Once upon an early-90s jingle, kids were taught to “Reduce, reuse, recycle and don’t pollute!” by a singing cartoon. It was cute and kind of clever, but it may not have quite hit the message home. What that catchy tune didn’t explain was the importance of doing things in that order – reduce, reuse and then recycle.

But why that order?

1. Reduce

Here is a great example we have all come across: if you can get one one-hundred-ounce bottle of concentrated laundry detergent why buy two fifty-ounce bottles? It is a simple answer: you shouldn’t. A general rule when purchasing a product is that if it will not go bad or go to waste, get the economy size. It reduces the packaging used and often, the burden on your wallet.

2. Reuse

I have a confession: it has been awhile since I have purchased food storage containers. Why? Because I reuse those huge glass pasta sauce jars for my pastas, soups, and side dishes. For main courses I have large glass bowls with a plastic lid that have served me nicely for years.

Another confession? I have reused cereal boxes to ship my eBay items which are cushioned by ripped up magazines I have already read and junk mail flyers. An old tea pot that was stained and burned beyond repair? That can quickly become a colorful planter for a houseplant. In fact, you could even reuse that one-hundred-ounce jug that had laundry detergent in it as a jug to water your plants with (after a thorough cleaning, of course).

The key to reusing is to “think outside of the box” and ask yourself how you can reuse what you already have to fulfill the needs you have elsewhere. This also helps save you money and time by not having to shop for new items!

3. Recycle

Now we finally come to recycling. The milk jugs you did not turn into bird feeders should be recycled. The glass jars you just can’t use, recycle them. But since you have already reduced your waste and reused what you can, even the amount you recycle will be reduced. Less money spent and less stress on the environment – go you!

Image courtesy of Stock Vault.

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