Thought for the day

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Dinner is cancelled tonight due to things coming up for almost the entire group of ladies. I have been giving this question a lot of thought lately "Is the earth producing the nataural resources quickly enough so that generations of people like myself can continue living like I do in my current lifestyle?"

In light of that thought, I believe the answer to the question is a resounding NO! Therefore, even though I am only 1 person, I have to be responsible for my actions and act according to my own beliefs and walk the walk, right?

I received an extra 20 cubic foot freezer, larger than my actual refrigerator, from my father.  I accepted this gift as we have a large combined family of 7 and I felt that it would aid in us saving food dollars. That I would be able to purchase items as they came on sale and store them in this massive freezer, using them as needed.  Great in theory for a large family. The problem is, this is not how I eat, nor how I feed my family. Not only have we undergone some pretty radical changes over this last year, but I really hate frozen food.  With the exception of pizza and ice cream and ice, I don't need a lot of freezer space. So this gift is now costing valuable resources from our planet and my head that just don't need to be spent.  (I know all of you frugal moms are thinking that I am crzy right now but I believe that I can be frugal and healthy and conservative - eating fresh fruits and vegetables and still saving money..we will see I guess)

Where am I going with this? Well, I have decided to pass this freezer along to someone that can actually use it and not throw the food away because it is freezer burnt.  That means I need to clean it out. What better way to clean it out than to eat everything in it? So that has been my goal. To not purchase new food items (except for the occasional ingredient)and to eat what we already have in the house - which is a lot! Tonight I was planning on entertaining and only needed to purchase fresh spinach for an entier meal.

So I leave you with this thought...living sustainably and minimalistically is not about being cool or fashionable. It is about being gentle. How do I use the product/ingredient/thing to it's absolute fullest capacity? Can I then turn it into another useful item with little or no new resources before throwing it out or recucling it? Can I recycle it or compost it or is it truly garbage?

I am working on moving in this direction. Minimizing my impact on this planet, on my wallet and time.  I am doing so by first using what I have on hand before buying something new. I have started looking at lotion containers and soap bottles to see what I can use them for versus throwing them mindlessly into the recycle or garbage. I use Alba lotion and learned that the container cleans well, the label peels easily, it is pretty and makes a great container for organizing my junk drawer. 

What is one thing you can do to reduce your environmental impact today?