There are many ways for a person to recycle and help the environment!  If you were to look up the word RECYLE in the dictionary, you would find statements like this: 1) to treat or process so as to make suitable for reuse; 2) to alter or adapt for new use without changing the essential form or nature of; 3) to use again in the original form or with minimal alteration. 

What I’m trying to point out is that to recycle, is not just the act of placing something in a bag and hauling it out to the curb to be sent to the recycling center.  It can mean something else too.  There are so many things that are recycled before their time has come.  So many items that could be reused and put to use for something else.

Do you know how many shoeboxes I threw away before I realized the many uses they could be put to?  Of course I was recycling the majority of them with the corrugated cardboard, but even better than that, is to actually use the item in place of purchasing something that will do the same trick.  Shoeboxes are one of the easiest things to reuse because they are the perfect shape for so many things.  I have several shoe boxes full of pictures that I have taken over the years.  The nice thing is that they stack so easily and I’m able to write on the outside, what the box contains.  I also have some shoeboxes that I store decks of cards in, and the many card games that my boys have compiled over the years.  They’re sturdy and they’re the perfect size for items like that.

While recycling is the key to decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfills, reusing those items is another good option too. 

I challenge you this week to find a couple of items that you would usually place in your recycling bin and see what other uses you can put them to.  Be sure to fill me on the details so I can give them a try too!

Until then, think GREEN!

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