Grasshopper New Media Presents...

As I become more and more aware that my “eco footprint” is a bit large, I try to find more and more ways to act a little greener. As often happens, my latest idea came while taking out the garbage, a fine time to consider going green.

Since we ‘after-school”, that is, while my DS attends a more or less traditional school, we also supplement his education at home, we do a lot of projects. For many of these projects, we need shoeboxes (dioramas) glass jars, (science experiments) and miscellaneous paper, boxes, bags and wrapping.

In general, when we start one of these projects, I scrounge around the house looking for the appropriate materials and end up dumping out a ½ empty jar of tomato sauce to use the glass bottle. So, to be a bit more proactive and at the same time limit the sheer amount of packaging I discard, I’ve started saving everything that could possibly be used in an upcoming project.

Whoa! My designated project material area has rapidly expanded beyond its original space. Glass jars overflow my pantry, miscellaneous boxes line the playroom and Styrofoam filler litters the storage room. While this has caused some consternation regarding the storage issue, I struggle more with the dawning realization that I actually throw away THAT MUCH STUFF. And that in itself has helped me to behave differently.

Newly aware of the volume I contribute to landfills, I carefully consider, if not always what I buy, how I take it home from the store. At the farmer’s market, I bring my own bags. Two or three items purchased at the drugstore – I’ll drop them in my purse or bag. T-shirts and shorts bought at Target, I’ll carry them in my arms.

My new found vision drives me not only to recycle more but also to search out products with eco-friendly packaging. In this case, less is more.

[tags]kids, parents, a little greener, ecology, environmental, packaging, Styrofoam[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by Greg McElhatton, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved