Refuse

We are all pretty familiar with the 3 R's.....

not reading, writing and 'rithmetic ~ the other 3 R's

....you know.....reduce, reuse and recycle. In an effort to live more consciously and have the smallest affect possible on my environment, I am always striving for improvement in this area.

This week I learned about a fourth R - REFUSE. In my opinion, this is quite possibly the most important step. The concept of refusing is not entirely new to me, but it's importance became clearer to me, and I've begun looking for opportunities to refuse what is being offered to me.

Just today, as I entered the local grocery store, I was offered a great deal on the local newspaper subscription. I don't read the newspaper, so I politely declined the offer. Then they offered me a $5 gift card for the store I was in if I would give the subscription a try. I still declined, which led them to sweeten the deal and offer me $10 worth of gift cards. Still, I refused.

Sure....I could use the coupons and recycle the rest, but after learning about the zero waste home, I have thought long and hard about my waste habits.

A couple weeks ago, I saw these reusable produce bags at the grocery store and bought some in an effort to reduce my plastic bag waste. I've been using my own grocery bags for years, but just made a switch to these.

I am still very much at the awareness stage of this journey and have a long way to go. Right now I am looking for opportunities to refuse, and as I do so, to teach my girls that we don't have to accept everything that is offered to us.

What I have learned this week is that everything I have bought (this week) comes with waste. I really do want to reduce my waste.

I would love your input on this. Do you have tangible ideas for me? What do you do?