Earth Day Every Day

 

 We just got back from a few days at Mammoth.

But I digress.  

But there is one thing that really bugs me about Mammoth.  

Isn’t This Disgusting?

I was raised by Depression-era parents (both born in the 1920’s) so our motto was “Waste not, Want not,” and we didn’t waste a thing.  We ate every left over–mostly remade into the next night’s dinner, we never bought things that we didn’t need, and we wore hand-me-downs and handed down our clothing to others.

We could use a little more of that philospohy in 2013.

 

Here’s a little idea for old jeans.  I can’t tell you how many jeans we have gone through over the years.  We always give away the ones that are still wearable, but there are always some that no one will want. My mom made a blanket out of old jeans when I was a kid, and so I save old jeans that I can’t give away.  

 

 

If you have any sewing skills, this is pretty uncomplicated.  I will post a jeans blanket tutorial in a couple of weeks–I have a lot of squares waiting to be made into another blanket!

Something else that we can all do to avoid wasting food is to make a shopping list.

 

 

 

I did not use a shopping list for a lot of years.  We have six children–four boys and two girls–and we went through a lot of food.  I just would fill my cart and figure out how I’d use it during the week.  I just threw into the cart what I knew they would eat.

 

But now we are down to two children at home, and my old shopping habits were leading to a lot of thrown-away food, especially produce.  So I started making a weekly menu and shopping list, and I hardly throw away anything anymore.  It’s made a big difference.  (And I’m not wasting grocery budget, either!)

 

One last earth-friendly tip:

I stopped using plastic or paper bags for my groceries or other shopping a couple of years ago.  I’ve got quite a collection of reusable bags, and I must say that these are my favorites.

 

Designed by our own artist, Mykey, I love using these bags when I shop.  They are thin enough to pack easily when I go shopping, but sturdy too.  

 

 

 

Here’s Lucy with one of our bags!

 

Click here for a great website that has lots more helpful hints for recycling and repurposing all kinds of common items–as well as what to do with those not-so-common items!

Love,

 

Lassen’s