Reduce/Reuse/Recycle

In our family, we try to follow the Reduce/Reuse/Recycle slogan in everything. It is an attempt to try to be less of a consumer, and show more care for this world God has given us. I look around sometimes and am so saddened by all the waste that I see in our society. How could we feel so privileged that we think it is not our responsibility to take care of our resources? Less privileged societies seem to have such a solid understanding of how precious everything is.

There are so many ways to cut back. Very little goes into the trash. The one area in which I want to go a step further is food trash ... composting. I'm hoping to start a compost pile this summer. I know the smell can be really awful, but there must be some way to do it so that our wasted food doesn't end up in a plastic bag in some landfill somewhere.

Every little scrap of paper goes into the paper recycle ... tags from purchases, little scraps I've used for notes, paper from around tea bags, etc. And those scraps for jotting things down are almost always cut from paper that has been printed on only one side (reused first). We have stopped using bottled water, and have reusable water bottles that we wash and refill (made from "safe" plastics :-) ) We've replaced all our bulbs with florescent, and turned the thermostat down to a cool 63 degrees. We did have it at 59 degrees, but found it very difficult to shake off colds when it was so chilly. I almost never turn on a light when the sun is up.

So, we've taken what I would consider the second-level steps toward taking care of our resources. There is so much more that we could do. It is just SO important ... I think about the world I have inherited from my parents and grandparents, and how it has changed for the worse. I can't imagine the world I am going to leave for my kids and grandkids. I know this process of deterioration is by design, leading to Jesus' return and the righting of everything. Until then, however, I feel such a responsibility to take care ... to be a good steward.