By suggesting you guys to reduce, reuse, AND recycle, what we mean is minimalize what you use. Everyone has a hard time doing this, especially when we are forced to buy our essentials (toilet paper, utensils, clothes, food, etc.) that are wrapped in unnecessary plastic. We can’t help it, but to buy it because we NEED it. But there are always small steps we can take to reduce our use of excessive things we do not need.
- Reduce what you use in a day.
- This can be from printing to using a napkin after meals. Slow your roll when using toilet paper. This would save your parents from spending extra money by just reducing how much paper you use.
- Take what you need, not what you want. When it comes to food, take only what you can eat so you won’t waste it.
- Instead of throwing away old clothes, DONATE them! There are many people in need of clothes, hygiene products, food, and more. Even if you don’t think it’s worth it to donate, just try. Many people in need will take anything. Your clothes could be their pillow, wash cloth, or an extra layer to wear in the cold.
- Reuse your items.
- Change your habit of using throw away plastic water bottles. Instead, get refillable, stainless steel water bottles to reduce your plastic use. We HIGHLY recommend investing in a Brita water pitcher. You can fill it right from your sink and it will filter out the water for you so you can refill your stainless steel water bottle. This would be a very efficient way of reusing.
- Reuse your plastic bags or other bags for groceries and other items to reduce waste. Or.. bring your own bags! Instead of taking the extra plastic bags they offer to carry your groceries, put your groceries in your backpack. At the end of the day, you and your backpack are going to the same place (back home) right?
- Save your old clothes to reuse them as washcloths. Instead of using paper towels to clean or wipe, use your old clothes. That way, you can keep reusing them instead of throwing them away after one use. BE CREATIVE! Redesign your old clothes into something you would wear, pass it on to your little siblings or cousins, or make scrunchies out of them.
- Recycle!!
- Anything with the recycle sign, throw it in the recycle bin! If you don’t know if you can or cannot recycle it, don’t be afraid to ask. It shows a lot more good in you to try to help the environment by asking if your trash belongs to the recycling bin than to trash something in the trash bin that was recyclable. Also, a common myth is to rinse out bottles before recycling, but one doesn’t have to as it wastes water.
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