by Nicole

I almost always bring my lunch to work in a plastic MarketBasket bag and also give my 9 year old daughter one for her snack for school, now when I go to the supermarket I ask for brown paper bags (which I may add are also good for covering books, crafts and school projects) and both of us now have fabric bags that are reusable.

by Mercia

Like many people I have fallen prone to the convenience of the ziploc bag for food storage and I confess that after a couple or washings and reusings, they looked so cruddy, I would just throw them away. Now I bought at 2 for 1 sale - dishwasher plastic storage containers in a variety of sizes (a bit like the old tupperware but more sturdy). Still plastic of course, but they will last forever and no more ziploc plastic bags! Saves money to boot!

by Mercia

I finally decided that I could not stand it any longer, and now insist that my drycleaners recycle my metal hangers.I think they see me as a bit eccentric, but they are accepting them back any way. I am encouraging them to put a recycling bin out for all their customers to do likewise.

by Ira

While my kids have grown bigger, my basement seems to have grown smaller. As toys were used and then abandoned, they made their way to the basement creating great piles of stuff never to be used again in our household. Adding to the burden of discarded toys and clothes were household items displaced as my wife and I “modernized,” replacing long-serving dishes, pots and pans, etc. with ones that caught our fancy.

Desperate to reclaim basement space and reduce clutter, my wife and I considered tossing the lot out with the trash - recycling as much as possible, of course. Even with commitment to recycling, I felt awkward recognizing how much volume (clearly indicated by the piles in front of us) would be added to a landfill if we left the discarded items on the curb with the trash. We needed to find a way of getting reuse out of what would otherwise become refuse.

My wife contacted Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay and offered to donate what we needed to get rid of. The truck came, the goods were hauled away, someone else will get good use out of what we donated, and there will be no careless expansion to our landfill from our decision to reclaim our basement.

By Jeremiah

It may seem to be a small step, b-u-t, our office uses a mountain of sticky post-it notes every month. We are now writing on the front of the note, then, for writing the next one, folding forward the top of the same note. Doing this places the sticky strip in the correct position for also using the back of the post-it note, as if it were the front. Result: the note still sticks, and we use half as much (printed) paper!

By Bridget

I loathe how much waste comes from gift wrapping (especially from Crate & Barrel!!!), so I try to put gifts in a basket or other reusable container and just add a bow or some ribbon.

By Mercia Tapping

We give a lot of used clothing and bedding to charity each year, but from time to time we know that items have gone beyond where someone would even say thank you. So, we cut up old towels or sheets for cleaning rags and avoid paper towels. It is a simple thing to do and they work much better than wasteful paper towels, anyway.

Beth

I decided that reusing my grocery bags to bring my lunch to work wasn’t enough. There were always so many that I ended up throwing some away. Then I decided to start bringing my bags back to the grocery store to reuse them. I put them right next to my son’s grocery cart cover so I don’t forget to bring them in!”

Our inventory control officer was excited to find 100% recycled cardboard boxes from a packaging supplier. Now everything that drop ships from the GreenandMore.com warehouses gets sent in eco-friendly packaging. One more win for the planet!

When the marketing and design teams met with our printer, they asked him to show them all of the recycled paper and soy ink options. They were incredibly surprised that it was the same great quality and no real price difference. And, the new printed materials now boast a green recycling message to spread the word. It’s amazing how easy it is to make small decisions that can reduce waste and save energy.