by Fiona Thompson

Created on: February 20, 2007   Last Updated: March 25, 2007

When it comes to making a real effort to conserve the resources we have the three Rs should be on everyone's lips. But this time it's not "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic" this time the motto is "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle". By thinking about each one individually it's easy to see how we can vastly cut down on using valuable resources unnecessarily.

REDUCE

This is the easiest part of the job and it works pretty much in tandem with the second part clearly if you re-use something then you will the reduce the amount you use in the first place

- So if you re-use plastic carrier bags you'll not take as many from the store when you go shopping.
- Do you need that pair of shoes you've seen on sale? Could you live without them? You probably could
- Do you need to print out that article? Do you need to buy a newspaper? Maybe you could read the paper on line instead? Why not save not just money but also card by sending an e-card instead?
- Try to buy food without all the packaging; by loose from supermarkets or better still from market stalls, taking your own bags with you

RE-USE

Following on from reducing the amount of material you use, your next step should be to re-use as much as possible. I am sure I don't need to remind you that carrier bags can be used as bin liners but did you know that some enterprising people make them into handbags and on television recently I even saw an old lady who crochets them into clothes!

Now, I'm not suggesting you pick up a crochet hook but there are lots of things you may use on an everyday basis that could be re-used.

- Got old t-shirts that are too shabby to go to the charity shop? Cut them up for dish clothes. Old sheets? Don't buy flimsy plastic sheeting for decorating but use old towels instead; my parents have been using the same old sheets for decorating since I was a kid
- Yoghurt pots and other plastic tubs can be used for storing food in the fridge, for kids to carry small seeds or fruit to school, for planting seeds, for storing small items like pins, nails, screws, etc
- Keep larger jars for storage one coffee brand has such lovely jars that I use them in my bathroom for storing cotton wool balls; I also re-use large glass jars when pickling, much cheaper than buying new ones
- Try to print on both sides of the paper if you can and see if you can re-use packaging like Jiffy bags, etc. My e-bay customers benefit from the cheaper P&P costs because I always re-use the packaging
- Instead of simply sending old magazines to be recyled why not

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