by Katie LaFond

Step 2: Get Serious About Reusing

• Reusable shopping bags and reusable produce bags are great. Most of the reusable bags for purchase are made from polyester or plastic (which comes from fossil fuels). Purchase or make reusable bags made of natural fibers (cotton, hemp, etc) that can be composted when they are no longer usable as bags. Free patterns can be found here.
• Use reusable containers instead of plastic wrap.  Bring them to restaurants for leftovers too! (I keep some in the car because I’m forgetful)
• Use reusable coffee mugs at the coffee shop. Keep one in your car all the time just in case you have a sudden coffee craving
• Wash your plastic freezer bags to reuse them
• Reuse containers that your food is packaged in. Spaghetti sauce jars can be useful for leftover soup, used as a water bottle, making herbal tea, as a candle holder, and to hold dried beans/nuts/etc.
• Plastic has its place. With a small child, I often use tupperware or rubbermaid containers to send his lunch to school, pyrex having the potential to smash and make an unsafe
  

  Photo by Kevin Dooley, used under a Creative Commons license

  situation for the children and teachers. Well-made plastic containers that can be used for decades and then be recycled is preferable to the disposable plastic (or styrofoam) that is often used, even if you recycle it afterward. There are also stainless steel/metal container options that you can research that can be safer for small hands.

• Remember that the process of recycling often uses a lot of energy and can release chemicals that are detrimental to the  health of the world and ourselves as part of it. It is often better than products ending up in landfills, but reusing is often preferable to recycling.
• Facecloth sized cotton towels/rags in the kitchen for drying hands/wiping up spills can help you avoid using paper towels. Cotton will compost when you’re done with them). Keep a basket of them handy.
• Cotton washing rags to wash your dishes can help you avoid using a petroleum based sponge. It’s also more sanitary, because you can throw the rag in the laundry at the end of the day. It can also be composted when it is no longer useful as a washing rag
• Reusable cotton napkins: keep a basket of them near the table.
• Reusable batteries. (Make sure to read the charging instructions)
• Reusable plates/silverware. My husband and I have a small tote that we use to transport 20 plates, cloth napkins, and sets of silverware with us when we attend potlucks. The used dishes go back into the tote to come home with us, and the tote then serves as a dishpan. We wash the dishes, let them dry, and then they go back into the tote to await the next potluck.
• You can also bring your own plate/napkin/silverware with you when you attend potlucks. Metal pie plates can be very useful.
• Cloth diapers. If you have a baby, cloth diapers are a great way to reduce the amount of trash you make. Bonus: it saves money! Borrow some prefolds, a variety of covers or soakers, and perhaps some “all-in-one” type diapers to determine your favorite type. See if any of your friends have some you can use, or look on Freecycle/Craigslist to buy your diapers. Washing them is not hard. Be sure not to use traditional detergent which can waterproof what we hope will be absorbent. Here is one resource.
• Reusable menstrual pads, and menstrual cups. A little pricey, but once purchased, you don’t have to buy products each month, and washing them yourself, you don’t have to worry about what chemicals are contacting your skin. Many different options are available, google “reusable menstrual pads and cups.”

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This is part three of Katie’s thirteen-part series on ways to walk more lightly on the Earth.  You can read more here: introduction, step 1 (recycle).