Reducing, Re-using and Re-claiming
How are you reducing, reusing and reclaiming your life?
The documentary ‘œAn Inconvenient Truth‘ helped me understand my impact on the world around me, the documentary ‘œAffluenza‘ helped me understand the amount of waste I have in my life, and the many documentaries I have seen about the poor conditions people live through in other countries helped me understand how incredibly rich I am in comparison.
Over the last few years I have tried to make it a purposeful attitude to want less and use less and find contentment in that. What a better way to prepare for any trouble times ahead.
Reducing
- Using Central Air minimally and making good use of fans that use less electricity.
- Using cloth bags for grocery shopping and minimizing plastic bags.
- Wearing clothes longer, airing them out, to reduce wear and tear and washing time.
- Reducing waste by making more food from scratch and fewer prepackaged meals.
Re-using
- Buying fewer ‘˜new’ items and picking up 2nd hand items at goodwill and yard sales.
- Emptying containers and finding ways to use them for storing left-over food or for organizing household items.
- Getting the items I can’t re-use together and offering to someone who can on craigslist for free or through freecycle.
- Attempting to fix items before considering them a ‘˜loss’.
Re-claiming
- Understanding my rich life in relation to others.
- Helping others out in anyway possible through giving food, clothes, or money.
- Getting an attitude that commercials do not have the answers to life and know what makes me happy or content.
- Taking responsibility for my financial mistakes and WORKING to correct them, so I don’t make them again.
I hope this has rattled your brain’s cage to realize that we are taking things one small step at a time and yet over time, those small steps are moving us across life with a better end result.
———
Dawn C. is site owner of Frugalforlife.com and is residing in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 11 years. Dawn can be reached at Frugalforlife@gmail.com
Seems to be a topic for the day. “Artificial or live” holiday tress. So much to ponder.
On your website I read the note about you and your mate going back and forth on the issue. Cost seems to be the biggest talking point for those who favor the artificial.
On the topic of this article’s theme, why don’t those who favor artificial speak up on the environmental impact of using live trees? There is an opportunity to reduce there by going with the artificial — I wonder how much petroleum it takes to produce one artificial tree?
I suppose the environmentalist contribution to this discussion is a wash because the live tree can be recycled too.
Dawn: I converted to canvas shopping bags this year and I’ve never looked back. It was a smart decision and I’m glad I made the switch.