Earth Girls Are Easy: The Four Rs
January 22, 2009 by nina
Filed under Earth Girls Are Easy
Nina Says:
Sophie is the most environmentally friendly person I know. In fact, she and the environment are BFF’s. Me? Not so much. My heart is in the right place and I mean well, it’s just I don’t always do the things I know I should. One of my three new year’s resolutions was to try and be as environmentally responsible as possible – do the best I can, when I can. And for that I, of course, looked to Sophie who makes being green look oh so easy.
She often scolds me. Like the other day:
Nina: I have this free trial of PowerPoint on my new laptop, but I only get a few uses before it runs out. I use it a lot for Biology class, so what I think I’m going to do is keep it open the whole semester.
Sophie: How can you leave it open the whole semester? Don’t you have to shut your laptop down at night?
Nina: Uh, I do?
Sophie: NINA!
My bad. I just don’t think about things like that. And now I imagine myself like a huge Godzilla trouncing around the Earth oblivious to the damage in my wake. Sophie tells me getting started is easy and all I have to do is think of the Three Rs.
Nina: Um, Recycle, Reuse… and what else?
Sophie: It’s Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, and you have to put them in that order.
Nina: Why?
Below, Sophie explains why.
Sophie Says:
First off, let me just say that as much as I would like to take credit for single-handedly saving the Earth, I can’t. I am merely just a woman. One woman doing her part to make this world a better place for her children and yours.
Now the three Rs are as follows:
Reduce: reducing the number of items that you consume.
Reuse: using an item in another way to extend its life.
Recycle: sending that item to the big recycling center in the sky, to be reincarnated later as something else. But remember, recycling requires energy, WAY more energy than the other two Rs.
Think of it in terms of best, better, and good.
Nina Says:
We’re gonna add a fourth R, because we can. Remember. If you’re anything like me, you’ll need help remembering to put some of Sophie’s suggestions into practice.
Sophie Says:
This week we’re gonna talk about reducing waste and one way to do that is by BYOB to the grocery store and every store. When I go to the grocery store or Farmers Market, I always take my grocery bags. I have about eight. When I go to the mall, I always have my cute little tote. I’m not one of those people who collect reusable bags from every store that offers them, because that kind of defeats the purpose.
I wasn’t always so diligent, but I got the hang of it and now it’s like second nature. I pull into my parking spot, take the bags out, then take the babies out. I put them (the bags, not the babies) in the hull of the cart and shop responsibly, all the while mindful of excess packaging. (Reduce, remember?)
Some markets even offer a small discount per bag (that you use) on your groceries if you use your own. Shoprite offers a 10 cent discount per bag, so if you bring five bags but only use three to pack your groceries, that’s 30 cents off your total purchase. Every little bit helps, right?
- The bags I sent to Nina
I’ve had the same bags for about three years and don’t need or plan on getting anymore. For those of you who think that plastic bags aren’t so bad or you use them to line your small trash cans, or scoop your dog’s poop, here’s a little nugget. Plastic bags are not biodegradable, they photodegrade, which means they break down into tiny toxic bits that eventually make their way into our food chain.
I don't eat turtle, but I'm sure somebody does.
Nina Says:
Yes, Sophie sent me those bags like two years ago. How sweet, right? Well, ask me how long it took me to use them? Hey, don’t judge me! This whole going green thing takes some getting used to.
Remember tip: Keep them in your car. Always. Once I got past Donny’s irrational refusal to use them, we began keeping them in the trunk of the car… and we still forgot to use them. You know, out of sight and all that. So, we began keeping a few in the backseat or passenger seat.
Also, without having to be asked or told, Donny began to use them when returning and picking up library books, taking Kali to my parents’ house, running errands with lots of stuff, etc.
Occasionally, we’ll get weird looks from people in the market, but a judgmental look from them to their plastic bag, and back to them with an, “Earth killer” thrown in for good measure, and that usually puts an end to that.
You can purchase your own bags at most local grocery stores for about 99 cents, or you can purchase them online. While you wait for them to arrive, you can use canvas totes that you have around the house. Sophie doesn’t think you should order online because they have to be shipped and that’s another waste of resources. She’s good, huh?
Every other Thursday Sophie will be sharing her mother nature protection tips, and I’ll report on how well (hopefully) I’m doing. You can post any green tips and ideas you may have that week’s particular topic. If we work together, perhaps we can save our planet from being shot to shit.
So, do you have reusable bags? Do you use them? Any funny stories to share? What reactions have you had when you’ve used them? If you don’t use them, can you pledge to try and use them for the next two weeks until the next Earth Girls Are Easy blogs and report back on your progress?
Nina is a 34-year-old mother, wife and writer who spends her days blogging, studying, changing diapers and watching ridiculous amounts of TV. She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two children and three TiVos.
I’d like to ask Sophie a question. How about junk mail and the number of trees that are cut down to feed the junk mail supply. I work at a law office and it would astonish everyone the amount of junk that goes from the mailman, to us, to the trash. We get junk mailings for clients that died 10 years ago. It really is ridiculous.
We’re actually going to talk about this in a few weeks. Good question though. I’ll let Sophie field and we’ll go in depth in a few weeks.
I only know how to duck catalogs, not sure about junk mail. The catalog site you can use to get companies to stop sending them to your house is http://www.catalogchoice.org. I’m sure there are junk mail sites as well. I’ll see what I can find.
Thanks ladies…every little bit counts! I’m all over this subject!
Here’s another site too: http://www.stopthejunkmail.com/
Wow, I just looked — it use to be free. Hmmm….
I carry my own bags too. I also work for an environmental engineering firm and should have a lot to share. I recently re-certified our company as a Green Business in the Bay Area. http://www.greenbiz.ca.gov/
Part of being green is sharing…as we are now.
Pet Peeve: styrofoam — don’t use it
“We get junk mailings for clients that died 10 years ago”.
Do the good deed and call them. They’ll gladly remove from their database. I had the same problem. When I couldn’t get a hold of them, I saved the pages with the name/address/ID and mailed it to them. Haven’t seen anything since…
The only thing I don’t get is what is so wrong with reusing the plastic bags to pick up poopy and line your garbage with? You’re going to end up using some type of plastic to pick up poopy and put in your garbage whether it’s specifically made for that usage or not so why not reuse the ones you got?
Is there a non-plastic way to pick up poop or line your garbage? I’m not disagreeing, I’m actually curious cause I would like to be more green. The farthest I probably have gone is telling people not to litter. I DESPISE people who litter. I have so much garbage in my car because of the fact I won’t throw gum wrappers or McDonald’s receipts out the window.
I smoke (which probably isn’t so green) and I can’t even stand it when people throw their butts on the ground, ESPECIALLY with an ashtray RIGHT THERE.
Oh! And we did seal up all the windows in the house this winter to keep the heat lower…that’s green right?
Well, for kitchen trash, there are biodegradable trashbags. I personally stopped lining my smaller trashcans with shopping bags a long time ago. I mean, the grossest thing we put in there was a snotty tissue. So our small trashcans are bagless.
My car used to be gross with all kinds of trash, but then I knitted a trashbag for it and hung it on the back of each car seat.
As far as reusing plastic bags for poop pick up, if you’re using them for poop,that means you’re not recycling them. I was just telling Nina yesterday that dogowners could probably reuse bags they already have: cereal bags aren’t recyclable (at least not here). They would be great for picking up poop!
People don’t still litter, do they?
I think I’m going to knit myself a cool trashbag for my car..thanks!
Oh yes, I have a friend that will be driving through a backroad and will hand me all her water/snapple bottles to throw out the window (i won’t). Huh, don’t you have recycling bins at your house???
It aggravates me, especially since 9 times out of 10 it will end up on someone’s lawn, which to me is just plain disrespectful.
knitting a bag? Wow. i wanna knit.
I have been riding in the car with someone and they actually threw a whole bag of Mcdonald’s stuff right out the window. She asked me to do it first but I refused, saying that we should just wait until we get to our destination and then throw it in the trash in front of the building. She then proceeded to push the window button ON MY SIDE and throw the whole thing out right in my face! I was in shock.
I hope I’m not cock-blogging or blog-dicking (*ducks from Nina’s swing because I still don’t know the difference) but I wanted to reply to I Carry’s comment about her car being trashed because she refuses to litter. My car is exactly the same way and so is my purse and my coat pockets. How nasty does a person have to be to just throw their trash on the ground or out the window.
Hahaha! I don’t care. Just hit reply. I get so annoyed when I get in the car and it’s a mess. I don’t go out often, you guys know that. So, when i get the car to go to school, for instance, and it’s junked up, I’m ready to kick Donny’s butt. I always know when it’s a mess in times like when we’re all about to go out somewhere and Donny disappears and then comes in from the garage with a trash bag. He was cleaning out the car so he doesn’t have to hear my mouth. It’s particularly annoying because our car is new!
I’m sooo far from green…..I’d say I’d try to do better, but I doubt that would be the truth.
good luck to you, though!!
Cassie, I love how you just stop by to show some love every time.
lol
I do what I can!
I have been trying to remember to bring bags with me when I go to the grocery store and WaWa(7-11’s waaay better cousin) I have 3 reusable grocery bags and 1 mesh bag that was one of those gifts from a work picnic. I was at the WaWa the other night and the young man gave me a hard time when I STOPPED him from giving me a plastic bag. He says :Why are you using that? Its not doing nothing, what did you save like a puff of smoke or something. I just said at least I am trying, what are you doing? He loaded my GTown bag and I was on my way.
I also reuse jars, from salsa or jam.
I haven’t let go of ALL the plastic bags, I have cats, which means cat litter, and I am not quite there with transporting cat crap , down the hall to the bathroom to flush it down the toilet. Using cereal bags is a good idea, I am going to try it.
***Totally not related to this but related to The BIOBaby Blog about EC. My friend is potty training her son. He went number 2 in the potty. Got up then crapped on his bedroom floor. She broke out the yellow kitchen gloves and the clorox clean up. ALL I could think about was those diaperless babies running around the house.
I love when you mention WaWa. Those be Sophie’s old stomping grounds.
I’m telling you, we sometimes get weird looks when we use our bags. But never from the people working at the market because we almost always do self checkout. We usually have to get the clerk to do an override because when we place the green bag on the scale, it registers as an item.
As for the crapping baby… LMAO!
I forgot about her TU connection.
Just wanted to pass on a hint for the kitty litter. That’s what I use plastic bags for too, but lately I’ve been saving the bags their dry food come in or using those plastic tubs the litter comes in. I clean the boxes, then close up the bag or tub and use it until I get it full.
Gurl, I STILL go to Wawa for egg nog! They sell them in tiny cartons. No one else in my family likes it, so it’s just enough to hit the spot. I also get the occasional Shorti!
Ugh. Eggnog = nutmeg flavored phlegm.
I have recently started using the Power Save function on my computer at home. Not only does it conserve electricity, but it helps my computer run faster as well. =D
OK. I feel dumb. What’s that?
In control panel, there are ‘Power Options’ in which you can change the settings for your computer to:
a) turn off monitor
b) turn off hard disks
c) system standby
d) system hibernates
Each choice has a time pull-down option that you may adjust next to it. An electronic savvy person told me last week that, rather than keep my computer running fully, 24/7, it’s better to set your system to operate in standby after an hour or two. He reasoned that in standby, your computer utilizes the same amount of power as if it were turned completly off, and to get it up and running again, you simply press a key, move the mouse, etc. Hope that helps. =D
There are a couple options, usually you can find one in the shut down menu called “sleep” Newer versions of Windows also have a little brown button when you pull up the start menu, to the left of the lock button.
I see it. Thanks. So, if I use that, the computer will shut down without closing all my stuff?
Every time I get up from my computer and I know I won’t be back for at least an hour or more, I put it into hibernate. It keeps all your programs open (so you don’t have to worry about PowerPoint closing on you until you get that shareable version from Amy!) and when you come back to the computer you just press your power button like you’re turning it on, only difference is everything that was open BEFORE you put it into hibernate is still open. I love it! Good to know I’m doing SOMETHING green over here!
OH! And I have those new energy saving light bulbs all over the house. Replace as many of your old light bulbs with these and it truly makes a difference on the amount of energy you use… the electric bill the first month of using them dropped about $35 and remains that way! I’m all about reducing the amount of money it takes to pay bills!
I also pay every single bill, that allows me to do so, online. That way I don’t have to waste paper or spend the money on stamps. Paperless billing sort of scared me at first because I wasn’t sure I would remember when everything was due, but you always get reminded by e-mail, so as long as you check e-mail on the regular, I think that’s a great option.
I guess I’m doing more green things than I even realized! I look forward to learning more though… thanks Nina & Sophie!! =)
Alot of places (especially at festivals) hand out these bags like they are candy. My girlfriend and I try to remember to use them every time we go out shopping but sometimes we forget and get plastic bags (which we use for dog poop scooping).
I think I need to investigate who gives the best reuseable bag discounts because Giant only give 5 cents per bag.
I need to some investigating as well. I don’t know who does it at all around here. I bet Publix does. I’m gonna check.
I have two of those great reusable bags, and i take them shopping with me every time I go to the store. I had one at first, but the first time I bought more than it could carry, I bought a second. It took some getting used to, but now I love it. I also use them to carry shit back and forth from work.
I will say that we have a HUGE drawer of plastic bags that I also reuse, ’cause I take our lunches to work in them, I take them to the gym and put our wet towels in them to bring them home, I use them as garbage bag liners in the laundry room, etc.
That said, I ain’t so great at the “reduce” thing. For example, Gary cleaned out the fridge the other night. Now as a general rule, I try and keep him out of the kitchen unless he’s making some amazing meal. And this is why:
GARY: Look in the fridge.
ME: (Horrorstruck even before opening the door) Why? What did you do?
GARY: Just do it.
ME: How many?
GARY: How many what?
ME: You know how many what. How many?
GARY: Just open the door.
ME: I hate you. (Relucrtantly opens door) Where are…
GARY: What?
ME: All my…
GARY: Sauces, condiments and olives? I got rid of about 40 jars.
ME: But… they were perfectly good…
GARY: Half of them expired in 1992.
ME: That’s just the sell-by date!
OMG! I am so bad at that. I have like 50 salad dressing jars in the fridge. I bet there are still some in there that YOU bought for the baby shower, Tralfaz.
Grody! Baby shower? Jack is almost 6 months old! Ninuh!
Sop-hie! If it don’t stink up the fridge, I forget about it.
And hey, she hasn’t thrown them in the trash, so there’s still a chance that they’ll be recycled.
I keep a canvas bag full of totes hanging from the hanger hook in my truck… then there are the several bags around the house that never seem to make it back to the truck :-/
I have a story I use to keep my kids conscience of at least recycling… several years ago my mom was diagnosed with terminal disease so she came to live with us until she passed away… when we went to sort out and pack things up in her room, I found her little bags of paper for recycling, plastic bottles, etc… so I tell my kids, if their grandma who KNEW she would not live to reap the benefits could worry about recycling, then so can they.
I am also getting ready to look for estimates and information on solar energy. I looked up government programs yesterday to see if I could figure out where to start and the federal page was pretty confusing. Would love some recommendations on sites for alternative energy for the home consumer.
Oh, and check out the green channel on cable. Good stuff. Did you know there is an ‘island’ of plastic sludge floating in the Pacific Ocean? A big one…
That’s a really powerful lesson.
I totally didn’t know that about the Pacific Ocean.
A good lesson for my kids. So many times I see kids who act like they have forever and it “can’t be that important” when actually they should be the most inclined since they will inherit the earth longer on average.
For anyone who is interested in the Pacific Ocean’s plastic sludge:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/oceans/la-me-ocean2aug02,0,3130914.story
https://bloggers.mycommunitynow.com/an_authors_perspective/archive/tags/pacific+garbage+patch/default.aspx
Okay, the lead paragraph on that story made me laugh. Describing the bird as “full of attitude” and… I mean, they did everything but turn him into one of the birds from Finding Nemo.
And I can’t help but think, “Geez, you birds are pretty damn dumb if you’re eating Legos! I mean, they don’t even look like food!” I’m a true-blue animal lover, but for the love of fried albatross wings!
I have reusable bags, but it’s pretty much a moot point now as due to health issues (and no car!) I have my shopping delivered. I have almost bagless deliveries though- they drop everything off in 3 or 4 big plastic boxes, and I give them back the empty boxes from the week before, and any plastic bags they may have given me (they put things like tampons and such like in a bag to preserve their/my modesty).
If I’m just popping into town for a loaf of bread or something I’ll either take a fold up canvas bag or just carry what I’m buying as it is. I feel really guilty using plastic bags, and some shop staff here look at you like you’re a baby-killer if you ask for a bag, so having a reusable one is a good idea :>
What we do is put foldable plastic boxes in the trunk of the car. After you have paid for your items, you put them back in the cart, push it to the car and then put the items in the plastic boxes. That way they dont fly around the trunk and you dont need to use any bags at all. They fold up, so they are flat and dont take up any space.
Also, I live in Europe and here plastic bags usually cost 30 euro cents, so thats how they get you to think twice about buying them everytime you go to the store.
My husband and I each have a computer and we pretty much never turn them off. Awful, I know. I’m going to make an effort to either turn it off or at least put it to sleep.
On the brighter side, we live in Oregon and are very lucky that recycling is so easy here. The trash company gives you a giant can with wheels for yard waste, and another for recycling, and a small bin for glass. You can recycle *everything* – aluminum, all sorts of plastic, tin, cardboard – and it doesn’t even need to be sorted. You are charged by the size of your trash can, so it’s like a financial incentive to recycle. For two people, we throw out less than a kitchen size trash bag each week.
We have 3 bins too: garbage, recycle, and compost
California is environmentally friendly.
We have two recycle bins — one for plastic, the other for cardboard. We also have a compost bin. Our trash is minimal too. I love it!
I have reusable shopping bags… I have used them for a year, and if you think you get strange looks in Georgia, you should try Texas, where it’s like, “Recycle?? What’s that?”
As far as never turning off the computer, there’s a good reason not to… and you have to weigh it against the resources you burn up… Because you use your computer so much, I would say to leave it on…. You run the risk of burning up your power supply turning it off and on. My laptop is always on… although, I do let the battery run down all of the time.
Also, laptops are way more energy efficient than desktops. It’s one of the best reasons to make the switch and why companies should. Desktops are still cheaper, so that’s why companies still go with them…
Good choice of a blog…. I look forward to this series…
We just began a recycling program in our house – it has made an enormous difference in our trash and I want to get a worm farm, yeah, you heard that – worm farm. Its called ‘vermiculture’ to start breaking down our compost. We have the bags in our car as well, but unfortunately we are still behind in using them constantly – this has motivated me.
Enviromental issues have always freaked me out – since I started becoming aware of them as a teenager. I have always tried to be aware but sometimes I lapse into denial.
First comment on Nina’s new site. Wee.
I’m fairly green. We recycle all our jugs and aluminum cans. Though in Canada it’s highly encouraged ad when you buy those items here you pay a recycling deposit. Return the items empty to the depot and you get your money back. We use the reusable shopping bags we have about ten. But we do all our shopping for two or three weeks in one day so we need an abundance of bags. I still use normal trash bags, but have been looking into alternatives.
We keep lights off when not in use, and use energy efficient light bulbs, all that mess.
But I admit we are terrible about turning off our computers, though as my lame excuse when they are on overnight it’s to run virus scans.
Wee?
Nina, I think she just pissed on your blog!
I think so too.
Hi Leah! We need to be better about turning off the lights.
I tried to post something a second ago…see if it works now.
I should be able to add tidbits to this blog every now and then too.
I recently recertified our company as a Green Business in the bay area. It was an eye opener. And I work for environmental firm (water/wastewater eng firm). Go to this site and see if you can get the application —- just to see what is required from all. http://www.greenbiz.abag.ca.gov/
Here’s my two cents for the day, carry a refillable stainless steel bottle with you. I know we love our water bottles, but eliminate when you can.
Sharing green ideas/tips is a big part of being green. Good job Nina and Sophie.
Thanks for the link, D’anna!
We have a blog in the works for reusable bottles for adults and children: Klean Kanteens, Siggs, and more. Keep your eyes peeled. We are all over that!
lol
I have like 5 Sigg bottles and love them. We use a water filter (under the sink) and I fill my bottle at the faucet.
Sigg rocks!
I’m going to have to check some of these out. I do recycle but have not yet gotten resuable totes.
This is a great series Nina, I can’t wait to read more!
We do try to recycle. I have a couple of those reusable bags, but I will admit that we forget them all the time..I will have to remember to put them in the car and then maybe we won’t forget as often.
One of the things we do is whenever we order takeout/delivery they put the food in these plastic containers with lids, they are really sturdy, just as good as the ones you have to buy, so we keep those and use them all the time.
In our town, they do offer recycling bins, but you have to buy them from the town, and also, you have to use the town trash bags (which are SUPER expensive) so that really makes us think twice about what we throw away.
I think my biggest no no is that we buy bottled water by the case. I know that is a lot of plastic that we throw away. I used to reuse the water bottles but then I read how bad that is for you.
Someone posted about flushing dirty cat litter…is that really something you can do? I thought that was bad for the septic system. I make my husband change our cat litter box every other day because I am super sensitive to smells and if I even catch the tiniest odor from that box it makes me want to vomit so we go through a lot of plastic bags AND a lot of cat litter. I think it would be great if we could flush it.
Oh, and another thing…we reuse our bath towels for a few days, because the way I see it, you are just drying off your CLEAN body, why have to wash them every day? Also, I rarely use the heat during the winter. We just have the one radiator going in our living room and I have all the others turned off. Just having that one on (its low setting) is enough to keep the house warm, and if anyone gets chilly I just tell them to put on a robe or cover up in a blanket LOL. I had a total hysterectomy 5 years ago and these hot flashes are still kicking my ass! LOL
Sorry for the long comment. Can’t wait to see the next part of this!
We have radiators too, but all of ours are on. We keep the thermostat between 65 and 68 degrees, which is cold for me. It’s so funny that you tell your family to put on a robe b/c I LIVE in my robe.
Just the other day I emptied by robe pockets only to find all kinds of random things. Used snotty tissues (not mine), a jacks ball, a double pointed knitting needle, a band-aid (not used), and a grocery list. What?
I recycle my bottles, cans, and cardboard and keep my thermostat set firmly at 65 all winter. I can’t take credit for the thermostat thing though, my Dad was always a heat nazi because oil is so expensive and we lived in a big house. If we got cold we put on a sweater, damn it! Now that I’m on my own I tell my husband, “If I could survive in Maine with the heat set to 65, you can surely survive in North Carolina that way!”
Also, that picture of the turtle has inspired me to start using those reusable grocery bags. I never thought about how damaging the plastic ones can be.
Instead of doing any of those things, I’m going to rent “Earth Girls Are Easy”.
You dork.
Why?
Cause I’m a blonde, yeah yeah… yeah!
Be careful you don’t burn out your laptop’s power supply doesn’t exhaust itself or that your laptop doesn’t overheat.
Some people are concerned about the environment, I am concerned about my laptops.
Hahaha! I have it sitting on one of those fan pads.
I love Sophie.
I always use cloth bags. I avoid plastic bags, even when buying produce. If I must (like when I buy grapes or brussels sprouts) I take the bags back to the store and toss in their recycling bin.
Another tip: Buy local seasonal produce, preferably organic.
To remember my bags (it took a while to get used to), I keep them in the car and make a habit to get them out and put them in a cart before I get Milo out. It kind of sucks when it’s raining or really cold.
I hate when baggers seem annoyed with the reusable bags and only put one or two items in each bag.
You remind me of Sophie.
I use these Blink Tidy Totes as my produce bags. They weigh almost nothing and the cashiers can see through them to get the produce codes. They are great!
http://www.blinkanditsdone.com/index_en.html
I’m so going to try those – thanks!
I got PowerPoint (actually MSOffice Enterprise 2007 ) if you need it…i have a shareable version
Sweet! And I sure do. I need to call you anyway.