Pre-cycling, Recycling, and Re-using

In an effort to reduce the amount of products and packaging coming into and out of my home, I try to buy products with as little packaging as possible. This concept is called Pre-Cycling. However, sometimes this means that the products I want to buy are more expensive than what I am willing to pay. Also, by participating in the recycling program in my community, I send less material to the garbage heap. I can usually also re-use part of the recyclables, and when finished, recycle them again! For example, we buy our milk in bags instead of plastic containers. Each bag contains 3 individual bags of milk. We re-use the inner bags to pack our sandwiches for school and use the bigger bag to carry stuff… And, we give our empty egg cartons to friends who have chickens. We sometimes get them back with eggs (as a bonus). Also, we cut up Styrofoam meat trays to make airplanes for our son. On the odd occasion that we buy milk in waxed cartons, we turn them into boats for our son too. Free newspapers, grocery fliers and junk mail get used for packing breakables, painting jobs, crafts… There are lots of other examples for re-using the recycling bin. Re-using also means buying second hand and sharing things with friends. In the area we live in now, second-hand stores are plentiful. Once you get to know the “good” places, there are many treasures to be found at very affordable prices!! Sometimes, certain appliances get passed around, especially at “canning” season (harvest). These practices lead to less clutter in the home, less items to dust (my personal favourite), greater personal safety (as a house with less clutter may be less of a fire hazard), leads to better eco-management and frees up much money to be used on other things..