Waste less...

For the past several years I have slowly become more aware of how much Americans waste, how much we buy that we dont really need and how much stuff we just throw away. I am increasling starting to think more "green" (even though that phrase bothers me since its so popular now days, I don't know how else to say it). I want to continue to share what Im doing and hope you can do the same because it is all about being aware of what we are doing, how it effects others and our world, and then taking small steps to change.

Today, I had a guest speaker come to my class from our Waste Managment company to talk to us about paper. He said half the garbage in the landfill is paper! I can't believe people don't recycle their paper. America is also the biggest user of paper: paper towels, packaging, kleenex, toilet paper (can't really live without that though!), napkins and everything that we ship, which is pretty much everything at some point, comes in a cardboard box. Here is what I am doing or trying to do: reuse as much paper or cardboxes as I can, buy recycled paper, use rags instead of paper towels, cloth napkins (this is a new one Im attempting), no more paper plates, and when our composter gets here Im going to shred all that stupid junk mail and turn it into something my garden can actually use! My husband calls me a hippie tree hugger, but seriously we throw away 4 pounds of trash everyday and it just sits in a landfill!