Not too long ago I stopped by my favorite bagel store. I visit there frequently, dropping in to order a sesame bagel with egg salad, a little something to tide me over in between drop offs, errands, playdates, and all the other mundane boring things you all don’t want to hear about. Anyhow, while I was waiting I overheard a conversation between the two women behind the counter. One was expressing to the other how she really wanted to buy her daughter an American Girl Doll but complained about how expensive they were. After a few minutes of banter, she stated that she was going to try and find a discounted doll on craig’s list or ebay. I quietly listened and patiently waited for my bagel while noting that I am so glad my girls don’t know or understand the American Girl phenomenon. Actually it was more like hoping they never do. Nothing against them but I think there are more practical and much cuter dolls out there that you can buy without needing a lean on your mortgage.
Back to the story, there was also another patron in the store waiting with me and after hearing the same thing I heard, she nonchalantly responded with, “Oh I wish I would have known, I just threw a bunch out. Dolls, furniture, clothes, etc.” I am pretty sure you could hear the snap in my neck as I whipped my head around and said in the nicest voice I could (okay, okay…it was more like a gasp…..whatever), “What do you mean you threw them out? Like put in the garbage for the garbage man throw out? Or donate to to someone?”
She said simply and plainly, “no the garbage.” As in the TRASH you moron, is what I am sure she really wanted to say.
(photo–courtesy of google images)
Enter…my personality. Nice but firm. “You threw them in the garbage?!?!?! I mean there are a ton of schools, people, friends, donation centers that would gladly take those from you.” “It’s really so simple, you can even call and they will come pick it up from you.” I think I ran at the mouth at that point. Pointing out Vets pickup, freecycle, I know a guy who knows a guy, that sort of thing. The girl behind the counter was listening intently and I am pretty sure taking notes….the only thing on her mind was ….okay, okay but how I do I get an American Girl Doll? The trash woman, well I am pretty sure all she heard was blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I am certain of this because her response was, “Oh I can’t be bothered with all of that”. At that point my eyes bulged out of my head.
I politely kept my mouth shut and I exchanged knowing glances with the two counter women and casually took my carb filled bagel and headed out the door. As I walked out to my car and saw the woman get into her very, very oversized black surbuban suv, I thought….really, really people? People still throw this stuff out?? (ps…nothing against large suv’s. I drive a mid size suv….it was just hers was really big and just fit the personality that she displayed in the store.)
Now I am not one to judge, really I am not. I know there are the occasional times when I throw a yogurt container into the garbage knowing that it needs to be rinsed and recycled but sometimes at that moment I can’t be bothered. I am not perfect. But I do TRY and I TRY most of the time.
My point. There are SO many resources in this day and age. It’s really so simple. And the first step to getting moving in the right direction: Implement a system. Starting with the basics. Involve your husband and your kids. Plan around this rule…the 4 R’s.
- reduce: buy less crap, less crap to put in the recycle begin. The simplest, reuse grocery bags or use cloth bags. Or switch from paper towels to fabric towels/cloths.
- reuse: reuse items that you bring in. Simplest way….use for craft projects for your kids. We are reusing glass bottles to plant our spring seedlings.
- recycle: recycling means when an object can be shredded, melted, or processed in order to create new raw materials; for instance, an aluminum can is used to create more cans while paper and cardboard can be recycled in order to generate more paper products.
- repurpose: this is similar to reuse but instead use it in a different way. My husband likes to find old furniture break it apart and turn it into furniture for our home. Or turn your table scraps into compost!
Now back to my point with the woman. What could she have done with the American Girl Dolls, besides call a friend who has young girls and offer it to them?? There are a number of things you can do.
- Freecycle– I will do a separate post on this soon.
- Vietnam Veterans
- Goodwill
- Salvation Army
- Local church, synagogue, preschool
- Donate to a friends yard sale/garage sale
I did a google search under “pick up donations” and I found at least 10 resources on there. You don’t even have to leave your home. Just put it on your curb and voila it will be gone by the end of the day.
How do we do it? We keep it simple. We separate the recyclables in our kitchen and then take them out into our garage and put in one of our containers. We also have a third container where I keep all of my future donations. I drop them and then wait until I am ready to call someone to pick up.
So simple and a perfect start to your spring cleaning ritual!
Again, I am not sitting here on my soap box preaching about how we are soooo good at all of this. I hope this post does not come across that way and if it does, please feel free to let me know. I have issues just like everyone else (does shopaholic ring a bell?). I bring in so much to waste. But I want to try now, while my kids are young and instill in them the importance of balance in life. The importance of trying to do small simple things to help with our environment. So come on friends, think twice and take a few extra minutes to just do something, even if it’s as simple as rinsing out your yogurt container.