Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The now well-worn mantra of the environmentalist movement is central to being an ethical consumer on the cheap. These three actions allow one to participate in a non-harmful way in society and either help save money or cost nothing to implement.

Reduce: means cutting down on or cutting out things. Obviously if you buy less of something its going to save you money. From a ecological point of view you are consuming fewer resources.

Renew: means mending and repairing the stuff you have rather than just chucking it out and getting new stuff. Extending the lifespan of your possessions means that you get more value for money out of them and so, over time, you spend less. And, again, from a ecological point of view you are consuming fewer resources.

Recycle: means instead of just chucking waste in the bin you allow the materials from which it is made to be used again. Paper, glass, some metals and plastics, clothes can all be recycled. This costs you nothing but helps save precious natural resources.

Over the next however many posts I want to throw out a few ideas I have for implementing the principles of reduce, renew, recycle. My ideas may not be useful to everybody but hopefully they might provide some food for thought.