Five Simple Ways to Precycle, Save Money and Conserve The Earth’s Resources

Precycling goes a step further, in helping to conserve the finite resources of the Earth. Precycling not only helps the environment, it helps you save money. A precycler is a consumer who thinks before making a purchase, or using a product. It is wonderful to recycle. It is even better not to buy more products to begin with, or find products which use less resources to be produced. Here are five simple ways to precycle.

* Shopping bags

Buy or make a bunch of shopping bags that can be reused over and over again, to start your precycling goals. Some stores are even offering these bags for free, or for a small fee. Even craft stores carry plain, inexpensive ones to purchase. You can even hit garage sales or flea markets to find them.

Keep some of these bags in easily accessible places. Keep them by the door you leave the house from. Keep them in your car, where you can grab them easily as you exit the car. Keep them by your bicycle, if that is your mode of transportation. That way you won’t get to a check out stand without one. Get into the habit of taking one, or more than one fabric shopping bag in with you, when you shop.

When the clerk asks you would you like paper or plastic, you will be able to say “Neither, I brought my own.”

Take them with you to other stores too. Just make sure the person at the check out knows you have them, or puts the items you purchased directly in the bag/s for you. That might prevent any suspicions about stolen merchandise being squirreled away in your own bags.

Get into the habit of taking these bags wherever you go shopping. It is a relatively easy habit to develop. It is a great way to precycle too.

* Catalogs

You may be on mailing lists for a lot of catalogs. If you do not shop from some of the places you are receiving catalogs from, ask them to remove your name from their snail mail lists. Precycling is important in every level of consumerism, including the ordering phase.

If they are places you purchase from, see if they have the same catalogs online.

Many merchandisers are now offering the very same catalog online. Get on their email list instead. That way you will know when new catalogs become available. If you don’t want your personal email mailbox loaded down with these, set up an email account specifically for your consumer needs.

*Magazines

The same thing goes for your magazine subscriptions. If you are on the computer a lot anyhow, see if there is an option to get an online subscription, instead of a paper one. Many in-print magazines are offering an online option. If they aren’t, encourage them to do so. This is another way to precycle.

You are still supporting the publications you love. They still get your money. You both save some of the Earth’s resources and precycle. Some publications have even done away with the in-print version altogether. They only offer an online version of their magazine. It is often the same magazine, without the wasted paper. They won’t clutter up your house, your recycling bin, or your mailbox that way.

* Napkins and Paper Towels

Switch to cloth to precycle. Instead of paper napkins and paper towels, use fabric ones. Buy or make a pile of plain white, or natural white washcloths to use, instead of paper towels. If you buy, read the labels. See how they were made, and who they were made by. Bulk stores carry them in big sets. They are less expensive that way too.

Another option is to use cut up old absorbable clothing, or old towels that have seen better days, are not good enough to use as hand me downs, and are not being used for their original purpose anymore. With that option, you are both recycling and precycling.

Make or buy fabric napkins that can be used over and over again. Once they get worn out, convert them to the rag pile, or put them in the cloth paper towel pile, to get a second round of use from them.

* Rechargeable Batteries

If you are buying items that require batteries, there may be no other option for that kind of product to be used without a battery. Shop carefully. Do your research. Then buy the product options that come with rechargeable batteries. Some digital cameras for example, now have a rechargeable battery option, instead of having to eat through piles of batteries, just to take a few pictures, view them and load them onto your computer or photo printer.

You can also buy your own recharger, and use rechargeable batteries for some products. Things like flashlights, handheld battery operated games, and toys, are good candidates for this rechargeable option.

You have to read the manuals to see specifically what kind of battery is required for each product. Again it is a matter of retraining yourself to remember to recharge the batteries ahead of time. That way you aren’t frantically looking for a battery when you need one. Think precycle first, before you buy, then recycle after you have made the purchase.

Spent batteries are a real problem in waste management. They are full of dangerous chemicals that can pollute the environment. Finding ways not to use them, use them less, or find products that use rechargeable ones that last a lot longer, will help to cut down on their production. That may make you think about precycling and recycling, when you make consumer choices.

Precyling helps to cut down on the initial production of things, that will eventually need to be recycled. Recycling is very important, but precycling is the prevention of the creation of things, that need to be recycled.

Don’t forget that everything being produced, has to be made or manufactured. That process takes resources from the Earth too. Think about what you have to buy or use. Then try to find ways to precycle, when you make those choices. Support the companies who make an effort to conserve, not only in what they produce, but how they produce it. See if they have other options so you can precycle too. Help the Earth, save money, and help yourself, by precycling.

By: Dreamweaverr
Published: 05/03/08

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3 Posted Comments:

I'm Lazy

@ 3:42 pm 05/03/08 by Michelle L Devon

I admit it - I'm lazy and that's a big reason why I don't recycle as much as I should, and a now you want me to PREcycle? Ha!

You're funny!

However, it's a great article for those who aren't as lazy as me... maybe I should read it more carefully and follow it's ad.... (yawn)...

was I doing something?

Love and stuff,
Michy

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@ 6:56 pm 05/17/08 by LadyRavenvrmor

We think that our lil bit will not help. But even the littlest of things help. And if we all band together it will make an impact on the survival of this earth. We do this for the future and our own children. Lets leave something for them.

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