Call Me Eco-Mom

 

I used to be cheap. “You’re just like your mother,” people said to me, and not in a particularly approving way.

Ah, but now I’m eco-aware! I am noble and righteous, thank you. I hesitate to let anything out of my hands if there’s still some use left in it. I re-use. I re-purpose.

When clothing gets worn and frayed, I demote it from public wear to painting/gardening/shower scrubbing garb. And when it’s too ratty for even that, I further demote it to rag, to be used until it’s falling apart in my hands.

Plastic bags? Honey, I’ve been re-using them all my life. For storage. For schlepping stuff around, rather than some fancy quilted (and, let’s not forget, expensive) bag with paisleys or whatever. I wrap smelly garbage in them, so the whole trash bag won’t have to be taken out half-empty because the stench is polluting the kitchen.

I’ve been catching stories in the news media about all the extreme measures people are taking to save energy.

One poor mom sighed and lamented that she now runs the dishwasher only when it is full. You could hear the sorrow in her voice as she confessed that she turns off lights when she leaves a room. She moaned that she has even started to close the doors and windows when the AC is running.

Oh, those air conditioners. I’ve heard that some people are going so far as to wait until the temperature hits 78 before they turn the things on!

And I’m thinking: What? Where did you people grow up? Didn’t your mama yell at you every time you left the light on when you walked out of your room, or left the door open while the heater or cooler was on, or flipped the AC on before the temperature was truly sweltering?

My mother couldn’t have cared less about the environment. But she cared very much about every dollar that left her hands. She grew up dirt-poor in a house without indoor plumbing, and she never lost that determination to make every cent count. I picked up her waste-not ways.

Containers of all kinds collect in my house. Even though my children have outgrown the dress-up stage, I can’t quite let go of those funny looking clothes. You never know when you might find a new use for that old license plate. Or the electric blanket that’s lost its spark. Or the stack of newsprint sheets leftover from your last move.

Why go out and buy plastic bags and Tupperware? Why spend money on a costume? Or funky decorations? A blanket for the dog to sleep on? Packing popcorn?

My husband and kids used to mock my skinflint ways. Ha! Now I’m leading the family in our drive to cut waste. Reduce, re-use, re-purpose, recycle. Welcome to my world, guys. Just watch – here’s how it’s done.

And thanks, Mom.