During my research this afternoon I came across this website: http://www.dothegreenthing.com it has seven sections for suggestions on ways to be greener. It’s quite interesting and fun. One of the sections is called “All Consuming”. That is an area which I have been trying to change in our life.
I hate consumerism and over the coming year we will be making efforts to buy less and reuse where we can. Think before you buy...do you want it or need it? If you really want or need it, can you make it? If not can you borrow it or swap it or get it second hand? If it must be purchased new then do your research carefully to ensure the best buy. Quality over quantity is a good maxim for many purchases. Try to give away something that you no longer want or use so your house doesn’t continue to accumulate “stuff”. Something new in equals something going out.
I was reading a blog the other day about a lady that made a resolution last year to give away, or recycle seven things each week in an effort to de-clutter her home. It’s an idea I’m considering but probably just a few things a week.
Now where was I? Oh yes, “Do the green thing”. As I said it has a section on consuming. This is taken from the site:
All-Consuming is the art of wasting nothing and using up everything.
You wouldn’t get off a train halfway through a journey and buy a ticket for another one. And you wouldn’t walk out of a movie before it’s finished and pay to see it again (especially not if it had Richard Gere in it).
But that’s sort of what you’re doing when you buy new stuff rather than using up the things you’ve already got. And doing that harms more than just your bank balance. Making and transporting new goods requires raw materials and energy, and so creates lots of nasty CO2.
And to top it off, most things we chuck out spend the rest of their days rotting in a landfill site, where they produce more CO2 as well as other noxious greenhouse gases. Which is why we need to start All-Consuming and stop throwing things away prematurely. Don’t dump those holey socks – get a-darning. Don’t throw out your leftovers – turn them into a nice broth instead. And don’t bin your well-loved Sindy doll – there’s life in her yet, give her to the charity shop.
Woh there cowboy – were you about to chuck out that biscuit tin? Because that would be the perfect place for your tools. Thinking of dumping that flat tyre? Why, that would make a lovely garden planter.
Many of the things we throw out could be put to good use if we just think laterally, and even the most unlikely bits of waste can be re-worked into something beautiful. Old trainers can be turned into playgrounds; cola bottles into fleeces; used silicone into jewellery. So don’t bin your old stuff – re-consume it and give it a second lease of life.
If some stuff-chucking wastrel demands to know why you’re All-Consuming, don’t throw away the chance to re-use one of those great comebacks:
1. My bin-man’s recovering from a hernia, and I’m helping his convalescence
2. There’s a goblin living in my bin and I’m trying to starve him out
Recycling every single thing we can needs to become as much a part of our daily lives as reality TV and typing your own name into Google. Why? Because recycling rubbish not only cuts down on greenhouse gas, it also means we can avoid mining for raw materials, chopping down trees and using up energy to make new stuff to replace it.
So when you throw something away, do it the right way. Give that empty Coke can a second chance. Save that lime green sofa from upholstery Death Row. Don’t slaughter things in their prime; recycle them and let your rubbish get reborn as something new and beautiful instead of trashing our environment. Look here for a list of symbols and meanings: http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/Packaging.htm#4
It’s a fact - we buy too much stuff. We think we need it but we don’t. It’s a compulsion, a fix. A little down? Hit the high street for some retail therapy. A little insecure? Spank your savings and buy the latest thing to show the world you’re as cool and happening as it is.
The latest phone in pink titanium. The latest laptop that's 2mm thinner. Peer pressure and ad pressure means you’re incomplete unless you buy them. Trouble is, surplus consumption leads to surplus production and CO2 so far better if you can stick with what you Got - and be happy
It’s a buy-quick throw-quick habit that’s got so bad that we only use 1% of the stuff we buy six months after we’ve bought it, and making and transporting all that stuff, 99% of which we chuck out anyway, takes vast amounts of fossil fuel energy and produces huge amounts of CO2 and waste.
It also eats up raw materials. Rainforests are being logged, wildlife habitats destroyed, and indigenous communities displaced so we can carry on mining to produce the laptops, mp3 players and sweat-shirts that make us cooler (we think) but no happier.
Makes you think doesn’t it? We are trying really hard here to do our bit and to reuse what we can and only to buy essentials that we can’t produce ourselves. Recent attempts include making Loulous coat out of an old blanket, several bird feeders made out of plastic cartons or yogurt pots. I am saving all my glass jars ready for jam making and pickling in the summer. (I am hoping to get some crops from this allotment!) Both Coralie and I are saving toilet roll tubes to use as seedling trays. I have been cutting up old T shirts for cloths whereas previously I would have binned them.
I have always made use of most of my food but like most people, sometimes stuff gets fed to the dogs or thrown away. This is usually because it has been left too long and is out of date. I am being really good about checking labels and freezing stuff that hasn’t been used. Yesterday I turned the chicken carcass into proper stock instead of just boiling it up and letting the dogs have it. They still got the last little bit of meat stripped from the bones! It had already served 2 meals which is something that goes way back to when our family were young. I could make a large chicken do 4 dinners for a family of 7. I was quite proud of that.
So, over the coming weeks I shall be looking at everything very carefully before I throw it out to see if I can reuse it for another purpose. It will be interesting to see if our bins are any less full. If anyone has any good ideas I am keen to hear them.
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