Sometimes I think amidst climate change, carbon footprints, and other ”sustainable” buzzwords, we’ve lost track of the first environmental phrase we learned as kids: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Western society seems to have embraced ”Recycle,” the easiest and (if I recall) the 3rd most crucial of the steps. Call me cynical, but I think recycling allows us to continue to consume products at the same rate we always have, except we can feel less guilty because we have found a “better” destination for the trash. Energy and material still went into the production of that product and the packaging.

“Reduce” was always meant to be the most important action we can take to protect the environment.

• REDUCE how much stuff we buy;
• REDUCE how many natural resources we consume; and
• REDUCE how much trash we produce (through reuse and recycling);
• to REDUCE our impact on the world around us.

Last year’s Sustainable-Me Challenge was focused on finding eco-alternatives to things I already bought or wanted to buy. But it had the unintended effect of reducing the amount of stuff I bought. Higher pricing and more difficulty finding some eco-alternatives caused me to just pass on some purchases. It made me aware of how “unnecessary” some of my purchases were, at least in relation to my general day-to-day survival. I have to begrudgingly tip my hat to the marketing and advertisement design teams out there. They have convinced me to buy a lot in the past.

I was again made aware of my past consumption habits when we were cleaning out the closet and the garage at the end of last year. The Goodwill pile was so big it required two full car trips (plus a third trip while I was home for Christmas and emptied a few large boxes in my parents’ basement). There were so many clothes that didn’t fit or didn’t coordinate with other wardrobe pieces. Again, I tip my hat to the manipulative ”SALE!” emails and in-store displays…

I think I want to reduce the amount of stuff I discard. I am embarrassed at how much unused stuff I donate each year. And then there was the entire batch of stew I just tossed out because the mold got to it before I did. I can continue to buy less stuff, but that is not the only behavior that produces waste. I want to know where the wasted stuff is coming from. So for the next few weeks I will keep track of what I throw away and how I dispose of it (garbage, recycle, disposal, compost). This will provide me with some baseline data for comparative purposes down the road. I’ll let you know what I find out.