Make space, save on household waste

This weeks green tip focuses on simple ways to reduce household paper waste.

Mail- No doubt most of you pay some or all of your bills electronically, saving paper, energy, time and money. If you notice you get junk mail repeatedly from the same source, contact them and ask them to take you off their mailing list. The amount of junk mail we receive is staggering, any amount you can reduce this is important. Always recycle junk mail (and newspapers) whenever possible.

Paper Towels- This is a common area of excessive, unnecessary waste. This strategy begins during your grocery shopping. Instead of purchasing paper towels that come in large squares consider switching to a brand that offers smaller, rectangular sheets of towel. Many cleanups and chores around the house can be accomplished using one of these half-sized disposable towels. If the mess in question is only water use a dishtowel to absorb it instead of paper towels. However paper towels that have been used to soak up a body of water can be dried out and re-used. Some brands dry more rigid than others but if your dried towel doesn’t seem useful anymore consider using it to place under one of your indoor plants that may leak or under one of your pets water dishes or food bowl.

Napkins- Heres an area that is almost never considered as a way to reduce waste. It’s a common practice to place disposable napkins around the dinner table for use during chow time. The best way to reduce this waste is to invest in some cotton or linen napkins that you can throw in the washing machine. If you’re set on using disposable napkins consider changing some of your habits. If you’re like me, you may experience times where you don’t touch your napkin or may only use a small area of it. On countless occasions I’ve noticed folks throwing away an un-touched, clean napkin. Unused napkins should always be reused. If you fancy yourself as living a hard core green lifestyle then do as I do and reuse napkins that have been only lightly soiled. This extreme obviously isn’t for everyone but it does make a difference. Lastly, always, always, always save and reuse unused napkins you get with your drive thru meals. For some reason the friendly young kid at the checkout window thinks you need 7 napkins for your order of fries.

Tissues- This paper product actually does not get wasted nearly as often as the two previous items (and I do not endorse reusing mildly-dirty tissues. Even I find that overkill). It seems the vast majority of people only use tissues when they have to, so carry on…

Toilet Paper- The best way to reduce waste here is actually to purchase high-quality, two-ply bathroom tissue. Studies have shown that people use less overall material with heavier, thicker toilet paper as opposed to the see-through thin stuff. You’ll pay more at the register but it will last much longer.

Repeat after me: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.