Save The Whales!

"Save the whales! Save the whales! Stop using water! Honk to save the whales!"

The chanting continued as I tried to enjoy my arts and crafts indoors. Drawn to the point of irritation I went to the front door and peered out to see my little sister marching in wide circles around the front lawn with a hand written sign in the drunken scrawl that can only belong to an eight-year-old. In true picketing fashion, her little construction paper sign is haphazardly taped to a ruler and she's pumping her little arms up and down, shaking her sign at any car that drives past our corner house.

"Save the whales! Save! The! Whales!"

"What are you doing?" I demand with hands on hips with the superiority that can only belong to a mature older sister of ten like myself.

As if it were answer enough, she directs my attention to her sign before going back to protesting and "informing" the passersby.

She kept up with her strike of avoiding water (mostly because she didn't want to drink water and mostly just wanted juice or pop) by not drinking it nor bathing for a whole two days before she gave up on "saving the whales".

But to this day, almost twenty years later, her protest has stuck with me and I'm reminded more and more everyday with every sad starved polar bear picture or posts about sea turtles that have choked on plastic or any mention of the "trash island" that is floating out in the ocean. (If you haven't heard of it or not entirely sure what it is check out the link below)

And I can't help but to wonder where we want wrong? How did we let it get this bad? And what can I do to help?

I've looked into easy and not so easy (task or financial wise) to see what I can do as an individual to start making changes to help our planet. It's going to sound super cheesy, but when it came down to it one of the best and most basic ways to help our planet is the three Rs.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Here are some simple ways that I've followed the three Rs in my day to day life without breaking the bank or bending over backward.

Reduce

Reducing my waste/plastic consumption. We don't really realize just how much plastic we use in one day. Our toothbrushes are plastic. The coffee you purchased on your way to work (and the subsequent cups of coffee you have once at the office). The container/wrapper your purchased lunch came in and the plastic cutlery you used to eat it. The copious amounts of grocery store bags because two trips are for losers. The wrappers on the food you bought from the grocery store for dinner. Before you know it you are swimming in a sea of plastic and waste (every pun intended).

A sups easy way to reduce your waste is to replace the things that you use everyday with either reusable or ecofriendly packaging. That morning coffee, see if your favorite place has a reusable travel mug or ask if it's ok to bring your own.

Investing in a set of travel "silver"ware for eating is a great idea too! (I got a two pack bamboo set with travel cases complete with spoon, fork, knife, 2 metal straws off of amazon for like $15). This is something you'd be able to leave at work and say no thanks to that plastic wrapped plastic ware.

You can also switch out your disposable straws for reusable plastic straws or metal straws (of which can luckily be found at almost any grocery store or my BFF amazon!)

Another great way to reduce your plastic is at the grocery store. Lots of options here:

1. We all have that bag full of bags either in the basement or stuffed in a cabinet. Reuse those bags instead of adding more to the hoard.

2. Ask for paper instead of plastic. For the most part, the paper bags at stores (I like shopping at Meijer) are pretty sturdy and can hold way more weight then you might think. The added bonus of using paper bags is that you can use them for your recycled goods in your house or you can use reuse them on your next grocery trip!

3. B.Y.O.B. --No I don't mean booze (though it would probably make shopping waaaayyyy more fun. I mean Bring Your Own Bag. Reusable bags a big thing right now (and have been for a bit). You can buy them almost anywhere! (Your local grocery store probably has some for purchase at checkout. I know my local Dollar Tree has some pretty hefty bags and TJX companies (Marshalls, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods) have huge reusable bags for just a dollar!) This is also a great idea for produce. Instead of using the thin plastic bags provided at the store, you can purchase reusable produce bags (which come in all different shapes and sizes, mesh or silicon or durable plastic).

Reuse

When it comes to reusing, go back to your childhood imagination where a fridge box could be a rocket ship. That's basically what reusing comes down to. Using stuff for something else that it wasn't originally intended for.

If you are a plant lover like myself, this is for you. Plants of almost every shape and size can grow in just about anything. All they need is some dirt (and even then sometimes not even that) and some sun. I've used everything from chipped coffee mugs to soup cans to grow my little friends by my bedroom window. This is a great way to take something that you might love and don't want to get rid of (like that coffee mug) and repurpose it!

Ziploc baggies. Don't be afraid to reuse these! They may come off as non-reusable but they totally are! Use the same sandwich baggie for a week. That plastic bag that has the onion smell still in it? Use it for the next onion. And the next. And the next. Most baggies can be reused as long as it didn't have raw meat, tears or holes in the plastic. You can always wash out the baggie with a little bit of soap and water between each use so it's like brand new every time!

You can also reuse those amazon boxes just chilling about for organization or have your kids create something out of them! (My sister once built a mini couch for our bedroom out of old shoe boxes and empty kleenex boxes).

You will be truly amazed with how much you can repurpose around your home without actually having to get rid of them and best part is that it doesn't increase the clutter (since it was already there to begin with) and you can even use some stuff to organize and declutter!

Recycle

This is so important and so easy! Instead of tossing that plastic water bottle into the trash can, use the recycle bin. I am a stickler when it comes to recycling in my house. Cardboard, toilet paper rolls, water bottles, cans. You name it, I make sure it makes it to the right bin.

I know that there are still some cities (a surprising number actual) that do not have curb recycle pick-up like garbage day. Despite this, there should still be a recycling plant near your home that you should be able to drop stuff off at. I know this is a little extra work, but if you want to be a die hard (seriously more power to you) collect recycling over a week or so or even a month and drop this off.

This goes for curb side pick-up people as well because there are still things (like Styrofoam and some types of plastics and glass) that can't go curb side, but can be deposited at the recycling center.

If you're unsure of what can and can't be recycled check the bottom of plastic containers and Styrofoam to check the recycle symbol and double check it with your local recycling plant guidelines.

Something that you may not think of recycling is clothing. Donating to places like Good Will or Salvation army or even taking your old clothes to a resale shop is a great way to keep good durable clothing in circulation and out of landfills.

It's as simple as that. As easy as one two three. Together we can take the steps to help improve our planet. After all, it's the only one we got.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Simple. Easy. #savethewhales