Missy's Homestead: Small Changes to be Green

I have now been away from my little homestead for...um...four months now.  It has not been easy and I miss my family and my little outdoor space.

I have been trying to save money while I am away but I am also trying my best to continue to be a good steward of our earth.  I think that often times when we are traveling or out of our element we can tend to drop our expectations about recycling and reusing.  I am trying my absolute best to not drop my abilities to recycle or help to keep trash out of the landfills.

1.  Recycling all my plastic bags.  At home I always have ziplock bags.  And I don't usually reuse them.  So since I have been here I have been trying my best to change those habits.  I realized that I could save money and plastic by trying to clean out the ziplocks and reusing them a few times.  I rise them out with soap and let them air dry in the dish rack.  If they are not reusable for food I have still been cleaning them out and then using them for poop bags for my dog.  I have also started to try and reuse the produce bags that I get that the grocery store.  instead of ripping them open when I get home I carefully take out the food and then use them for poop bags or to take a sandwhich to work in.    The more I am able to reuse a bag the less plastic ends up in our landfills.

My little travel bottles I have been using to travel with
and replace with soaps etc. from larger containers.  

2.  Reusing my plastic travel size bottles over and over again.  I have a ton of those small shampoo bottles from stays in hotels etc.  Since I have been on the go so much I try to rinse those out and save them.  Anytime I go somewhere I try to refill those with the stuff that I already have.  This way I am not always throwing away tiny plastic bottles but also saving money by not going out and buying the travel size  everytime I want to go somewhere.

I love the way this place makes recycling items so organized
and clear about what goes where.

3.  The building that I am staying in for work has a really confusing recycling program and I am not totally convince that everything is being properly recycled.   Recently I noticed that the place where I am working has a very clear and well marked recycling system in their office.  I have started to bring a few items at a time over there so I know that I am properly recycling my glass and plastic bottles.  Granted under my sink gets a little full since I don't want to bring all the bottles there in one trip but each day I bring a bottle or two to recycle and I feel good knowing that my waste is being properly recycled.

What small things do you do in order to help keep trash out of landfills?  I would love to hear about them and even try to incorporate them into my life.

Until next Time,

Consume More, Buy Less, Reuse.

Missy