Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

When I was growing up a long time ago, the three “Rs” – Reading, “’Riting” and ‘Rithmatic” was the mantra. There was even a little song about it, but I don’t remember it.

While those are still important to children today, it’s also important to teach them the new “3 Rs” that several of us are now living by to help each other and the planet: “reduce, reuse and recycle”. Of course, crafters and artists have been doing this for years.

Acquiring goods to make one’s life simpler or to purchase items that one wants instead of what one needs is part of the American culture. I was taught to save up to buy special items, but have used credit cards to replace broken TVs and microwaves. Plastic (credit cards) are easy to use and the bill comes 30 days later, so it’s not like spending immediately money.

The consequences are being felt by everyone in these troubled economic times. So far this year, nine million Americans have lost their jobs. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

 Here are a few tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle:

Reduce
Use cash (not credit) for your purchases. Only spend what you have or save up each week to purchase a luxury item, etc. defined here as something you want (for example, an expensive handmade gemstone jewelry pendant and earrings set, a new DVD collection, etc.).

Go through your home, especially your closets and cabinets and get rid of clothing, household, and other items that you are not using. This reduces the amount of clutter in your home and you can donate the items to needy families creating a sense of good will. Also, you might be able to take a small tax deduction.  

Reuse
Find a different way to use an item or give it to someone else who can use it. For example, many of us reuse the plastic bags we get from grocery and department stores to bring our lunches to work.

Go one step further and gather up the grocery plastic bags and bring them to Jewel or another store that recycles them into other products.  

I reuse the plastic inserts from cookie packages to store small bead containers and spools of wire. Also, I reuse greeting cards that I receive by cutting parts of them out and making new cards.

Thousands of artists and creative, talented individuals are repurposing items and selling them on Etsy.com. This is saving our landfills and helping create additional income for artists and allowing others to purchase unique products from individuals. See some of the plastic beads I rescued and reused at my shop - Linda B.  

Recycle:
Many of our communities and employers are already set up to recycle aluminum cans, plastic bottles and white paper products. Contribute to this effort by sorting your trash.

There’s a new effort to move away from purchasing the plastic water bottles that end up in landfills and using our own plastic water bottle. This means using water from our homes and/or workplaces and remembering to bring our own bottle. One of my water bottles has a strap and it is covered  with a bright yellow and black Batman design.

Freecycle it: The Freecycle Network™ “is made up of 4,619 groups with 6 million members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.”

How does it work? You’ll receive emails of what’s available from other freecyclers and be able to list and pick up items. To find out more and to sign up in your metro area, go to http://freecycle.org. I was able to pick up boxes of plastic and pearl beads, which I am upcycling into holiday gifts.

There are towns, schools and other institutions that have electronic recycling days for old computers and monitors. Check your local newspaper for details. Batteries, cellphones and printer cartridges can be turned in to benefit a specific charity or to earn credits on purchases. Staples has a recycling program and PetSmart has special envelopes to recycle printer cartridges.

Part of my system involves putting unused items in the garage. If I don’t use the item for 9 months (that’s the ideal), I donate it to Goodwill or the veteran’s organizations who call me and pick up goods.

OK, I’ll admit to being a packrat and not getting rid of all items within the 9-month-time frame. In fact, this past weekend I went through boxes in the garage. I had intended to get rid of 3 boxes of items, but I took some things back and only have 1 box ready to go. There are some things that I am not ready to part with and that’s OK. But, they are still in the garage. That’s the rule that I set. Once it goes into the garage, unless I’m going to put the item into immediate use, it has to stay into the garage.

Today is National Make a Difference Day. Start reducing, reusing or recycling today.

Linda Blatchford
Recycler, Jewelry Designer