There are so many ways to be environmentally conscience and many of them are easy to do. I think that people either overlook the little things that they can do or they think that just one person will not make that much of a difference. And then... there are people like me who want to make a difference no matter how little it is and see the simple things that they can do but for them- old habits die hard. Just like the movie, those non recycling, wasteful habits that we have don't go away so simply, no matter how many times they get thrown out of a window.
My personal Achilles heel is plastic grocery bags. Yeah. I know what you are thinking. There are so many reusable grocery bags out there and I can make my own out of juice pouches. A double save the environment whammy, right? Well, you would be right if my bad habit didn't have a death grip on me. The truth is, not only do I have tons of reusable bags but I keep half of them in the car so that I have them whenever I go to the store. The problem... I forget they are in the car.
I know. I know. Really? You forget they are in the car?
Yes. I do. By the time I get my son in the car, drive to the grocery store, take my son out of the car, explain to him that it doesn't matter that he doesn't want to go to the store because we have to do it anyway and I don't want to be there either, drag him into the store, and put him in the cart I realize that I forgot to bring the bags and by this time going back for them seems to much like a chore and I hate myself for giving up and giving in to the convenience of creating more waste.
One day I was so angry that I forgot my bags that when the person bagging the groceries asked me if plastic was okay I told him to just put the groceries back in the cart. The person ringing me up asked me if I was saving the environment and in my anger toward plastic bags I blurted out "No. Screw the environment. I just hate plastic bags."
Now, before you leave me nasty comments about how I am an awful person because I don't care about the environment, let me just say that I didn't mean it. I would never do anything intentionally to hurt the environment and I do care a whole awful lot. What I meant was my pure hatred of plastic bags trumps any desire I have to save the environment even though the two go hand in had.
Secondly I live in Flagstaff, Arizona and saying something like that will get you sent to the rack. The shocked look on the check out girl's face was enough to tell me that I had gone too far but the man standing behind me who I expected to give me an earful because honestly (I know I'm stereotyping people here) he had that hippie look about him and his own reusable bags waiting, to my surprise, chimed in and said "Yeah! I hate them too. They don't hold as much and they break all the time."
His reasons for hating plastic bags are the same as mine. If they give me one at the store and only put one item in it, it drives me crazy. I hate the thought of them sitting in the landfill so I never throw any of them away. If I am in a bad habit rut, they pile up around the house so quickly that I can't even imagine how fast they pile up in the landfills not to mention the fact that plastic bags are very dangerous for wildlife. They look like jellyfish to sea turtles who try to eat them.
If you have a bad environmental habit like mine and are trying to kick it,whether it be plastic bags, plastic water bottles, or just taking the extra step to the recycle bin, just know that you are not alone and that just because you mess up sometimes, doesn't mean that you are a bad, environment hating person. It just means that old habits die hard and everyone has them. All that matters is that you continue to try to change and hopefully we can come up with some creative and convenient ways to helps us make it easy.
My goal of course is to never use a plastic bag again but until then there are things that I can do to ease my conscious. The first is that my local grocery store has a bag recycling program. Even though I can't put my bags in my city recycling bin, if they pile up around the house I can take them back to the store. That is, if I can remember.
On the craftier side of things, people have been innovating with plastic bags and finding all sorts of thing you can do with them. Plarn is plastic yarn made out of plastic grocery bags. The Plarn Project is a national art project created by artists Jennifer Gonzales and Nathaniel Hein. Their website gohein.com tells you all about the project, their art and how you can participate.
Making plarn is a great project for kids and there are also easy craft projects that you can do with your own plarn. The website and blog, My Recycled Bags, is also all about plarn and plarn projects. Cindy crochets amazing things using plarn and blogs about other green ideas. Her site has instructions on making plarn, free patterns, and a shop to buy some of the things she creates. If you are into recycling crafts, knitting, or crocheting you will love RecycleCindy and her blog.
Another crafty idea to do with kids is making plastic bag monsters. I have not tried it yet but I happened to see a Toy Smith brand, Plastic Bag Monster Activity Kit at one of the stores here in Flagstaff. You can get them online at Sears and Amazon. The kit includes full instructions and enough crafting supplies to make two monsters. These would be great for kids to play with, decorate their rooms, or do as a project for Halloween.
What did I do with my plastic bags, you ask. I had an innovation of my own by combining them with another project I have been wanting to do. A local craft hero was on the news one day demonstrating how to make a Duct tape dress form. With the assistance of my mother I made one of my own and stuffed the body with all of the plastic bags I had on hand.
Now I have a useful display piece for my crafts. I plan to hang bags off of the shoulders and put belts around the waist at craft shows. I don't think that I am in danger of falling in love with plastic bags but it feels really good to be using all of those plastic bags that I hate in a useful and creative way.
If you have any other suggestions about what to do with plastic grocery bags I would love to hear them. Leave a comment for me by clicking the comments link at the top of the post below the title.
My personal Achilles heel is plastic grocery bags. Yeah. I know what you are thinking. There are so many reusable grocery bags out there and I can make my own out of juice pouches. A double save the environment whammy, right? Well, you would be right if my bad habit didn't have a death grip on me. The truth is, not only do I have tons of reusable bags but I keep half of them in the car so that I have them whenever I go to the store. The problem... I forget they are in the car.
I know. I know. Really? You forget they are in the car?
Yes. I do. By the time I get my son in the car, drive to the grocery store, take my son out of the car, explain to him that it doesn't matter that he doesn't want to go to the store because we have to do it anyway and I don't want to be there either, drag him into the store, and put him in the cart I realize that I forgot to bring the bags and by this time going back for them seems to much like a chore and I hate myself for giving up and giving in to the convenience of creating more waste.
One day I was so angry that I forgot my bags that when the person bagging the groceries asked me if plastic was okay I told him to just put the groceries back in the cart. The person ringing me up asked me if I was saving the environment and in my anger toward plastic bags I blurted out "No. Screw the environment. I just hate plastic bags."
Now, before you leave me nasty comments about how I am an awful person because I don't care about the environment, let me just say that I didn't mean it. I would never do anything intentionally to hurt the environment and I do care a whole awful lot. What I meant was my pure hatred of plastic bags trumps any desire I have to save the environment even though the two go hand in had.
Secondly I live in Flagstaff, Arizona and saying something like that will get you sent to the rack. The shocked look on the check out girl's face was enough to tell me that I had gone too far but the man standing behind me who I expected to give me an earful because honestly (I know I'm stereotyping people here) he had that hippie look about him and his own reusable bags waiting, to my surprise, chimed in and said "Yeah! I hate them too. They don't hold as much and they break all the time."
His reasons for hating plastic bags are the same as mine. If they give me one at the store and only put one item in it, it drives me crazy. I hate the thought of them sitting in the landfill so I never throw any of them away. If I am in a bad habit rut, they pile up around the house so quickly that I can't even imagine how fast they pile up in the landfills not to mention the fact that plastic bags are very dangerous for wildlife. They look like jellyfish to sea turtles who try to eat them.
If you have a bad environmental habit like mine and are trying to kick it,whether it be plastic bags, plastic water bottles, or just taking the extra step to the recycle bin, just know that you are not alone and that just because you mess up sometimes, doesn't mean that you are a bad, environment hating person. It just means that old habits die hard and everyone has them. All that matters is that you continue to try to change and hopefully we can come up with some creative and convenient ways to helps us make it easy.
My goal of course is to never use a plastic bag again but until then there are things that I can do to ease my conscious. The first is that my local grocery store has a bag recycling program. Even though I can't put my bags in my city recycling bin, if they pile up around the house I can take them back to the store. That is, if I can remember.
On the craftier side of things, people have been innovating with plastic bags and finding all sorts of thing you can do with them. Plarn is plastic yarn made out of plastic grocery bags. The Plarn Project is a national art project created by artists Jennifer Gonzales and Nathaniel Hein. Their website gohein.com tells you all about the project, their art and how you can participate.
Making plarn is a great project for kids and there are also easy craft projects that you can do with your own plarn. The website and blog, My Recycled Bags, is also all about plarn and plarn projects. Cindy crochets amazing things using plarn and blogs about other green ideas. Her site has instructions on making plarn, free patterns, and a shop to buy some of the things she creates. If you are into recycling crafts, knitting, or crocheting you will love RecycleCindy and her blog.
Another crafty idea to do with kids is making plastic bag monsters. I have not tried it yet but I happened to see a Toy Smith brand, Plastic Bag Monster Activity Kit at one of the stores here in Flagstaff. You can get them online at Sears and Amazon. The kit includes full instructions and enough crafting supplies to make two monsters. These would be great for kids to play with, decorate their rooms, or do as a project for Halloween.
What did I do with my plastic bags, you ask. I had an innovation of my own by combining them with another project I have been wanting to do. A local craft hero was on the news one day demonstrating how to make a Duct tape dress form. With the assistance of my mother I made one of my own and stuffed the body with all of the plastic bags I had on hand.
Now I have a useful display piece for my crafts. I plan to hang bags off of the shoulders and put belts around the waist at craft shows. I don't think that I am in danger of falling in love with plastic bags but it feels really good to be using all of those plastic bags that I hate in a useful and creative way.
If you have any other suggestions about what to do with plastic grocery bags I would love to hear them. Leave a comment for me by clicking the comments link at the top of the post below the title.
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