I spent a good part of my morning today volunteering. My new job is considered one of the largest recycling companies and I really wanted to immerse myself in that mindset. We do some recycling at home, but not near enough.
Anyway ~
Part of our volunteer efforts found a group of fellow employees and Stinger (the mascot of the Columbus Blue Jackets professional hockey team) at Mock Park in Columbus with the primary goal being to pick up litter (originally it was going to be a creek clean but with it being 30 degrees Fahrenheit when we got there, that idea was quickly scrapped). As I was filling my bucket, all I could do was shake my head at the amount of garbage that was littering our metro parks as a whole. It was disgusting. I picked up empty beer cans, cigarette cartons and even some empty Chipotle to-go bowls. I’m choosing to believe that not all people suck and a lot of the litter was a product of the recent wind storm in Ohio (the same wind storm that knocked out my power between noon and 8:00 PM not even a week ago).
Regardless of where it came from, it was too much. It really got me thinking about sustainability and reusing things. I started thinking about the plastic bags that I throw away after my groceries are delivered. I thought about the plastic water bottles that, more often than not, end up overflowing landfills.
And then…
I started thinking about things that I’ve already started doing. I’ve started making more educated choices about the products I put in and on my body (thank you Beautycounter). I prefer to get my produce and veggies from local farmers at markets. I’ve been learning about making my own bread and baked goods that don’t have a ton of excess sugar.
Ultimately, I think most of us are the same – we want to leave the world a little nicer than it was when we entered it. Luckily I’m still fairly young (I’m one of the few whose lives didn’t end at 30 ;)) and still have time to make a difference. I want to use my platform here to educate and inspire people to get out there and make changes for them and for those around them. Because if you don’t, who will?
I want to do more. Picking up litter was just one small thing that I can do to make the world around me prettier and more accessible for everyone. I’ve added a form below. If you read this, let me know either what you do to help (something you love), or an idea you have that you might not have tried yet. I’d love to feature you in future posts and if you’re around the Columbus area, maybe we can do something together!
Once the official pictures are back, I’ll put them here (make sure to check back 😉 ). Otherwise, take my word for it that today was a lot of fun and it felt really good for my soul.
Thanks for reading, friends. I appreciate ya!
The Mediocre Homemaker 