In an effort to be greener and not contribute any more to land fills than we have to, in July of 2010 we got brave and told our garbage man we no longer needed his services. We live in a rural area and contracted his services, so we had that option. I was afraid if we didn’t do this, we would get too lazy and trash things that could be recycled. Also, the garbage collectors were burning oil and gasoline to come down our one-half mile drive way.
It all sounded easy at first. The nearest recycler is twenty-five minutes away. So far we have went once. We purchased metal trashcans lining them up, one for plastics (only number 1’s and 2’s), one for metal (thus the metal trash cans for when they will need to be recycled) and one for glass. Paper is either burned outside, used in the wood burning fireplace to help start fires, or taken to where my husband works, as a recycling bin is just outside his office. We have compost bins for our raw food scrapes.
We take our own reusable bags to stores; try to remember to ask for mugs in lieu of paper cups at Starbucks. I have my own reusable plastic cup for the cold drinks.
This whole process has made us rethink our whole consumerism as a family (there is just the two of us – empty nesters). Not only are the ingredients in products we are buying important as we try to be as organic as possible, but also the package it’s in is equally important.
It’s a learning process, and I hope we are making some impact. I am finding that there are some items we encounter that can’t be avoided as garbage. Where there is a will, though, there is a way. I’m thankful that thus far the actual throw away has been so minimal as to be something we can toss into the small trash can at the gas station once a week.
The other day I did break a ceramic bowl. I was at a loss of how to dispose of it. My solution thus far is to bury it in the field to be found perhaps hundreds of years later by an archeologist.
J. Schlenker 
I love this idea. My husband and I contract for our garbage pick-up too. We’ve been paring down by composting, recycling, etc., and I’ve noticed that we really don’t have enough garbage to make it worth the pick-up. Some weeks we don’t bother to haul it out for pick-up.
Yes, there were times that we didn’t have garbage. Maybe if you decide to do this we can compare notes. There are things that I’m still throwing away that perhaps I can find another use for or alternate way of disposal. For instance, those little twist ties, and I cut the plastic spout out of milk cartons.
I hadn’t thought about the little things like that. It would be difficult to come up for uses or disposal methods for those.
This is a great post. Many people would be too lazy to do something like that. It’s great that you have taken the initiave…esp. since your so far out in the country. I also loved that you mentioned that you eat organic as much as possible. I try to do the same myself.
We hope to build a greenhouse soon out of mostly recycled materials.
That’s an awesome thought! More people should be thinking about the waste they produce and how they can best address it after. I actually saw a Starbucks cup that I liked–it said “Use. Reuse. Reuse. Reuse. Reuse. Reuse.” And I remember that that led me off on an entire trail of thought that had to do with whether or not reusing things made a person look shabby, or how long it’s been since I reused something, and what the difference was between shabby and vintage, and how austerity might be beautiful, and how I’ve gotten very used to either recycling something or throwing it away once I’ve touched it. I’m so glad that Robin pointed me over here!
Well bless your sweet conscientious heart. Every step helps and it makes my heart feel good to read this. Thank you for this and stopping by my place. Nice to meet you. Paulette (p.s. not sure if you’re following Serendipity farms, but think you’d find a kindred soul there. If it interests you here’s their link: http://theroadtoserendipity.wordpress.com/)
Thank you for sending me to their blog. Yes, I do see we have a lot in common.
My pleasure! That’s nice that you went to visit them. 🙂
Well good on you ! It is hard to organize and dispose of all your rubbish and I am most impressed and salute you both. We are “empty nesters” too and we are very careful to only buy the food we need and rotate the freezer ! We are doing well too but we still use the council rubbish collection but we do sort all our rubbish, we take Glass and Clothes and shoes to a local collection site and all our garden rubbish to the local dump. I think we do well but not as well as you.
Thank you for dropping by and reading, and following my blog I do appreciate it ! xx
Thank you for calling by and joining my blogging journey. I loved the alternative solution you came up with for the ceramic dish. 🙂
Grazie di cuore per avere voluto seguire il mio spazio d’Anima!
Il Tuo spazio d’Anima è in sintonia con i miei modi di vedere la realtà e la natura che ci circonda!. E mi piace molto come scrivi. 🙂
Un cordiale saluto e
a presto
Claudio
I would love to know what this said, but sadly I only speak English.
Thank you very much for wanting to follow my space Soul! Your Soul space is in line with my way of seeing reality and the nature that surrounds us!. And I really like how you write. 🙂 Best wishes and see you soon Claudio