
A mantra I mentally shout when I feel like whatever it is I’m doing isn’t enough–"DO SOMETHING–because something is better than nothing!"–has become one of my life philosophies. I don’t even know if I’ve ever said it out loud, but it’s right "there", reverberating in the chambers of my mind. I hear it often, echoing back when doubt begins its lethal advance.
Doubt can be crippling but when faced with this mind-weapon I’ve created, it becomes a motivator. Why? Because something is better than nothing–don’t even try to tell me otherwise.
I think I’ll take a few posts to tell ya about some of my "somethings"…and encourage YOU to pursue your somethings. I hope you’ll share your stories with me :).
Recycling
Over a year ago now, I admitted my guilt over not recycling; we don’t have curbside pick up and "Convenience Centers" are not so convenient. One of my blogging friends felt the same way, and together we determined we were going to improve in that area (we even attempted to motivate others to join our Green Party, but that effort never really took off…). I just re-read that linked post myself and was reminded we actually had a goal:
Our goal is …lifestyle change, to become more aware of our action AND inaction, and to understand how both affect others…".
In part I saw this as a creation stewardship issue, believing the first two chapters in Genesis addressed it. Not recycling, per se, but taking care of the world around me; it just seemed wrong to be apathetic.
The thing about recycling is, once you begin a) you realize how much TRASH you (and your family) generate; b) you consider how much more you could be doing; and c) you find yourself noticing EVERYWHERE you go how many recyclable items are thrown away only to end up in a landfill as opposed to being…well…recycled.
We started small, rescuing aluminum cans and plastics–literally, the first items we saved were only drink cans and water bottles or soft drink two liters. From there I began noticing the numbered symbols on…everything (i.e., on plastics, inside the recycling logo numbers range from 1-7 and each number identifies the type material used).
Now, we’ve graduated to all plastics that I can clean before storing, aluminum and steel cans, cardboard, glass (sometimes) ….and, I’ve invested in canvas grocery bags instead of using paper or plastic bags (Bi-lo actually gives you a nickel back every time you use one of their bags–after 20 visits they’ll pay for themselves. Considering I go to the grocery store monthly weekly daily often, I’ll recover the original cost in no time.).
So…..if you haven’t jumped on the recycling bandwagon because it seems overwhelming or like it won’t make a difference, please…….think about this:
Something is better than nothing.
Over the next week or two, I’ll share my "somethings" relative to exercise, faith, service and relationships…. Stay tuned :).
Thanks to Despair Inc. for the poster and to Zen for the photo.
1. You rock.
2. You’ve inspired me to live a little greener.
3. I just got the poster you made of my dead cat. You are a sick, sick woman and I love you for it.
I like this series!
My neighborhood makes recycling easy. They have curbside pick-up and you can put practically anything in there. My next “do something” project is to call the people who put out the millions of phone books we get a week and have them stop delivering them to us. We never use them. We use the Internet. I’ve become very aware of how much paper I use and end up printing on the backs of manuscripts and all that jazz. But then I wonder how many trees I kill by using my computer! I stress myself out sometime, but I really want to be part of a generation that finds alternate methods. Not just recycling but a completely new way of doing things. There’s a book, Cradle to Cradle, that talks about this.
My son works for a recycling center and I’m always amazed at some of the things people toss into the recycling bin that aren’t recyclable. Computer games, cameras, DVD players, etc. But the thing I keep wanting to write a post about but have lacked the courage thus far, is that certain women’s pleasure items are NOT recyclable. 🙂 If ya know what I mean.
Thanks for the motivating writing. You brought to mind words I learned at a facilitator training session: “If what you are doing is not working, stop, and try something else.”
This is quite a timely post given that you related it to the bible. Did you see that the pope has updated the “seven deadly sins” list to now include pollution? (what is it with the catholics and their sins?) They also added paedophilia, although one would have thought that should have been on the list for some time.
PS. AS you know, I’ve recycled for years, the secret is government support in making it easier, i.e. roadside collections etc. Perhaps this is where the energy should be spent, you know, like getting people to pressure local gov to get involved.
Yeah! I’m so glad you are recycling. I am fortunate to have curbside pick-up. In a few weeks our town is making it even easier by giving us a freaking HUGE 40 gallon container that I can throw everything (except glass). So, I won’t even have to separate my recycles.
But – there is always more I can do. I’ve started taking my own bags to the store. Do you know what? Those canvas bags hold MORE than the regular bags – AND, I never have to worry about them ripping.
We have fallen into the trap of “if it’s hard, then we don’t want to do it”. The locals make it “hard” to recycle around here so we’ve taken the easy road. Thanks Robin for reminding us to be good stewards of Gods creation. On a side note, I’m interested to hear your something on exercise. 😀
We have fallen into the trap of “if it’s hard, then we don’t want to do it”. The locals make it “hard” to recycle around here so we’ve taken the easy road. Thanks Robin for reminding us to be good stewards of Gods creation. On a side note, I’m interested to hear your something on exercise. 😀
I thought I would emphasize my point by posting it twice! I meant to do that, yeah, that’s the ticket. Rookie move huh?
I left a message a few minutes ago. I mentioned Sarcastic Mom’s web page and her blog about Beauty in Nature. I forgot to leave a link to her blog. Check it out here http://sarcasticmom.com/. I’m not going to rewrite the message, because I can’t remember what I said. I hope it’s on a “waiting to be approved” list and not lost somewhere in cyber space. ;D
I feel the exact same way. After feeling guilty for quite some time about not recycling, we finally started…….just last week. We do not have curb side pick up either. But, we’re going to make the convenience centers convenient! It’s amazing how the bottles, cans and newspapers have piled up in such a short amount of time. Great post!
If anyone no longer wants their women’s pleasure items, I’ll take them off your hands.
I like your mantra. I am firmly on the recycling bandwagon. Although I must invest in some canvas shopping bags.
Jenny,
1) You roll!
2) WAHOO!!!
3) Right back atcha ;).
Heather, I think I’m gonna like writing it (thank you, though). You’re right…we’ve GOT to find new ways of doing things, which begins with us THINKING differently, ya know? I’m thinkin’ differently, and it’s beginning to have results. The thing is, those little things add up…..right?
Lisa, GO FOR IT! THAT would be hilarious!!
Robert, your comment reminds me of the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result (and yes, I’ve often found myself to be INSANE!!) :).
WT, nope, I hadn’t seen that Pope-Update. But it IS a sin the way Americans ravage creation without regard to the consequences of our actions. The more aware I become, the more I ache over our “progress” :/.
And I couldn’t agree more with your point about Gov’t support–WHY ISN’T it spending more time and money on “prevention”…the “cure” is a whole lot more expensive :/.
Karmyn, Me <----curbside envy, lol. Yeah, the canvas bags ARE a good bit bigger; there's a delay in remembering to take them with me all the time, but I'm getting better :). Chas, yes, THAT post will give you reason to laugh AT me (sadly, not WITH me 😉 ). Eve, tears :(...I nevah saw the other comment (I wonder how many are blasted into cyberspace???). I checked out that link, and I guess I should link this post to it. Thanks for the head's up! Shane, I agree! Once you get started, you're going to start looking at your household garbage differently. It's a strange phenomena.... I'm so PROUD of your efforts! Baby steps, sugah...baby steps! Min, you're disgusting. Funny, but disgusting ;). Alix, buy one. Then another. Then another...and pretty soon you'll be good to go!
I like that…breaking down big things into simple action steps, even if they are very small. It kind of reminds me of what Rachel Anne is doing at her Home Sanctuary site. She’s helping women do small things at their homes to clean, straighten, declutter, etc. But the idea is similar–do *something*, even if it’s small. Kinda like FlyLady’s baby steps.
Yours exudes urgency and energy.
*DO SOMETHING!*
In fact, it’s such a call to action, I’m just going to excuse myself and go…well…do something! I’m not sure what, since I already recycle, but I’ll figure out *something*!
Thanks for the inspiration.
I love it, a great philosophy! Sadly, there are many places in the U.S. that still don’t recycle. I find that so hard to understand.
Also, why do I get funny looks at the grocery store, in 2008, for bringing my own bags?! don’t these people see the same things I do on tv?
Wow – I was just about to write a post about recycling and saw yours. Great minds. . . (hehe) But, no, really, I am about to post that not only do I totally agree that the decision to recycle can often point one to taking more care in all areas of life but that I realized that I started recycling out of sheer laziness. I hate taking out the trash and the more items I can put into sorted recycling bins in the garage, the less quickly my kitchen trash can gets full – which saves on garbage bags too!
It’s all about looking at the bigger picture.
Hey…Trashy Friend !
Just happened to stop by today and was thrilled to see this post.
The re-cycle truck came by today, and I had 3 bins-full for it. Felt great!
Have you seen this:
http://www.catalogchoice.org/
I have cancelled 50, yes, FIFTY catalogs in the last 2 months.
If I get the guts to do it I’m blaming you. 🙂
Do SOMETHING…!
This is an encouragement to “do something”, anything, when it comes to taking care of environment. It’s also a reminder that little things DO make a difference.
The battle cry is “Do SOMETHING…because SOMETHING is better than NOTHING!”