1. Swap, don’t buy (try eBay.com, craigslist.org, and freecycle.org)
2. Use concentrated soaps and cleaners since less packaging means less waste
3. If you see litter, pick it up
4. Spread the word
5. Invest in environmentally conscious mutual funds (find them at socialinvest.org)
6. Buy shade-grown coffee
7. Unload your trunk; the lighter the load, the less gas your car consumes
8. Seal up your house
9. Go toxin-free at home
I’ve been reading quite a bit on compacting. It’s a combination of simplifying, recycling, reducing your footprint on the world and being aware of how you spend your money. From their site, “To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc., to reduce clutter and waste in our homes and to simplify our lives”.
While it’s not a new idea, the attention it’s been getting will surely make more people aware of the three R’s, reduce, reuse and recycle. As I read through some of the compacting blogs and sites, I saw that we already take a lot of the actions they suggest.
I regularly share unwanted books, puzzles, videos and toys with our local homeschool group and what doesn’t find a new home there goes to the library store. They resell them and use the money for library funding. We also just donated four large bags of things to the Humane Society. We buy pre-owned when possible. 90% of our books and DVD’s were bought used as are a lot of our gardening supplies (tools, pots, etc).
Here is their yahoo group if anybody would like more information.
Tags: compacting, reduce reuse recycleRelated posts
Have you heard about compacting? It’s a combination of simplifying, recycling, reducing your footprint on the world, reducing consumerism and living a fuller life in the absence of things.
From their site,
“To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc., to reduce clutter and waste in our homes and to simplify our lives”.
First principle – don’t buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.). There are exceptions of course like food and medicine. Even if you can’t go without buying new items, it will make you more aware of mindless buying.
Second principle – borrow or buy second hand
While it’s not a new idea, the attention it’s been getting will surely make more people aware of the three R’s, reduce, reuse and recycle.
Here’s their compacting blog for more information.
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Tags: compacting, recycling, reduce reuse recycle
