For a while now, I've been wanting to and trying to figure out a way from buying sodas. Nothing is working. I am just as much an addict as the next guy. There's just something about the bubbly concoction that just gets my motor revving. Now if that's from caffeine or sugar, I don't know. Either way, it looks as though sodas are here to stay. Ok, that's fine with me. But I'm NOT comfy with all the cans just going into the trash bin. So, Mr. V and I did some talking and we purchased a simple 30 gallon outdoor waste bin, and some thick liners. So, as we are drinking the sodas, we're rinsing them out and then at the end of the day, stomping on them and putting them in the outdoor bin. When it gets full, we're going to take it to a local metal recycling center. Once we get enough money to purchase another 13 gallon bin, we're going to buy one of those, and start recycling our plastic and paper to take to the city. They said if you take it to their office, they'll recycle it for you. My aunt was disappointed that they weren't going to pay you for it, but that part doesn't matter to me. I just want to do it to show responsibility to my son for cleaning up after ourselves. This is more than just inside the home. This is the planet in which we live.
And speaking of the planet in which we live. I've been doing a lot of thinking on sustainability and the whole "green" movement. And really, if you are going to hate washing your windows with vinegar and complain that you miss your windex. Then use windex, pull your sustainability somewhere else. Maybe you are into eating organic, homegrown veggies from your window box. Great! That's what it is all about. You have to be able to maintain your sustainability, otherwise, it's not going to be something you'll do for the rest of your life. Like myself, I'm growing some veggies in a container on my back porch. I am slowly decreasing the amount of crazy cleaners in my house, and I am recycling, and re-purposing some things. Some things that I cannot live without are my Air Conditioning. Because my son gets these crazy asthma attacks when his allergies flair up, I am not willing to risk his comfort for that of saving a few more dollars. Now, this is when it is HOT, while it is breezy and he seems ok, I'll open a window or two and let the breeze pass through my house. And due to the area that I live in (NO public transit), driving in my car is a necessary evil if I'm to go to the college or even the grocery. I even carry my own bags into the grocery store, so I don't have to use the plastic. And what plastic I DO get, I use as garbage bags for my small trash cans. And if I have any surplus of those (I'm REALLY trying to cut THIS down), we take them to the stores for recycling.
So, though it's nice and all to say that we're going to be uber eco-friendly and pee in a bucket and use that refuse as fertilizer for plants, if that's not something you are comfortable with, it isn't something that will work for you. If you can eat alfalfa all day in your weed slacks and live in a house like a hobbit, GREAT! That's truly commendable and awesome. I wished I could, but I can't. I'm trying to do better and learn a more natural way. And that's alright. So long as you know your limits and you try to stretch them just a little, and you try to treat this planet like the home you live in (or better if you live like some people on Hoarders!), then you'll do fine.
I think the worst thing any of us can do, is try to go gung ho on this and gross ourselves out or wear ourselves out by taking on too much. Or by overwhelming ourselves by taking on too much at one time.
So what do you guys do that is sustainable living? What are the limits you draw for your sustainable living? How far are you willing to push yourself?
We are fortunate and have curbside recycling every 2 weeks. They take aluminum, some plastics, glass, and paper products. It is amazing to see how much we (and others in our neighborhood) are recycling.
ReplyDeleteI agree with doing what is comfortable in terms of going green. It’s amazing how media coverage has changed our thinking over the past few years (on this and other issues as well). ;-)
My favorite contribution to the environment is using canvas bags when shopping. Like you, I use the little plastic ones for trashcan liners, but it has been very rewarding to reduce our plastic bag waste over the past few months.
I wish we had curbside recycling. It would make things much easier and then people would be more likely to do it. And I'm sure it would cut down on the costs as well if we had that sort of set up, because then, the garbage man wouldn't have to run every week. Because there would be so little trash. There isn't even a glass recycling place within 50 miles from here.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a hippie. So, recycling is something I was doing as a kid, except there was NO WHERE to recycle anything. I'm glad now there is somewhere, and I can teach my son about how to take care of the place he lives. I keep my bags in my car. I have way more than I need, but it takes a LOT longer for me to run out, and before I do, I get tired of seeing my bags sitting in the kitchen, so I put them back out in my car. They have to be an eyesore for me to do that though! If I put them in their "spot" they'll be forgotten, so I leave them on the desk in the kitchen. That way they are in my way, and I have to take them to the car to put them up. :D
I hear that sodas are one of the hardest things to quit. I stopped caffeine while I was pregant and breastfeeding and have just refused to go back. It was easier to quit then because I knew it was better for the baby, but if I started again I wouldn't have any "real good" reason for quitting. I occasionally will have a Sprite, Root Beer or some other caffeine-free drink but when it just seems too sweet. Best of luck to you in your endeavor.
ReplyDeleteYes, sodas are hard to give up, and I'll go through periods of my life where I'll stop drinking caffeine, however, I'll still drink a soda. :( I really do need to stop drinking them. I think it is the convenience of them. Like if I could have my kool-aid in little self-serving cans or something in the fridge, it would be so awesome! But I don't. :( I'll have to figure a way of doing that. hmmmmm...Now I have a project!
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