Reuse, Reduce, Recycle: Our Packaging

We've all heard of the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle.

As a rule, my family aims to just reduce our waste more than the other 2. One thing you'll hear often in my house- "...but do we NEED it?" Often my kids will assert "Yes Mom, I NEED this!" whether it's a new toy, food in plastic packaging, or new clothes. They don't. 

The consignment shop is now a regular stop on my errand days. And we are often now purging unused toys to donate on a regular basis. No more Starbucks trips just cause having a soy latte is "nice." We no longer splurge on holidays just so the kids will have more wrapped boxes (with recycled wrapping, of course!). We're trying. 

Reusing is also easy nowadays. I've even taught my stubborn, yet lovable, husband to reuse things he would have scoffed at years ago. He's even taken up a candle-making hobby to repurpose all of our old jars and previously used candle jars, tins, etc.(and to save money buying overpriced candles!). We use our drinking glasses multiple times with just a rinse before putting in our energy-saving dishwasher. Most of my kids clothes are hand-me-downs. You get the idea...

Do we recycle? Of course. Since I was about 15. We. Recycle. Everything. But as you may have heard, only about 10% of all things recycled "actually" get recycled. Can we ever be sure? Nope. So we try.

Can we ever do "ENOUGH?" Probably not. Humans have already taken a huge toll on our lovely and fragile planet. And many don't seem to care, sadly. 

So what does an environmentally-conscious company do when we realize that packaging is such an issue? We buy boxes, yes. But not often. We have to order the wonderful goods that we supply in our shop. So when they come in boxes, we save them. When we personally order online, we save them too. When we find boxes, we keep them. Most would otherwise be thrown away or attempted to be recycled. So why not reuse? By reusing, we are reducing. We won't have to buy as many new boxes, if ever at all. To be honest, we haven't bought new boxes in a long time. And I hope not to have to again. 

So when your package from green arrives in a beat-up, old Amazon box, or a diapers box, don't worry. We saved it. Gave it a new life. And hopefully you will continue the trend. If your inside packaging is plastic, don't worry. It is being reused again. If your tissue paper isn't perfectly folded, it's because it's done its job once, and is now keeping your order safe. So please reuse or recycle it. And by doing that, we're all reducing the amount that has to be manufactured as new.

We want to practice what we preach, and you can help by keeping the cycle going. :)