break down - or much more depending on the type of plastic it is.

Plastics, in general, make me crazy. I worry about the impact of my kids drinking out of plastic. I worry about the toxic chemicals in a wide variety of plastic toys. And I worry about their eventual home in the landfill.

Here are some easy steps you can take:
1.) use cloth bags when shopping
2.) use reuseable aluminum or stainless steel water bottles, sippy cups, etc
3.) use glass whenever possible (I just switched to Pyrex storage containers)
4.) donate unwanted items, or better yet, consign them for a small profit!
5.) buy toys from local vendors, made from sustainable materials
6.) "green" your home where-ever possible!