So, as most of you all know, I've been taking little steps to make my lifestyle more "green". There are a TON of things I have not yet done..like cut out meat, or buying brand new furniture (like my brand new dining room table I just bought instead of my dream "recycled" dining room table I wanted to get), or driving to the grocery store that is seriously 1 block away.
However, I think I've done a lot of small things, and I have just realized how much those small things have added up. I made this realization after getting out of my daily routine, and having training all last week in Omaha. To see the waste that I eliminate from my life still happening just drove me INSANE.
For example, I recycle absolutely EVERYTHING I can...cardboard, glass, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, beer bottles, yogurt cups, you get the picture. This week at training, they provided us with water and juices to be poured into little plastic cups. By the end of Monday, I was ready to write names on each persons cup because each time they got a new glass when they needed/wanted more water. WTF!
Example #2...the Omaha building has just recently started a recycling program. They have one can for trash and one can for recycling in EVERY room. Which I think is awesome. The negative thing about that...if you don't work in that building, you completely and totally ignore the signs on those trash cans saying "For Recycling Only" and "For Trash Only", each with a list of items that should be placed in each can. Therefore, it ended up being we had 2 separate trash cans. The participants threw everythign away...even aluminum cans. HELLO, those can be recycled.
Finally, example #3...the person I drove with everyday would come to the car everyday with a nice 42oz. fountain drink he had gotten from the gas station. So, I asked him...do you get a new cup every single time you get a soda...and he said "yes". WTF. I said he should use the same cup over and over because A) It saves you money (granted, only like 10 cents, but over time, that adds up), and B) it eliminates waste! He says "Well, they are recyclable cups". To which I say "do you actually recycle them, or do you throw them away". Guess which he does...Yep, he throws them away...EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Now, I know I'm not perfect, like I admitted to above. I still buy clothing made out of regularly grown cotton, I still have my plastic food storage containers (mainly because I cannot find a good glass set anywhere...any suggestions?!), and I still use perfume that is full of phalates and every other nasty chemical out there...and and I'm still using some chemically filled lotions, because I can't find a good lotion recipe, although I have finally found a place to find cheap essential oils. So yes, I'm not perfect...but after this week, I'm feeling much much better for what I have changed. Now, if I could just get myself to stop using all the energy by using a treadmill!
1 comment:
I think you should do a blog post on some of your favorite products you use. Why you like them so much and why the non-green products of the same type are so bad. There really isn't alot of direction on these things and I don't want to do the research. Grey is becoming more "green" too so it would be easy for him to come look at what works and what doesn't. Just an idea. BTW, I also hate all those little plastic cups but yet I do use paper plates, the green kind.
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