Precycling

There is a lot of talk about the 3 R's...reduce, reuse, recycle. But over the past few months I have also been introduced to the term "precycling" which focuses more on reducing and reusing. Precycling means that you are pre-thinking about your purchases in order to leave a lighter ecological footprint. It means that I am more mindful to buy in bulk, buy less packaged goods, use cloth shopping bags so that I don't have to recycle. Recycling costs a lot of money, does cause pollution, and not everything is easily recycled. Recycling is important and is a great green baby step, but in the long run it's better to not have created the waste to begin with. For example...when I use those cloth bags, I am not supporting the making of plastic bags, the possible toxic incineration of them, or the costly recycling after I have used them.

I am a manic declutterer. I can't stand a bunch of "stuff" so I am quick to send things to Goodwill or to the trash. I became convicted about the sheer amount of junk I throw away....those dreadful Happy Meal toys, Dollar Tree toys, disposable items, cartons, toiletries, etc. Many of these things could have avoided the landfill if I had not allowed them in the first place! It's caused me to think more about the kinds of things I buy for my children....to opt for quality classic items that will last vs. cheapy stuff that breaks or gets boring within a few months. I try to encourage the children to buy quality purchases instead of junk...example: Sam went to the thrift store and wanted to buy several dated Happy Meals toys that I knew he would tire of in a few days...I encouraged him to keep looking and not to settle and we found an awesome Electricity science kit that he will use for years to come and actually learn something too!

Here are a few tips for starting a mindset of precycling:

• Buy in bulk. I buy a large box of Arm and Hammer powdered detergent that is cardboard packaging. Target has it for about $11 and it washes 145 loads.
• Reduce the packaging. I buy frozen orange juice concentrate now instead of the big carton. I try to buy big bags of items instead of individually wrapped items. Big cartons of yogurt instead of individual sizes. Glass jars of applesauce instead of individual plastic ones. Hand soap refills instead of always buying new bottles.
  
• Carry your own water bottle instead of buying disposable bottles of water. Have one for each of your kids instead of buying juice boxes.
  
• Reuse packaging for home organization. Check out this post on how to turn cardboard packaging into drawer organizers. I also save glass peanut butter jars, salsa jars, and applesauce jars for organization of buttons, pencils, paintbrushes, Q-tips, left-overs, to drink out of, insect collecting, smoothie storage, and on and on.
  
• Use cloth bags for shopping.
• Reuse gift bags or make your own.
• Stop buying your kids quick fix toys that are junky. Give them a hug or time with you playing a game or a trip to the park. So often it's easy to buy off our kids instead of what they really need...quality time and relationship. Teach them to buy aesthetically pleasing, quality toys that will last.
• Avoid the $1 section at Target :) Most of it will break and is only appealing to our desire to have something new and cute to make us feel better temporarily. I get major sucked into this stuff and most of it ends up at Goodwill very quickly.
• Buy used when possible. It keeps stuff out of landfills and slows all the production of all that stuff. And it feels good to give something new life. I just bought a groovy vintage pillowcase at a local thrift shop for 50 cents that I am going to re-purpose into an apron!
• Simply think before you buy. Do I really need this? Do my kids? Am I just shopping because I am tired or lonely or sad? Would a hug or a phone call meet the need instead? Is this a need or a want? Could it wait? Can I be content with what I have? These heart issues are interesting to think about and pray about. There certainly is much beautiful freedom to enjoy and not black and white answers. But it's good to think about.

And if you have a chance, watch "The Story of Stuff". It's a well-done, fast-paced, informative video about our Stuff and how it comes to us, what we do with it, and where it ends.

I am not perfect at any of this or even do all of these things, but I do desire to make better purchasing choices and stewardship choices. We are in the midst of a 13-week financial class by Dave Ramsey and it's great to be able to put a name on every dollar and see where the waste is. As we make better choices and stop buying "stuff", we are able to spend our money on where we really want to spend it...generosity, gifts, vacations, and hospitality. These are things that foster relationships and community....the real things of life that we all really desire.

Here's to reducing, reusing, and PREcycling!