Noted and Dotefully Toting.

I have at least 7 different kinds of tote bags. We spent less than $5 US dollars on our 7 reusable bags. Most were given away for free at trade shows that I've attended over the past few years.  I didn't imagine it back then what I would use them for other than maybe going to the beach with them, but grocery shopping?!  What a delightful idea!  Since 2008 now, I hardly have to use plastic bags from any store.  Even one branch of our county library system has stopped providing plastic bags, which primarily allows its patrons to bring their own bags to carry their library items. And I LOVE the idea!  More stores are offering for their customers to purchase them, and I get it, they want to capitalize on the idea of doing their part to be "green".

I usually find a good deals on them or with them as well.  Our local market store, Fresh and Easy was offering a free canvas bag if you made a purchase of $xx. CVS stores offer $.25 towards their extra care bucks if you also grab a "Bag Tag" and have the cashier scan in the tag each day you make a purchase from the store; which the initial investment is $.99 for the tag.  Another grocery store, Smith's applies points towards your rewards card for future coupons. The military commissaries offer them for $.70 each while other stores sell them for $.99 each.

To me and my family, it is still worth paying the additional amount for a reusable bag.  It reduces the plastic waste on our streets, and landfills.  With the current plastic bags we have in our home from our "oops, I forgot to grab the reusable bags" quick grocery trips, I use them as my trash bags in our bathrooms.  I save some for camping, as the larger Target and Toys R Us ones are great for carrying dishes to the faucets and as trash bags.  Any excess ones that will not fit into our plastic bag holder on the pantry door gets taken to the grocery store where they recycle them for us. My older sister was attending a high school dance; I remember she used a trash bag as her dress.  I don't know what dance it was for; I was about 5 years old at the time, I just remember her and her friends cutting out holes for arms and her head and putting it on and walking out of the house.   I once saw a plastic bench on the side of a grocery store that said it was made of 2000 + recycled plastic bags and I had to sit on it because it was thrilling to know that we are able to create it into something better.  Target even posts 10 suggestions on the side of their bags on how to reuse them.  And that is one of the very reasons why I give them my business more than any other retailer, because they truly understand their communities and the environment.

Putting a Cork in It!

I was reading through tweets (twitter.com/recyclingmommy) and found a link that recycle_this had posted.  I read the initial post regarding what types of crafts can be made from wine corks, real or synthetic.  The post however didn't provide me with any real information on how we could reuse them (We have a lot of wine in our home - all free of course). 

Someone had replied and provided a link to her friends blog regarding her needing of corks for her wedding.  I sneaked a peak and was brilliantly surprised at the ingenuity and useful creativity of the corks!  So here, I will share the link:

 http://adessi1010.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-corker.html

Helping Others Save and Recycle

Last Spring Semester 2010, I composed a 20-page paper on why it is important for people to recycle, how to do it and what the negative reactions are to recycling.  I was astonished at the excuses that I came across and although some are valid, it almost seems that people are ignorant to the fact that rather than throwing out items, we can actually reuse them. 

A little about the blogger:  I am a mom still attending college in pursuit of completing her Bachelor's Degree in Business.  My interests were not always business-minded; I had many dreams of traveling the world, becoming a scientist (my strongest subject, but I am lacking the mathematical skills to pursue another degree in Environmental Science or even Biology), opening my own photo shop, coffee shop, and my latest obsession, yogurt shop.  But alas, life leads you down a path you never imagined and I couldn't imagine it any other way.  I live in Nevada with my husband and the cutest, exuberant little boy. 

I have pursued being a working mom and it hasn't worked in my favor lately.  The result has forced us a family to create a budget with a buffer (of course) and stick to it.  We had to learn on our own to manage our finances.  There is not a class available in college (at least not in mine) that teaches students about how to manage their personal finances, so we had to do it all ourselves.  But I love the opportunity to raise my family and be able to create a schedule and interests that benefits not only myself, but my family and hopefully others. 

With this blog, I want to extend to my audience how I have reused and recycled common items that most consumers will throw into the trash cans.  I also plan on sharing numerous tips I have acquired over the last few years in saving money. 

I welcome positive feedback for improvement and growth.  Please feel free to comment and if you have anything to contribute, please let me know.