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Taking recycling too far?
After spending a very long weekend with the in-laws and taking a close look at how they throw away next to nothing, I thought it would be interesting to post some of the crazy things people recycle. Got any good ones to share? Here's a few of my observations:
1. Unused plastic milk cartons can be used for various things like cat food or storage bins. Unsightly? Yes indeed.
2. Tossing ziploc bags is practically a sin. Those things are meant to be washed, rinsed, and re-used.
3. Ever buy a fresh pineapple and wonder what to do with the leafy top? Don't throw it away... plant it in a pot! It will fit right in with the 50 other pineapple tops around the house.
4. Don't know what to do with those little stubs of bar soap that are almost too small to use? Put them in the guest bathroom! And give your guests about 15 of them so they might have enough to make a lather. And then they can dry their hands on 30-year-old towels that are so thin you can almost see through them.
5. Ever see some clothes on the side of the road and wonder why anyone in their right mind would toss them? Pull the car over, go grab those pants and give them a quick look-over to check for proper size. Stick those babies in the washer and you've got a new-to-you pair of pants! Lucky day.
Re: Taking recycling too far?
You're cracking me up!
My mom had a yard sale every year when we were kids. One of the first items to go? My brothers (old) socks and underwear. Every.single.year. I'm fine with vintage and second-hand clothes. Second hand socks and underwear? No thank you. I'd rather have cold feet and go commando.
Guilty as charged.
My mom washed and reused Ziplocs to save money when I was a kid. I never thought it was strange till I did it at college and my roommate said something. Now I do it to avoid sending them to the landfill, rather than to save money, but I never keep the ones that held raw meat.
H's grandma will do the same with zip-locks. She also reuses foil, plastic wrap, plastic cups and plastic cutlery. When were there we always try to break our cup and cutlery and H will tear foil or plastic wrap into tiny pieces so they can no be used again.
My grandma will add water to dish soap to make is last longer.
I however am not this frugal.
Uhh...why? Just because you don't agree with it doesn't mean you should go out of your way to keep her from doing it by breaking her stuff. I'm assuming she's not being unsanitary and is washing her cups and cutlery between uses.
I avoid using plastic wrap and zip lock bags. For one thing, I was raised to reuse that stuff and it just grosses me out. Even if they are soaked in scalding hot water I just don't think it is sanitary - just my opinion, I am strange like that!! (please recall I scrub my baseboards on a monthly basis - I am weird about stuff like that)
For the record, restaurants are not allowed to reuse ziplock type bags, foil, plastic wrap, etc - I think the health department probably has these rules for a reason. Then again, even though the Chinese buffet near my house never seems to pass inspection I always seem to find myself there...
Oh, totally. And really, those things are disposable items and are not meant to be used over and over again. But on the flip side, they sure take a long time to break down in landfills after one measly use...it's really incredibly wasteful. I've actually been trying to not use things like plastic wrap and bags to cut down on the amount of stuff going into landfills. Mainly I use aluminum foil because it can be recycled, but I still do stuff like reuse big plastic bags when I have to use them at all. Melamine plates and cups are a great invention for cookouts and parties and stuff. I wish they would take the place of disposable cups and junk entirely because you can put them in the dishwasher and reuse them over and over again. My mom actually just got me a lot of cute melamine dishes at Target.
Snowful, I bet you wish you never started this topic, huh?
Bluekid - speaking of melamine... I've seen tons of cute melamine plates and cups and I'd love to have some, but they typically aren't microwave-safe are they? I wish they were b/c I would totally buy myself a set, but BF is already uptight about all the plates and stuff we have that don't seem to do well in the microwave. The ones I've seen have been at Target and Pier 1.
bluekid, have you seen these?
http://www.barebysolo.com/products.html
I was excited when I saw the cups because we could actually recycle them. (We can only recycle #1 and #2 plastic in Yukon.) I haven't tried the plates yet, but I plan to soon.