MY LIL GREEN DRESS

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

If you’ve talked to anyone who cares about sustainability and being eco friendly, chances are that you’ve heard the term, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” You may be wondering what that means and how you can apply it to your life.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is really just a term that refers to responsible waste management. Let’s break each word apart and look at it individually.

Reduce simply refers to lowering your overall consumption. This can actually be the most difficult of all, because we live in a world where we are constantly consuming. When you really think about it, reducing your consumption has benefits that reach far beyond the environment. Possibly the biggest benefit is to your wallet – if you buy less, you’ll have more money! Most of my friends complain about clutter. No matter how large their homes are, they constantly groan about having too much “stuff.” Again, reducing your overall consumption means that you have less stuff cluttering up your life, and that’s a good thing!

Reuse refers to exactly that. When you are done with something, consider finding a way to reuse it. Often we throw away things that still have value. When you really stop to think about it, many of the things that you get rid of could be used for something else. For example, old t-shirts can easily be cut up and made into cleaning rags. Kids toys can be saved for a younger child or donated to charity. Many household items can be put into a box and used for kids crafts. Even if you don’t have use for an item any longer, someone else may. Before you throw anything away, make it a habit to ask yourself if it can be reused by you or someone else. If it can, reuse it instead of getting rid of it completely.

Recycling is probably the word that you hear the most about, but when you look at the entire concept of reduce, reuse, recycle, recycling should actually be your last option. Recycling is definitely better than items ending up in a landfill, but recycling still produces some waste. If you implement the concepts of reduce and reuse, you’ll have less to recycle! Recycling is still very important and it pays to find out exactly what you can recycle in your area. Local governments are figuring out quickly that recycling is important and many of them are making it easier for us to recycle all the time. Find out how to recycle in your area and then make it a habit to recycle everything that you can.

My guarantee to you is that if you make it a habit to reduce, reuse, and recycle, you will see the benefits in the form of less spending, less clutter in your home, and you’ll feel darn good about helping others and doing the right thing.

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