Tips for Sustainable Living - Recycling Made Easy

It's official - I've been bit by the spring cleaning bug. Between the baby being mobile and needing to rearrange to make our home safer for her and everyday living, I have a list that will probably take me a few weeks to get through. As I clean out, I try to make sure that I am recycling as much as possible, whether that means taking it to the recycling center or reusing it in my home for another purpose. I have a pretty simple, yet effective system in my home that makes it easy for the hubs, myself and even our guests to recycle.

Stage 1: Collection Containers
I found these simple recycling bags at Ikea a few years ago (still available, even online!) that snap together to form a 3-section unit or can be used independently. In order to make it easy for everyone to see that we recycle and know where to put said recyclables, I have placed one of these bags next to the garbage can in my kitchen. There is also one in our office and another in the laundry room that is specifically meant to hold plastic and paper shopping bags.

Here's the bag in my kitchen:

Office:

These bags work great for inside collection! Any container would work, just make sure to clearly designate it as the recycling container. Placing recycling next to frequently used trash cans will increase how much you recycle in your home. Places like the kitchen, office and garage are great candidates for a recycling center!

Stage 2: Outdoor Holding Container

In addition to indoor containers to collect recyclables, we also have a can outside that we put anything that held food in. I rinse the containers out very well so I have never found a bug in my recycling can. We use a regular trash can with a lid to hold our recyclables, since we have to take them ourselves to the local collection site. To make things even easier and greener, I use an old mesh laundry bag from college instead of a trash bag to line the can. When I head over to the recycling center, all I have to do is pull the bag out of the can and dump the items into the big bins. The bag is washable and is saving plastic from garbage bags!  

I actively try to recycle as much as possible. I'm proud to say that my household generates only one bag of trash per week. We also compost our produce scraps, cutting down the stink inside our trash can and allowing us to use only one trash bag per week. It was a pretty easy commitment to make and keep up with. Once you start, the recycling habit will come very easily! 

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not." 

- Dr. Seuss