'Ear, 'ear!

My friend Linda posted an entry in her blog this morning, that was so truthful and compelling, that I had to follow suit and throw in my own two-cents.

My grandmother grew up in China and Taiwan, with so few resources, that she has been an extreme example of conservation and resourcefulness. Everything is kept, reused or recycled. EVERYTHING.

As I've mentioned, I'm in the process of moving from a small, one-bedroom apartment into a larger, single-family home. The amount of space is now more than doubled and it will be interesting to see how little, the ton of STUFF that my fiance and I have, will be in the new place.

This leads me to think, of how much stuff people accumulate, leading to how much stuff then, at some point, is tossed away without a second thought. Which made me feel queasy with guilt and unease. And instead of doing what many humans are apt to do- I'm going to take small, brave steps away from my usual way of doing things and see how I can undo some of the ecological damage my thirty years on this planet have done.

My goal is to be more conscientious about my choices. For example, instead of grabbing a paper towel for every little task, I'm purchasing cloth tea towels and napkins. I'm going to compost more and recycle more (toilet paper tubes, kleenex boxes, receipts, etc.). I'm going to think twice about buying stuff, too. Is it something I really need, or just something I momentarily want (good for the budget, too!!!)?

Really, one can go on and on about the endless choices and contributions we can make. I'm going to start with a few little things and go from there!