The Lorax Pencil: A Lesson in Re-using

 Last  summer when I was shopping for school supplies, I came across The Lorax Project pencils.made from Basswood, a renewable wood source. So I picked them up and one of them was designated the homework pencil.  I never imagined it would be the only homework pencil of the school year, but that's exactly what it turned out to be! At first my son just like the pencil, but after a while it turned into an experiment on whether it would last the whole year.  Although it's a bit smaller than a golf pencil now, it still works! Granted, my son was only in kindergarten, so an older kid with more homework may not be able to make one pencil last that long, but still...

     This pencil experiment led to me find out what else could last so much longer than expected.  I thought about other things that are often thrown out, or even labeled as disposable: plastic bags, plastic silverware, etc.  I began using plastic utensils over and over again and not one has broken yet! One particular example is I like is the plastic "gym bag". I began taking an exercise class last August and needed to bring a mat.  It didn't fit in my gym bag so I threw it into a big plastic bag "for now". Well now, 10 months later, it has only just now started to rip! (I realize I sound like a crazy person, but I am very intrigued by this lol).  Another example is the "disposable" sippy cups that I realized I still have after purchasing them 4 years ago!
     I could go on and on, but the point is, there are so many things that we dispose of, or keep buying more of forgetting that we already have plenty; meanwhile these things can last if we let them.  Just because something is marketed as disposable doesn't mean we have to throw it away if it still works. Just because newer things are being offered in stores doesn't mean we need to buy them if what we have does the job.  So try it! Pick something you were going to get rid of or replace, and think about whether you really need to.  Let us know about it too- we'd love to hear what you re-use!

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Contributed by Christina