Our society is such that we throw things away like there is no tomorrow. No, really….We sometimes act oblivious to the fact that our landfills are filling up and eventually we will run out of space to put all of our junk.
Frugal living means that we are more aware of what we use and we try to reuse everything that we can. This saves us money, of course, but more importantly it helps our planet. Here are a few things to keep in mind so that you can decrease the amount of waste that you produce–and save money too.
We are all familiar with the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle. Here’s how they can apply to household use and frugal living:
Reduce
Buy less disposable products, including dishes, napkins, and flatware. The extra time it takes to throw these items into the dishwasher will save you money and reduce the amount thrown away. You can make simple cloth napkins with leftover fabric. Simply cut fabric into 12-18 inch squares and surge or hem the edges. If you have enough cloth napkins, you might never need paper ones unless you have a large party. Think of ways you can replace other disposable products with earth-friendly alternatives.
Reuse
Learn to question the items that you throw away. Ask yourself if you can find another use for that sour cream container, old calendar, or mismatched buttons. Be creative. You may choose to keep a container of knick knacks around for art projects for the kids. Or, search the web for ideas for how to reuse certain items.
Recycle
Although recycling is a good idea, most recycling won’t actually save you money. Do it anyway. If you don’t have convenient curbside recycling at your home, check the phone book for recycling centers near your house. Of course, if you want to do just a little extra work you could recycle cans or bottles at centers that will pay you a small fee.
The main goal is to keep our minds focused on tomorrow, trying to keep this world as beautiful as we can for generations to follow. Fortunately, it generally means we can save some money while we’re at it.