I could go on and on and on. I allow myself more luxuries than my parents did. I usually take quick showers, so when I do bathe, I fill the tub up and make it an event. I leave a small flouresent light on over the kitchen sink from dark to bedtime, so we can find our way in easily and a low wattage hall light on at the back of the living room for going to the bedroom.But it sickens me the waste I see here, there and yonder. People who throw clothes out as garbage even when they are not stained or torn. Folks in social settings who help their plates to overflowing and then not finish half of it. It truly irritates me. I seldom if every say anything. Usually it is not my place to. But, I do find I esteem those individuals a little less after seeing it.
How wasteful would you say you are? Does seeing the wastefulness of others upset you? If you have seen someone acting this way, does it change your view of them?
Barbara
I think we are probably all guilty of being a little wasteful, but I am trying to purge some things.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt, Mike, we all are...especially here in America.
DeleteI do waste some but not as much as people I see. I think food is my downfall since there are only two of us. I do give it to the cat or even strays, not the garbage can. We also use several night lights for safety because of our age and health. I would never throw clothes away and I buy much stuff at thrift stores.
ReplyDeleteIt is very hard to cook for two if you have ever cooked for more. When shared with animals, it is not a total loss.
DeleteWe try not to waste in our household. Mr TG fined some visitors for leaving lights on all over the place. We take reusable bags grocery shopping and recycle what we can. It's not that hard once you get used to doing small things that all add up.
ReplyDeleteI've seen people take more free food than they wind up eating. I really hate it when people throw away perfectly good food.
ReplyDeleteWaste makes me crazy. Wasted time, money, resources - so pointless! My biggest struggle is eating up leftovers in the frig. Some weeks I have a good handle on it - other times I end up throwing away food that has spoiled.
ReplyDeleteThings get pushed to the back of the fridge and then a week later you see them and say "darn, that was really good!"
DeleteI hear you Barbara - wastage is so terrible especially in the times of today when resources are drying up!!
ReplyDeleteI laud your efforts to reduce it in all spheres of your life.
Visit my blog for the Pergrination Chronicles as I meander through the AtoZchallenge where I am telling travel tales by the alphabet!!
Wish upon the stars
I'm good with lights and the dishwasher and laundry, but sometimes I am wasteful with produce, and it makes me crazy! I'm working on it, though.
ReplyDeleteA to Z Challenge: Wolf
Isa-Lee Wolf
A Bit 2 Read
@IsaLeeWolf
I buy produce sometimes and then life gets crazy and I don't cook on a regular schedule and then I open the produce drawer and say this is going to the chickens.
DeleteI couldn't agree more. It sickens me at restaurants to see the waste of food when there are people in our own city who are starving. The problem is the servings are too big. Do you have that problem? W is for Watch the Wordcount as you Build a Better Blog. #AtoZchallenge.
ReplyDeleteI still try to clean my plate like Mama said, but if there os more than 2 or 3 bites left I ask for a to go box. Someone at the house will eat it!
DeleteYes, we don't repair things anymore but buy new ones leading to waste.
ReplyDeleteW is for Wikipedia
Role I play in my wife's life
Amen! I used Mama's stove from the 1950's until '97. And then only gave up on it because the major parts house had burnt to the ground. Can't do that with anything new.
DeleteWastefulness bothers me greatly, it has become a disposible world, where nothing lasts long and isn't intended to, that way we need to buy again, and what could be repaired or passed on will likely end up in the dumpster. When I see people being excessively wasteful... at buffets and in other ways, it definitely causes me to reevaluate my opinion of them. We were charged to be caretakers of the earth, and of our own financial resources too. If we don't even try to do that, we are lazy and selfish. I think we all allow ourselves a few splurges, something new not really needed yet, or extra water in the tub, but there is moderation, and that differs from a lifestyle of excess, greed, and waste. I am not impressed by people like that and have no desire to associate with them. We could do so much for others with the extra that we have!
ReplyDeleteJosie Two Shoes: W is for Winnie
I thank God all the time that Hubby can repair almost anything! Once he found parts we needed for a TV in the woods while bow hunting!
DeleteI generally feel the same way you do but I have lapses. I find myself letting the water run while brushing my teeth sometimes - makes me feel guilty.
ReplyDeleteEerrr! Guilty. My hot water takes forever to get to the kitchen sink! So every time I need it, I have to decide: let it run til hot, microwave it, or go to the bathroom where it is hot in 30 seconds.
DeleteI'm like you. We just came out of a drought, but there were a lot of sacrifices I was willing to make so that I could still use my bathtub (we used significantly less water than our allotment each day, BTW). I take the attitude where food is concerned that it's better to start small on the grounds that you can take more than to heap your plate and waste it. I donate no-longer-wanted clothing to worthy organizations and I try to be careful in my shopping. There are items in my closet that I'm still wearing 10 years after buying them! You can be frugal without being a cheapsake.
ReplyDeleteSharon E. Cathcart
Award-winning Author of Fiction Featuring Atypical Characters
#atozchallenge
Used to, people didn't waste water because they had a well and a pump they were worried about overworking.
DeleteWaste does bother me and I do have a food-waster in my house, unfortunately. My son often makes more food than he can eat, doesn't cover it properly for refrigeration (or leaves it out to rot), etc. We have spoken to him about it often, but nothing seems to change.
ReplyDeleteA co-worker told me about an amazing documentary called 'Just Eat It' (link here: http://www.foodwastemovie.com/) I'm going to watch it sometime, but don't know if I'll be able to get my son to.
Out of data, but will try to remember to go back and watch.
DeleteHaving been raised by parents who lived through the great depression and war times does make one more aware of being careful with what we have. One thing that bothers me as much or more is what a short life span new technology and appliances seem to have. I remember my parents using the same appliances all through my growing up years, but now days we are lucky to get 10 years out of a major appliance, and electronics? Even less.
ReplyDeleteMe and Merle Haggard hear you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxLtXJzo3Ew
DeleteI am sure there are times that we are wasteful, but David and I work hard to not be wasteful.
ReplyDeleteWe turn off the lights in rooms when we are not in them. I do leave a light on over the stove so that we can see to walk into that area of the house because there have been snakes in there before. Plus, the light stays on in the bathroom at night so we can see to go into there without stepping on the grand-dogger.
We keep things unplugged, for the most part, when we are not using them and definitely when we leave the house. I hang clothes to dry and do my best to avoid using the oven.
Phone chargers and computers use more electricity than one realizes. Once your phone is charged, unplug the charger. If you are leaving the house and take the phone with you, unplug the charger. Even if the phone isn't still plugged into it, the charger is using electricity if it is plugged in. Do a search on phantom power and learn more about that. It might be off, but if it is plugged in, it is still costing you!
We do run the air conditioner year-round because of our health issues. With David's neuropathy, it causes him a great deal of pain to get overheated and it makes it hard for me to breathe, so we don't feel this is a waste. It is a necessity.
Aside from not being wasteful, one of the best benefits to the ways we've cut back is a major reduction in our power bill. When we first moved here, our power bill was over $700 a month. The central air was replaced and it dropped down into the low hundreds, averaging about $120 per month. When we initiated "Turn it off, Unplug it", our bill dropped even further. It was as low as $60 one month! Way yonder better than $700, I tell you!
This was a great post!
Have a blessed night. :)
I most certainly will do that search! Thanks.
DeleteWe've been in drought conditions for a couple years here, so water is always something we try to conserve. I can't say I'm great at that. It's a mental thing that we all need to practice--being more frugal.
ReplyDeleteWe had a severe year of drought a couple of years ago. I hated the grass crunching beneath our feet! Have never complained about too much rain since. God bless you!
DeleteI grew up in a family of ten kids, and like you, we were always taught not to waste. If we couldn't finish all of the food on our plate, then the food was saved until we got hungry the next time. And, I always wore my older sibling's hand-me-downs. I like being frugal, so that kind of stuff never bothered me at all, although I think it was hard for some of my siblings not to get many new clothes.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from the A to Z Challenge. See my “W” post here: https://lydiahowe.com/2017/04/27/w-is-for-water-and-no-tea-atozchallenge/
Daddy was from a family of 14. He claimed all he ever got out of a chicken was the neck. There is no neck in today's chicken.
DeleteI can totally relate to this! I have been raised with "don't waste" set of rules. Especially with food. I bothers me a bit when someone leaves leftover. I believe that access to more and more things have diminished the value of those resources for some people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
Xenos
Best wishes!
Think you are right! We became so good at supply, demand has gone from need to greed.
DeleteWe try not to waste to much at our home. Sometimes we do end up with a lot of spare food and unused items, but we try giving them away to people who can consume them.
ReplyDelete