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Your grandmother was right. Remember what she said. No, not the "don't wear stripes with polka dots," the other thing. What was that? Oh right; don't waste! It's as simple as that and you know deep down, she was right.

Your grandmother was not a huge consumer but you are, which brings us to the first part of our three part equation. Reduce. Americans lead the world in the purchase of small appliances. Hair dryers, salad shooters, (what has your poor salad done to you?,) small media systems, personal computers, blackberries, raspberries, dewberries, stand mixers, all have a very limited shelf life, (especially the raspberries dewberries,) and upon their departure to the great appliance and electronic divide, end up where? That's right my fellow Americans, you guessed it, the land field.

The typical American family averages thirty plus bags of garbage a week. That's three thousand plus pounds of trash a year. Now, take those numbers and multiply them by every family in the United States. I don't excel in the math department folks, but even my remedial mathematical skills tell me that adds up to way too much. Let's not consume so much. Can't we shred our lettuce with our hands?

Reuse. You're not going to believe what you're about to read, but I'm going to write it anyway. You can reuse items. Seriously, you can. No, not Q-tips, please don't. I'm thinking more along the lines of aluminum foil and sandwich bags, items that can be washed in a sanitary capacity and reused. The kitchen is a wonderful place to start this particular treasure hunt. Kitchen items marketed to consumers as disposable are typically "keepable" with a tiny amount of effort. A few of these items include but are not limited to; every plastic leftover and snack container you've ever purchased, plastic wares including utensils and plates, bowls, cups and glasses. Look in your hand right now. What are you about to throw away? Stop your self and wash it, reuse it, find a convenient home for it in your house, a place where you will remember to reuse and do this. This is all about maximizing your resources and if you simply reuse instead of throwing away, you will get your moneys worth and in the process save money.

Finally, the last part of our three part code of conduct. Recycle. This part used to be hard, but now, thanks to your local city or county government, your life just got easier. You know that bin out beside your house, the one that reads Waste Management on the side, the one you keep the dog

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