I was just cleaning the apartment and I realized that my simple life is full of clutter–every week I pick up the same few items and throw them away. Among the offenders are
- Plastic bags (groceries)
- Plastic water bottles
- Magazines
- Junk mail
Most of those can be recycled… somewhere, somehow… Unfortunately, I do not have any convenient way of disposing of these items in a more environmentally-friendly way (and as much as I care about the environment, I don’t want to store boxes of stuff, find the drop-off locations, and then make multiple separate trips). I’ve been searching (reading and brainstorming) for clever ways to use these items, but I have not found much. Lifehack had an article on 10 ways to reuse plastic bags. If you have any ideas, please let me know!
I solve part of the plastic bag and water bottle problem by bringing my own bags and water bottle. http://www.reusablebags.com has a bunch of both items. I don’t know how many magazine y’all get, but if your apartment doesn’t have recycling, you could take them to or school and recycle them there – just toss ‘em in your backpack. Another option would be to not subscribe to them, or try to get digital-only subscriptions. As to junk mail, you should sign up for the lists given here:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/prescreen.shtm
(for junk mail and credit card offers)
You can also talk to your apartment complex’s management about getting some recycling bins. I’m kind of surprised you don’t have them.