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Living Lean and Green in Memphis

During the time of the great depression, families grew their own food, reused potato sacks and had lunch pails.

The community store had basic staples for cooking and living. At this time, people had little waste, valued what they did own and lived off the land.

Think about how vastly different we live our lives today. We come home from the store and rip open plastic packages of items that most likely were not purchased for our basic survival. Here are some tips for living more responsibly and not accumulating as much clutter.

Recycle. According to www.memphisrecycles.com, recycling is easier than ever. Our new 96 gallon recycling carts can be filled with cardboard, rigid plastic containers and more. Some of the benefits of recycling include bringing in revenue instead of paying for landfills. Many recovered items can be reformed into new products, like park benches. In addition, jobs are created for those who are hired to process recycled materials.

Free Cycling is an organization which strives to "build a worldwide sharing movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills." Items which are still in good use can be reassigned to someone who can use it.

Pause before you purchase. When we live responsibly, we reduce our spending, cut our clutter, reduce stress and care for the world around us. As the Minimalists would say,  "Needing more will always lead to a pall of uncertainty and insecurity." Don't forget bring your own bags when you shop to save on plastic.

To learn more go to www.worldwatch.org. This is Sheila Harrell with Church Health.

http://www.memphisrecycles.com/

https://www.freecycle.org/about/missionstatement

https://www.facebook.com/theminimalists

http://www.worldwatch.org/resources/go_green_save_green

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