One of my New Years resolutions or goals this year was to go a little greener and try to reduce our carbon footprint. :) Recycling was one of the first things I wanted to start doing since I haven't really been recycling for the past few years. To my frustration, Rexburg doesn't really have a recycling service. They do have a place where you can take your trash to recycle but not an actual service. I got use to having a separate recycling bin that you can put out for the garbage man to come and collect with the other trash bins when I lived in California.
For the past month, every time I got back from going to the grocery store I would stuff the plastic bags into an old hospital bag and then make the trip to the recycling bins once it was spilling out my pantry. Finally it dawned on me to start using those reusable grocery bags! Duh! You can buy them at almost any grocery store and are relatively cheap. At our local grocery store Broulims, they have some on sale right now 5 for $5! I did go online and found some really cute ones at Baggubag.com. They are not as cheap as the ones you can buy at the grocery store but are washable, reusable and have a bunch of different sizes. They are not only a great alternative to plastic grocery bags but also for traveling (like to put your toiletries in), packing lunches, and over sized ones for hauling the laundry out if you you're like us and don't have your own washer/dryer. Look how cool they are!
I haven't bought any yet but definitely considering getting some.... especially some smaller ones for packing lunches and traveling :)
I also have found a lot of different products that I really want to get and start using in our green efforts. Check out some of these products I'm considering purchasing, which by the way have recieved great reviews from Reuseit.com which has a ton of different ways to resuse everyday products in your home!
Reusable produce bags. Keep these in your reusable grocery bags and your set for a greener way to do your grocery shopping. You can take these home and wash your fruit and veggies while in the bag before tossing them into the fridge!
Biodegradable trash bags that will break down completely in a landfill
Reusable snack bags instead of plastic ziplock bags
I'm also researching the pros and cons of using cloth diapers when we start expanding our family. Has anyone used cloth diapers on their kids? Any tips or advice on these would be greatly appreciated!
I know there are a plethora of other great ways to recycle like using your egg cartons as jewelry holders/organizers, making new candles out of old ones and so on. What are some things you personally do? I really want to find some things I can do with this new goal!
2 comments:
Hey! I love keeping up on your blog too. Good goal! We reuse a lot of things at home and have a trash and recycle bin. I looked into cloth diapering and have 3 kids I have watched that use them. It is totally a personal choice. I choose not too. We have a really old washer that doesn't clean well and my kids have a difficult time with detergents. Good thing to look into...I know I did:)
I'm cloth diapering, making my own from thrift store items and handwashing them since you're not supposed to use the laundry facilities here in TP for diapers. So far it is a bit of a hassle, but it's worth it to be diapering for less than fifty dollars!!! For us going cloth was more about keeping down expenses. But since I'm washing them by hand, and using homemade detergent, and recycling materials, I guess it is saving the environment. Yay me! :-P
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