Living in a Throw-Away Culture

Do you ever feel frustrated living in a throw-away culture? Are you frustrated because you know that you're contributing to the disposable mindset? The solution? Stop throwing things away!

Fix something that doesn't work. Repair a broken object. Mend torn clothing. Give something a new life with a good cleaning or a coat of paint.

Buy quality items that will last a long time and are worth the cost of repairing. When was the last time you saw a shoe repair shop? Probably never, because shoes, like many things, are made so cheaply now that the cost of buying new is less than the cost of fixing. High quality items have mostly gone away, but not completely. Save up to buy things that will last and be worth repairing, such as toys, cars, cookware, shoes and clothing. But don't pay too much! Find the perfect point where relatively low price meets relatively high quality. Buying items gently used can cut the cost while keeping most of the durability.

Buy items that can be repaired. When I was a teenager I bought a cheap watch. A few years later, when the battery needed to be replaced, I found out that the watch was so cheap that it couldn't be opened without destroying the entire mechanism. So I bought the same cheap watch new again. When the second watch died I decided to stop wearing a watch. (Haven't cell phones become the new wristwatch, anyway?)

Properly maintain items to give them a long life. If you own your home, tackle little problems before they cause widespread damage. Do preventative repairs on your car. Take care of your body! Eat wholesome food, exercise and sleep. Enjoy the reliability that good maintenance provides!

Reuse containers. If your grocery store offers a filtered water tap, fill up several gallon jugs each time you go to keep from throwing out half-liter water bottles. Figure out a way to use "garbage" as storage or organization containers.

All the Juicy Juice bottles I get on WIC become storage for grains and legumes that I buy in bulk. An old salsa jar is holding poppy seeds. (This is just a small sample from my pantry.)

This tomato sauce jar is my "garden" for growing sprouts. (Excuse the little hand.)

Make from scratch. Combine your own flour, sugar, baking soda and salt for baking instead of buying mixes with lots of packaging. Make your own cleaners. Grind flour from bulk grains. Cut back on or eliminate processed foods. Don't buy fast food! All that paper in the garbage makes me sick. (Or could that be the food I just ate?)

Stop using disposables. Use dishrags instead of sponges that wear out after a few weeks. Clean up with kitchen towels instead of paper towels. Don't buy that new fancy Swiffer with its expensive throwaway pads; just use your good old broom and mop! Take reusable grocery bags to the store instead of throwing out paper or plastic.

Go take a peek in your garbage (plug your nose if necessary) and choose one item that you've been throwing away, then decide how to replace it with something more permanent.

What do you (or will you) do to combat a throwaway society?