Fill in the blank:

This week, in an effort to reduce, reuse and recycle I have, ____________.

So far this week, I have:

1. Purchased a Brita water pitcher, and water bottle in an effort to REDUCE the amount of water bottles used in my household.

These products are convenient and easy to use. I not only reduce the amount of water bottles I use, but I can also use tap water instead of having to buy big jugs of water from the grocery store. ($ saver!)

2. I have begun RECYCLING my cereal boxes. Yes, I know I should have been doing this all along but I didn't know that they could be recycled. After researching what the city of Tampa allows you to recycle I was reminded, myself, of what else could be recycled instead of being put in landfills.

3. I have also purchased the REUSABLE grocery bags at publix, thus reducing or actually eliminating the amount of plastic bags used for each trip. I just have to be sure to remember them every time I go to the grocery store!

Look! You can even show your school spirit while saving the environment!

These three things are the small steps that I have taken this week in an effort to go green. I know there is more that I can do and I will continue to look for new ideas to share with you.

Here are some things that I have already been doing prior to this week:

1. Turn off the lights when you're not in the room! My boyfriend is probably sick of hearing me ask why the lights are still on upstairs when we're not up there. I know it's hard to remember to do sometimes, but it's just the flip of the switch and it can save you a lot of money!

2. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. This may sound obvious enough, but you would be surprised at the fact that some people still leave it running.

3. Turn your air conditioning to at least 75 degrees when no one is home. There is no need to keep it running below this temperature when there is no one to cool. By keeping your temperature at 75 or above (my downstairs unit is set to 82 during the day) you will be reducing the amount of energy you use and most certainly see a drop in your electric bill.

This list of six easy steps is just a fraction of what each of us can actually do to go green. I hope that this post was informative, or at the very least, served as a reminder for you to continue in your efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle!

"Why Should I Care?"

In my previous blog post, I vowed to make more of an effort to reduce, reuse and recycle. What I didn't talk about, in depth, was what can be recycled and why it should be done. Recycling is an easy step that most everyone can take in going green, this past weekend I decided to do some research on what exactly can be recycled, and what can't. It is important to know what you can put in your blue bin and more knowledge on the subject will only increase the likely hood that you will actually recycle.

In the city of Tampa there is a long list of things you can recycle, I found this information on Tampagov.net and was shocked by the amount of items on the list.


What can be recycled curbside in the blue recycling bin?

• Phone Books
• Paperback books
• Junk mail
• Cereal boxes
• 6-Pack soda boxes
• Office paper
• Cardboard*
• Magazines
• Newspapers & inserts
• Catalogs
• Plastic bottles (numbers 1 and 2 only)
• Aluminum and steel cans (including empty aerosol cans)
• Gable-top beverage containers (juice & milk containers)
• Glass bottles & jars (all colors)

So, now that I have armed you with this knowledge, get out there and recycle! But why, you ask? In my last post I touched on a few reasons why such as, using our resources in a smarter way, being less wasteful and trying to reduce the size and amount of landfills being created. This is an important topic to be discussed because not everyone realizes where our trash actually goes, and for how long it sits there.

In an article I found on ehow.com, "How Does Recycling Help the Environment" the author, Julia Fuller, gives a pretty convincing argument for why we should recycle. Fuller states, "According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are over 3,000 active landfills in the United States and over 10,000 old municipal landfills. Papers, including newspapers, are a major filler of modern landfills. If individuals would recycle all of their newspapers, they could significantly prolong the use of each landfill, not to mention save many trees from being cut down." Fuller seems to believe that newspaper is a major contributor to the size and the amount of landfills being created in the United States, this problem most likely stems from the fact that a lot of people don't even realize newspaper can be recycled. It takes no extra effort to put your newspaper in a recycling bin rather than a trash bin. So, as my motto suggests, start small and the next time you take out your trash, be sure to put at least the newspaper in the blue bin and, while you're at it, take a look at the rest of the list and see what else you have been leaving out.

I know this whole reduce, reuse and recycle thing is much easier said than done, and I also vowed in my first post to be as honest and up front about my journey in going green as possible. So I can easily admit that it's not always easy making the change and I have been thinking long and hard of ways I can reduce my consumption of materials. I have recently come to the realization that I have a tendency to overestimate exactly how much of a product I really need. For instance, when grocery shopping I tend to give in to the marketing schemes and buy way to much of a product that I will most likely not be able to consume before it expires. Next time you find yourself in this situation, think about how often you eat, or use the product and whether you will actually be saving money by buying more now, or wasting resources by throwing it out when it expires. After all, it is hard to waste resources when we learn to make smarter decisions about how much we need to buy in the first place!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Resources such as water, energy, and even food are constantly taken for granted in the United States. Many people have forgotten what it takes to have these resources readily available on a day to day basis. The way of life we have grown accustomed to requires these luxuries that so many people have learned to live without. As an American citizen I have come to this realization many times, understanding that I am lucky to live the life that I do. I know that not everyone has the luxuries that I have grown accustomed to such as running water and access to food and water whenever I need it. I don't ever have to worry about going hungry while millions of people all over the globe spend their entire day wondering where their next meal will come from. So what can we do about this? One of the most helpful things we can immediately do is learn how to use our resources wisely. Reducing the amount that we use, reusing things that do not need to be thrown out and recycling resources that we do use is an easy step that everyone can take.

In an article I found on Treehugger.com, these simple steps are just one recommendation on a list of their top ten easiest ways to go green. In the article reducing, reusing and recycling our resources are number six on the list, today I am asking you to make them number one on yours. This is what the article has to say about reducing, reusing and recycling.

Nature Recycles Everything. So Should People. Making proper use of the blue recycling bin has become an iconic action. Reducing the amount of stuff we consume is the first step (and the first word in the mantra reduce-reuse-recycle), finding constructive uses for "waste" materials is the second. Why? Nothing is ever really thrown "away" -- it all has to go somewhere. By recycling and reusing, we reduce the amount of waste that sits in landfills (where even biodegradable products often can?t break due to lack or oxygen and sunlight). Recycling materials also saves energy compared to using virgin materials to create new products. Some materials, like aluminum and glass, can even be recycled without being "downcycled," or turned into a product of lesser quality.

After reading the article I felt that this was one of the easiest steps to take. Although recycling will be easy for me, finding a way to reduce and reuse my resources will be a challenge for me. I vow to make this my mission this week, and I hope that you will do the same.