Brought to you by The Letter “R”… as in Reuse.
It’s really hard to not shop.
This is mostly because, I am discovering, our American life is not truly designed for things like:
- Freedom
- Justice
- Democracy
- Share and share alike
but is actually designed for things like:
- Credit card debt
- Paris Hilton
- Bud Light Ads
I think this is primarily why we all sort of get the RECYCLE bit, but just plain ignore the other two Rs, reduce and reuse.
My personal favorite R is Reuse. I like it because, well, first of all, it’s sort of communist. In order to RE-use things, that means you have to USE them first, or someone does. Which means, you can’t have it for yourself, of it you do, you have to share it with someone else. HA! What’s mine is yours!
When I lived in Kansas City, I had a lawn mower and it got stolen out of my garage. Now my lawn was the size of a postage stamp: still I REALLY needed to keep it mowed, because I am an American, and that’s what Americans do. They mow their lawns.
Well, my neighbor Cathy (another bleeding heart liberal, god bless it!) suggested that I borrow hers. So I did. And I borrowed it again. And again. And again. I put gasoline in it. Sometimes I mowed her lawn. Sometimes she mowed mine. Hmmm…. What the HELL IS GOING ON HERE!! ANARCHY! THE ECONOMY IS CRUMBLING!!!
Well, needless to say, that was a good example of reuse. Instead of my buying a new, additional and much unneeded lawn mower, we shared one. And the economy didn’t crumble.
Well, at least I don’t think this sub-prime housing debacle is linked to back to that… or is it?
4 Comments
I do know this: if you don’t purchase a new TV or a lawnmower with this rebate Uncle Sam is handing out, you are a traitorous unamerican commie. (At least, that’s what the Overlord Dick said.)
When we were moving back from LA, we used craigslist and freecycle.org to get used boxes and give away items that we couldn’t ship. I had been using the freecycle list for quite a while… even though I’m as far from liberal as you can get.
When I got here (Iowa), I signed up for the local freecycle to give away all the boxes I had accumulated from the move. I was disappointed to find the local freecycle listserv littered with messages like “If you have an old Atari, my kids would really like it.” What a bunch of hooey. Why not just title your message “If you’re too dumb to know it’s worth something on eBay, give it to me and I’ll sell it.” Needless to say I don’t subscribe to the list now. I wonder if it’s gotten any better since then.
But I do frequent yard sales and try to “reuse” when possible… but that’s mostly because I’m thrify. Does it still count?
You are putting the lawnmower people out of business and ruining the American economy.
Because YOU did not buy another lawnmower some guy got a short pay check and now can not make a payment on his house.
It went into forecloser and by doing so all there houses in the neighborhood lost value.
THANKS!!!
You may want to purchase a goat instead of the gasoline or a new mower. I’ve researched this, and here is a good source in central Kansas. http://www.3mboergoats.com/
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