Three Simple Ways to Be Less Wasteful

I have a confession to make. I am a wasteful person. For sheer matter of convenience and laziness, I have contributed to the ongoing depletion of our natural resources. I confess that I have carried a cardboard box out to the dumpster in our condo complex and have thrown it in the regular trash rather than the recycle trash, simply because the recycle trash was a good 20 yards further from my door. In fact, I have probably done that several times. I have left the air conditioning on while I was out in the summer, just so I would not come home to a hot house. I have driven to the supermarket that is directly behind my house.

In my defense, our family does try to recycle cans and bottles. Of course, we do exchange them for cash. Honestly, if they weren't worth money, I don't think that I would have made the effort.

I have been lazy and careless, but I just never thought it made that big of a difference. This past weekend, I visited a friend who lives several hours north. I have been friends with her for many years, but she had always lived nearby until recently, and so I had never stayed at her house. After just a short time visiting this friend, I realized how wasteful I am. She does not make a big deal about her efforts to be environmentally friendly, which is why I never noticed them before, but it has definitely become part of her way of life. Upon returning home, I suddenly became aware of how easy it would be to make some simple changes. As I go about making these changes in my own household, I would like to share some of these simple ideas.

Have Two Trash Cans - One for Recycling, One for Trash

This seems like such an obvious thing to do, and so many people I know have been doing it for years. In fact, when I was growing up, my parents had a separate can for recycling, but for some reason I never picked up the habit as an adult. At first, I believe it was because the apartment complex I lived in did not have separate dumpsters, and my small studio didn't really have room for two trash cans anyway. Years later, separating my trash just became something that I would get around to one day.

Our natural resources are not unlimited, so we need to do our best to conserve!

Credit: Nicole Mohr

Copyright: Nicole Mohr