Repurpose What You Can

Repurposing things is a great way to avoid new purchases and help the environment.  I always try to re-use plastic/paper bags from the grocery store and other shops as many times as possible.  I use newspapers from work as packing material.  I always use a refillable water bottle.  Those are obvious, but here are some of other ideas!

If you aren't buying in bulk already, then you are likely accumulating a ton of packaging from the modern food industry.  One of my favorite repurposing tips is to take the jars that salsa comes in, wash them out, and use for organizational purposes, Mason style jars make great cups as well!

This may be obvious to people, but if you do a lot of mailing, particularly for gifts, you should always seek to repurpose the boxes you receive to save on packaging!  Then you can use newspaper or mailing to ensure the package is tightly packed and the contents safe inside!  While I like to send gifts electronically to avoid the damage of shipping cross country via a courier, sometimes you need to send your homemade gifts to your cousin in Los Angeles!

If you ever purchased CD's in bulk to create your own playlists, repurpose the empty container into a bagel sandwich holder!  Obviously not practical for everyone, but it looks great.

Paperclips are great for wire organization rather than purchasing some plastic doo-hicky.

Repurpose old books as shelves, for a cool antique look

I use broken clay pots as garden markers rather than purchasing some sort of cardboard marker that sticks in the ground.  Aesthetically they are much more pleasing, and it gives new life to your chipped pots!

Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

I purchased the Omnivore's Dilemma at a thrift store for $2.00 a few months ago, and it had been sitting on my shelf for awhile.  I delved into it one lazy weekend, and although it took me the better part of a month to read, it was very eye-opening and enjoyable.  I first heard about the book, through the film Food Inc, which I highly recommend as well.  Both works cover the modern food industry, which is very different from the rest of human history's food, and the resulting effects on our planet and our bodies.

I obviously care about food a great deal, as I believe what you eat is literally what you are.  If you constantly eat crappy fast food and sweets, then thats what you become.  Food expenditures in the US these days are at the lowest percentage of family income of all time, and the plethora of options available at the supermarkets has never been bigger.  The Omnivore's Dilemma helps us to navigate this new situation, and helps us to understand how the food gets to our table, and the answers are surprising.

I do not want to give the book away, but Pollan discusses the world's most plentiful crop corn, which is in nearly everything we eat.  He discusses how this organism has evolved to be perfect for human needs and allowed it to take over vast amounts of land.  He also discusses the organic food system, and how at its ideal, this is an excellent way of thinking about food, but in practice mirrors many of the less tasteful things about the rest of the industry.  Next he lives with Joel Salatin (pictured above), owner/farmer of Polyface Farm, which is my favorite section of the book.  Finally he examines hunting and foraging, which is how human ancestors ate for centuries, before agriculture.

The book is great, and is a good read, as Pollan is able to make the topic very readable.  It is also enlightening, especially about something that we spend a good portion of every day doing, but maybe do not think about enough...

Go Green: Literature/Media

 

The writing industry uses a ton of paper and by regularly buying books, magazines, videos, DVDs, and CDs you contribute to this process. Luckily there are many ways in which you can get the same items in a much more environmentally friendly manner. We have talked about clothing and furniture purchases, there are many ways to find these items used and at a discount. Yard Sales, Thrift Shops, Craigslist, Ebay, and Amazon are all great sources of used media, so that there is no need to buy a brand new copy at Barnes and Noble.

My favorite way to acquire books and other media is at the library. Libraries are funded with the tax dollars you are paying as a resident of your state, town or county. You simply need to walk into a library with proof of your residence and claim the right to use the service you are paying for. Not only are libraries filled with books, but there are also periodicals, tv shows, and movies in a variety of formats. You are also not limited to the single library in your hometown. Almost all libraries have an agreement with a network of libraries and they can deliver content to your local library within several days.

There are also a number of sites that offer credit for trading books or simply just give them away for free. Check out FreeCycle.com. Also, along the same lines as clothes, thrift shops stock a number of books, although they are not as easy to search for as other options, they generally will run you a dollar or two. Thrift shops are a much superior option for old records/vinyl if thats what you are into.

There are a large number of websites offering used books including the well-known Amazon as well as Ebay, and Half.com, its subsidiary. My favorite is http://www.addall.com/ which allows you to search a large number of vendors at only one site, giving you the best possibly price as well as inventory! Use this as a last resort if you can simply have to OWN the book.

Newspapers may be very quaint and nice to read during your morning routine, but the are especially wasteful.  All of this information is stored electronically and can often be accessed for free.  I like to check out local news at Boston.com which is a subsidiary of the Boston Globe, but will also check WSJ.com for business news, and various other specific news outlets based on the type of information I am looking for.  This means you save money and save the environment.