A couple of weeks ago I taught an art lesson that required crayons so I brought my stash from home in the event that the school crayons were in use by another art volunteer. One of the students took one look at my crayon container and said, why do you keep your crayons in a hot cocoa canister?
Not sure what he was getting at, but my guess was that in his home repurposing might have been a foreign concept. You see, I’m no staunch environmentalist, but I have serious concerns about the waste we humans (particularly in industrialized countries) can tolerate.
I’m reminded of the saying, “Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do or do without.” Many of us have the “do without” part down, at least insofar as it means throwing stuff away. I consider it one of my personal hobbies, in fact. Many a stray (important) paper has been tossed because it had occupied countertop real estate for longer than its allotted five minutes. Still, I dare say we would do better to employ the “do without” portion of that saying at the front end by not making the purchase in the first place.
I can’t stand stuff. My garage drives me nuts because it is the bottomless pit over which I have limited jurisdiction. I get reprimanded for throwing away other people’s junk, er, prized possessions, so I’ve washed my hands of the responsibility of organizing that particular space. Even so, I can’t avoid it altogether so I grit my teeth every time I have to retrieve something.
Just install shelving, you say. Buy an awesome tool chest, for heavens sake. Build a rack for those bikes and scooters.
I would LOVE to, believe me, if I thought that would be the solution to our problems. But I’d just be buying more stuff to organize the overabundance of stuff I already have. There’s just something wrong with that.
The first solution to reducing waste and keeping life (and stuff) manageable is to not buy it in the first place. Be more deliberate about the purchases we make. Clearly I have a bit of work to do in that area. And with a husband who believes that in order to be self-reliant, we have to own one of everything, it’s not likely to happen anytime soon. Garage chock full of junk it is. But the house is largely my domain so I do my best to weigh carefully the number of purchases I make.
A second way to reduce waste is to buy good stuff in the first place. Note: I didn’t necessarily say it has to be brand new. Just make sure whatever it is has good bones.
Which brings me to my next point. Buy used when possible. Cars, toys, baby stuff, costumes, toilet paper. Wait.
Truly though, there is absolutely no reason why someone else’s trash can’t be your treasure. In Jack’s short 15-month life I can count on one hand the number of clothing items I have purchased brand new for him. Thanks to generous friends and family who have equipped him with all sorts of duds from designer to hand-me-down, we are set until he is out of the house…or at least out of diapers. How silly we would be to turn up our noses at perfectly good clothing for a kid who will NEVER KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.
A third way to reduce waste is to use what you already have before buying something redundant. The crayon container is a perfect example. I could have bought a fancy schmancy container at The Container Store. And sometimes that’s exactly the thing to do. But not when you have a sturdy Stephen’s Hot Cocoa container sitting in your storage room that costs absolutely nothing. See? I repurposed AND I saved money. (Check back for a list of my favorite ways to make trash a treasure.)
A fourth way to reduce waste is to give your kids experiences, not stuff. Added bonus: experiences bring happiness. Stuff does not.
A fifth way to reduce waste is to embrace food leftovers. When I first got married I had to convert my husband to this particular art form. Apparently, he had grown up in a home where leftovers sat idle on the counter long enough to harbor bacteria before they were relegated to the fridge with nary a piece of Saran Wrap to cover them. No wonder. If you have enough leftover from a meal to feed your family again, throw it in a labeled Ziploc freezer bag to pull out on a busy night. Otherwise your leftovers will make a great lunch in the coming days. (More tips on how to use up leftovers).
It’s time to simplify and be wise stewards of the earth upon which we live AND the resources available to us. Let’s resist the urge to overwhelm the trash collectors with all of our “junk” by first using prudence in our purchases and then owning our decision by letting each and every purchase fulfill the measure of its creation.