Waste Not Need Not

I was at the grocery store today trying my best to stretch a budget. I wrote a list and tried to stick to it, I made a note of how much I was spending to help me stay on track, bought in bulk where feasible and compared prices between stores to ensure I was spending the absolute minimum on every single necessary item. And that’s just it: necessary. As I walked down aisle after aisle of brightly colored packages I said to myself over and over….

“Do I want it? Yes. Do I need it? No.”

And it worked. I saved a lot of money, bought only what I actually needed and opted for healthy food to get the most nutritious bang for my hard earned buck. And on the way home I started thinking about how my little mantra could be applied to other things besides my grocery list.

For one thing, I could use it to offset my carbon footprint.

We have gotten into the habit of buying for the sake of buying, wanting for the sake of knowing about and getting simply because we can. And if it hadn’t been for the near catastrophic economic down turn, I doubt that would have changed.

But it did change. We have to start realizing that money doesn’t grow on trees and we can actually get by on a lot less than the advertisers, manufacturers and producers would have us believe. We can reduce our carbon footprint by reducing our consumption which ultimately reduces our waste.

I mean a zero waste world is the ultimate goal but realistically speaking that’s a few years off. What most of us can achieve is a step in the right direction. Any anyway, I for one am sick of wasting money on over priced items I don’t really need. Aren’t you?

So now when I look at products I not only have to think about whether or not I need them or can afford to spend my money on them but also how much effect my purchase will have on my current environment and on the future of this planet. Awareness is responsibility and responsibility is conscientious shopping and product use. Everything I bring into my home will become a waste product that affects the planet. And I, like everyone has to decide…

“Do I want it? Yes. Do I need it? Maybe. Is it worth the waste? Probably not.”

It’s my step in the right direction.