| Sterling Silver Wise Owl Winner for November |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Copyright © 2004 - 2008 Embrace The Positive, LLC All Rights Reserved |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Views or opinions expressed in columns or submitted text contributions to this site do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Embrace The Positive, LLC. |
| Web Design by DONELLE |
| Page Photographs by Zenark © 2008 |
| Who deserves to be Positively Pampered in your life? We think it's you. Collection is available in Lavender or Vanilla Fragrance. Includes Bonus Uptown Jute Tote |
| All of our Natural Bath and Body Products are available in convenient twin packs. Fragrances Include: Vanilla, Lavender, Citrus, Green Apple and Wild Berry. |
December 2008
| The light of love goes on... Reflections |
__________________
__________________
Come share your wisdom...or take some of ours!
EmbraceThePositive.ComTM
EmbraceThePositive.ComTM
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
___________________________________
| My Truth Column Reuse - Recycle - Reduce Tips By Alana Cash |
1.Catalogues. Do you really need them? Don’t most companies have a website where you can
review everything that’s in the catalogue, in the event that you don’t want to actually visit the store?
And what about the 200 or 300 page catalogue that you get from universities that tout their classes?
If you are going to maybe take one class every year or so, can you not also find that on the Internet?
Call the companies and universities and cancel the catalogue. In the case of a university, you might
actually have to tear off the catalogue cover and send it to the president of the university to get your
name taken off the list, as I did with a New York university after calling and writing.
2. Water. Carry you own water if you are going shopping, running errands, or just commuting. Fill a
plastic bottle or glass jar with water and take it in your bag. It takes more water to make the plastic
bottles that contain water than the amount of water that’s actually in them. Reusing one container
saves money as well as water, and prevents the issues of more plastic being manufactured. Also, if
you have to have filtered water, get a home filter device for your tap or a Brita system.
3. Advertising Flyers. Every week for years, I received flyers from grocery stores, drugs stores, and
department stores telling me about things they stocked and things that were on special or on sale.
Very rarely did I pay any attention to them. I took them off the front door and put them in the recycling
bin. Then, one day it occurred to me to contact each one of the stores and tell them that I did not want
to receive any more flyers. And, guess what? I have not. It took me about half an hour to find the
individual websites, and then I sent an e-mail with my request. I was contacted by a couple of the
stores personally letting me know they got the request, but since that time none of the stores have left
flyers at my door.
4. Paper. Newspapers and junk mail are obvious choices for recycling, but there are many other
ways to recycle paper. For example, food packaging – cereal, oatmeal, and cake boxes, and frozen
food packaging, and don’t forget the paper trays inside the packages. Even less obvious are the
cardboard rolls inside your paper towels and toilet paper, the paper wrap of your teabags as well as
the bag itself (if you let it dry), grocery store receipts, movie tickets, lotto tickets/scratch offs, ATM
receipts, and the cat litter bag. If you develop awareness about how much paper passes through
your life each day, you could probably double the amount of paper that you recycle each week.
5. Plastic bags. This can be a problem, especially in New York where I live. Plastic bags of every
description with logos, without logos. Too many. It costs $25,000,000 annually to dump plastic bags
in a landfill. And let's not even think about the damage that landfills cause. Therefore, make a
commitment to bring your own bags when you are shopping for groceries or anything else. Trader
Joe's sells an inexpensive and nicely flowered bag. If that’s too girly, then here are plenty of other
places to purchase them. If you think one bag can’t hold all your groceries, then take a wad of the
plastic bags that you got at the store last time and reuse them. Of course, you’ll have to bag your own
groceries.
Recycling plastic bags can be done. California has legislation requiring grocers to provide bins for
recycling plastic bags. This doesn’t mean that they won’t dump the bags in the garbage when the
bins are full, but you can verify that for yourself if you care to. Whole Foods offers a bin at their stores
in New York. So does HEB and Central Market stores in Texas. If you shop at a store that doesn’t
have a recycling bin for bags, then simply reuse your own bags until they break
6. Books– I love to read. I generally read 2 books a week, and sometimes I read more. But I very
rarely buy a new book. Instead, I visit used bookstores and garage sales. When I finish reading a
book, I very rarely hang onto it. I either pass it on to a friend or donate it to a small used bookstore. If
the book is stained or torn, I leave it on a bench outside a coffeehouse for someone to take for free. If
a book is hopelessly out of date or really bad, I tear off cover and put it in the recycling bin.
7. Dish soap. I haven’t got a way to recycle dish soap. First of all, I learned in chemistry class that
soap does not clean your dishes. The water does that. Soap merely acts as an emulsifier to loosen
any oil on the dishes. Then, many years ago I learned that soap is toxic and that, unless you have a
dishwasher, it takes 5 rinses to get soap off the dishes. After learning that, I determined to use less
soap when I washed the dishes. One way to do that is to dilute the soap with water. I keep the empty
container and buy the new soap. I fill the empty container about 1/3 full and fill the rest with water.
Diluted in this manner, the soap gets sudsy quicker and rinses off easier. Save soap. Saves having
to make so many plastic containers. Saves you money.
8. Staples – versus paperclips – I recently read that 120 tons of steel would be saved each year in the
UK, if each person used one less staple. Imagine what that would mean for a large country like the
United States? Paperclips can be used over and over and over again. Think about it.
9. Bank card applications. For years, I was deluged with unsolicited credit card applications which I
took the time to shred, so that it was not only a waste of paper, but time consuming for me as well.
Finally, I found a solution. I called 1-888-5 OPT OUT (or 1-888-567-8688) and applied to not get
credit card offers. This number is active 24 hours a day and the opt-out status lasts for five years.
This is a particularly important action to take because credit card applications can get into the wrong
hands – they are delivered to your old address and never forwarded when you move – which can
result in identity theft. Being in the opt-out program does not mean that you cannot get another credit
card if you request an application, it just means that you don’t get unwanted applications.
10. Restaurant takeout menus. How many times do you need to get a flyer from the same
restaurant? Next time you get a delivery, hand the guy the flyer and ask him/her to please let the
owner know that you already have a menu and you don’t need anymore. Resist the temptation to take
a menu home with you from a restaurant. Most restaurants post their menus online with reviews as
well.
11.Textiles. Most people don’t think about sheets, towels or clothing as recyclable items. They buy
new clothes, wear them, new sheets and sleep on them, new towels, etc. When the items wear out
or the person gets tired of them, the items are disposed of – in the garbage or sometimes to
nonprofit organizations. But there’s a new way to recycle clothing, towels, and sheets, etc. It’s called
textile recycling. If you aren’t aware of this type of recycling in your area, do a search online. If there
isn’t a place in your community for this type of recycling, why not start one.
12. Clothing. I am guessing here, but I think most people define “recycling clothes” as
“that’s when I donate my old stuff to charity”. But what about the other way around? What about,
instead of buying brand new coats, shoes or jeans, you went to the thrift store and bought them for
yourself? What about that kind of recycling? It not only saves environmental resources, it save you
money. And, if you haven’t done this kind of shopping in the past, you might be surprised at the
quality of clothing, shoes, and other household items that you will find at the modern thrift store.
review everything that’s in the catalogue, in the event that you don’t want to actually visit the store?
And what about the 200 or 300 page catalogue that you get from universities that tout their classes?
If you are going to maybe take one class every year or so, can you not also find that on the Internet?
Call the companies and universities and cancel the catalogue. In the case of a university, you might
actually have to tear off the catalogue cover and send it to the president of the university to get your
name taken off the list, as I did with a New York university after calling and writing.
2. Water. Carry you own water if you are going shopping, running errands, or just commuting. Fill a
plastic bottle or glass jar with water and take it in your bag. It takes more water to make the plastic
bottles that contain water than the amount of water that’s actually in them. Reusing one container
saves money as well as water, and prevents the issues of more plastic being manufactured. Also, if
you have to have filtered water, get a home filter device for your tap or a Brita system.
3. Advertising Flyers. Every week for years, I received flyers from grocery stores, drugs stores, and
department stores telling me about things they stocked and things that were on special or on sale.
Very rarely did I pay any attention to them. I took them off the front door and put them in the recycling
bin. Then, one day it occurred to me to contact each one of the stores and tell them that I did not want
to receive any more flyers. And, guess what? I have not. It took me about half an hour to find the
individual websites, and then I sent an e-mail with my request. I was contacted by a couple of the
stores personally letting me know they got the request, but since that time none of the stores have left
flyers at my door.
4. Paper. Newspapers and junk mail are obvious choices for recycling, but there are many other
ways to recycle paper. For example, food packaging – cereal, oatmeal, and cake boxes, and frozen
food packaging, and don’t forget the paper trays inside the packages. Even less obvious are the
cardboard rolls inside your paper towels and toilet paper, the paper wrap of your teabags as well as
the bag itself (if you let it dry), grocery store receipts, movie tickets, lotto tickets/scratch offs, ATM
receipts, and the cat litter bag. If you develop awareness about how much paper passes through
your life each day, you could probably double the amount of paper that you recycle each week.
5. Plastic bags. This can be a problem, especially in New York where I live. Plastic bags of every
description with logos, without logos. Too many. It costs $25,000,000 annually to dump plastic bags
in a landfill. And let's not even think about the damage that landfills cause. Therefore, make a
commitment to bring your own bags when you are shopping for groceries or anything else. Trader
Joe's sells an inexpensive and nicely flowered bag. If that’s too girly, then here are plenty of other
places to purchase them. If you think one bag can’t hold all your groceries, then take a wad of the
plastic bags that you got at the store last time and reuse them. Of course, you’ll have to bag your own
groceries.
Recycling plastic bags can be done. California has legislation requiring grocers to provide bins for
recycling plastic bags. This doesn’t mean that they won’t dump the bags in the garbage when the
bins are full, but you can verify that for yourself if you care to. Whole Foods offers a bin at their stores
in New York. So does HEB and Central Market stores in Texas. If you shop at a store that doesn’t
have a recycling bin for bags, then simply reuse your own bags until they break
6. Books– I love to read. I generally read 2 books a week, and sometimes I read more. But I very
rarely buy a new book. Instead, I visit used bookstores and garage sales. When I finish reading a
book, I very rarely hang onto it. I either pass it on to a friend or donate it to a small used bookstore. If
the book is stained or torn, I leave it on a bench outside a coffeehouse for someone to take for free. If
a book is hopelessly out of date or really bad, I tear off cover and put it in the recycling bin.
7. Dish soap. I haven’t got a way to recycle dish soap. First of all, I learned in chemistry class that
soap does not clean your dishes. The water does that. Soap merely acts as an emulsifier to loosen
any oil on the dishes. Then, many years ago I learned that soap is toxic and that, unless you have a
dishwasher, it takes 5 rinses to get soap off the dishes. After learning that, I determined to use less
soap when I washed the dishes. One way to do that is to dilute the soap with water. I keep the empty
container and buy the new soap. I fill the empty container about 1/3 full and fill the rest with water.
Diluted in this manner, the soap gets sudsy quicker and rinses off easier. Save soap. Saves having
to make so many plastic containers. Saves you money.
8. Staples – versus paperclips – I recently read that 120 tons of steel would be saved each year in the
UK, if each person used one less staple. Imagine what that would mean for a large country like the
United States? Paperclips can be used over and over and over again. Think about it.
9. Bank card applications. For years, I was deluged with unsolicited credit card applications which I
took the time to shred, so that it was not only a waste of paper, but time consuming for me as well.
Finally, I found a solution. I called 1-888-5 OPT OUT (or 1-888-567-8688) and applied to not get
credit card offers. This number is active 24 hours a day and the opt-out status lasts for five years.
This is a particularly important action to take because credit card applications can get into the wrong
hands – they are delivered to your old address and never forwarded when you move – which can
result in identity theft. Being in the opt-out program does not mean that you cannot get another credit
card if you request an application, it just means that you don’t get unwanted applications.
10. Restaurant takeout menus. How many times do you need to get a flyer from the same
restaurant? Next time you get a delivery, hand the guy the flyer and ask him/her to please let the
owner know that you already have a menu and you don’t need anymore. Resist the temptation to take
a menu home with you from a restaurant. Most restaurants post their menus online with reviews as
well.
11.Textiles. Most people don’t think about sheets, towels or clothing as recyclable items. They buy
new clothes, wear them, new sheets and sleep on them, new towels, etc. When the items wear out
or the person gets tired of them, the items are disposed of – in the garbage or sometimes to
nonprofit organizations. But there’s a new way to recycle clothing, towels, and sheets, etc. It’s called
textile recycling. If you aren’t aware of this type of recycling in your area, do a search online. If there
isn’t a place in your community for this type of recycling, why not start one.
12. Clothing. I am guessing here, but I think most people define “recycling clothes” as
“that’s when I donate my old stuff to charity”. But what about the other way around? What about,
instead of buying brand new coats, shoes or jeans, you went to the thrift store and bought them for
yourself? What about that kind of recycling? It not only saves environmental resources, it save you
money. And, if you haven’t done this kind of shopping in the past, you might be surprised at the
quality of clothing, shoes, and other household items that you will find at the modern thrift store.