Good to the Last Drop - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I'm one of those people.

I cut the bottom off of the lotion tube to scoop out the part that won't squeeze out.

I recycle every tiny piece of paper. Bigger good pieces are saved for art projects.

I feel guilty when I have to throw away actual trash.

I pay the city for recycling services.

I can't believe we don't recycle glass. It hurts me.

I have upside down bottles of stuff around the house, all to gather the dregs and put them to use.

I dumped the huge cream rinse container into a reused coffee cup and keep the ugly thing by the tub so I can get all the drips.

I have trained my honey to do the same thing.

I am upset that the fabric softener people do not make the cardboard refills anymore. I once had a plastic bottle that I kept for years, just by refilling. Until someone (who shall forever remain nameless and guilty) threw it out.

I make people use cloth napkins at my house. Some of them resist. But I keep trying.

We use real plates and silverware as often as possible.

Our recycling bin is larger than our trash bin.

Some of my clothes are decades old. Literally. If they look good, why get rid of them?

Some of the old, old clothes are ugly. They transform into work-in-the-yard and paint-the-house clothes just fine.

Hand-me-downs are fun. And already broken in.

I compost all I can. I wish the city would enable us to do more.

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. (Psalm 24:1)

The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it. (Genesis 2:15)

There is so much I can do to make a positive impact to our natural world of finite resources. There is so much more I can do.

Choice by choice, I strive to not leave my mark.


What do you do? Maybe it is something I haven't thought of yet.


Angie Quantrell blogs from Yakima, Washington, where nature in the form of farms, orchards, vineyards, mountains, lakes, and rivers is abundant and beautiful. She would like to keep it that way.

Recycle a Kitty. Or Two.

I've long had goals of recycling everything I can get my hands on. After all, we live in a world with LIMITED resources. We should do all we can to preserve those resources.

Remember? Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Three key words to remind us how to decrease the amount in landfills and the need for raw materials.

Eons ago, recycling was new. And then I went to Western Washington University. On the West side of the state. Ecology and the environment were (and are) hot topics at Western.

And now, thankfully, ecology and the environment are big everywhere. True, I may go overboard at times, if one asks my family, but so what?

If we all went overboard to reduce our waste, reuse all we could, and recycle everything possible, just think how much we could save! Natural resources, money, landfills, garbage, the environment...

And I LOVE the new refurbishing movement. Let's take the old ugly, and transform it into something tres chic and use it for another 40 or 50 years. Amen, Sistah!

I am so glad to live in a city that has recycling as a part of its waste management plant. Not glass, but let's not open that bottle of worms - for now.

Being good stewards, after all, is a part of God's Big Plan. He gave us this place. We need to take care of it.

Enough preaching.

On the personal level, I've had additional help with recycling. And destruction, but that's another subject.

Meet my new converts. Mabel and Monet, on the job, condensing my recycling box so more can be added.

Way to go, girls!

Let's not fight about it! Let's see if you can get your kitties to recycle.

The gauntlet has been tossed.