REMEMBERING YOUR THREE R's

Over the years, people have gotten into a lot of bad habits.  We use things once and then throw them away.  And why not?  There are so many things that are SUPPOSED to be used just once and thrown away.  Every day and in little ways, I try to think of new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle all sorts of objects.

* Every morning, my dad makes a cup of coffee for the ride to work and puts it in a disposable cup.  One cup a day times hundreds of days equals lots of cups.  What a waste!  For just a few dollars out of my piggy bank, I bought dad a brand new stainless steel coffee container.  He never spills coffee in the car anymore and I helped him to greatly reduce his cup waste!

* I cleaned my room this week and found a whole bunch of books that I didn't want anymore.  My friend Nick said, Throw them away!"  But what a waste!  I went to my local library and asked if they were accepting book donations.  They were!  I may be too old for some of those children's books, but plenty of kids at the library would just love to reuse them!

* My mom came home with some clothes from the dry cleaners.  Each shirt and dress was wrapped in a long piece of plastic to protect the clothing.  Off came the plastic bags and into the garbage they went.  But what a waste!  I pulled the bags out of the trash--I knew they could be used again.  My friend Ashley was having her room painted painted this week.  Instead of buying plastic at the store, Ashley used the dry cleaner bags to cover her rug, lamp and carousel horse collection while her parents painted the walls!  What great a great way to recycle one thing into something else!

What are some ways YOU have learned to reduce, reuse and recycle?