Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Thinking Outside of the Box…

by Susan


Oh my...is it my post already?  My iCal is reminding me...'post due'...'take pictures'...'monthly theme is Earth Day'...ding, ding, ding!  Let's get on it Sue, grab your camera...step outside.  And so...I do.  What do I photograph...lots and lots of flowers.  Pink ones...red ones...yellow, white, gorgeous ones!  Upload them into my computer and think...c'mon Sue...you can do better than this...be more creative with the theme...and think outside of the box.  And so I did...so to speak...

And then I notice it...the box at the curb.  The big green box (bin) at the curb with it's bright yellow lid.  I smile...and chuckle...because that's my shot. There before me is my big green 'recycling' box...with it's loud yellow lid and it silently says to me, 'hey...I have everything to do with Earth Day...come photograph me!'  And so...as you can see...I did.  Yes, that's my recycle box...the box that helps keep this earth cleaner...through recycling.  I smile...focus...click goes the shutter...yup...that's my blog post for this week. My not-so-pretty recycle bin is now a beautiful colorful capture.


How wonderful it would be if everyone did their part...and recycled.  But not everyone does, and that is unfortunate because it's so simple to do.  As you can see in the pic above, I captured a neighbor who decided to put a completely recyclable box into the non recyclable bin...the bin with the 'green' lid.  Mayday! Mayday!  That large cardboard box goes into the yellow lid box...yellow!  {yeah...I feel like I'm channeling the late comedian Sam Kinison...THE YELLLLLOWWWW LID...NOT THE GREEEEEEEN!}

Deep breath...deap breath.  The good news is that the recognition of Earth Day is a wonderful, peaceful way to remind all of us to do our part as best we can, one step at a time...to make this world a better place.

How do you make a difference? Photos, thoughts, interesting tips on recycling? Please share!

Happy Earth Day month!


12 comments:

Jeanne said...

Yes it is so important that we all do our part! Very good choice on your shot for the post

Dotti said...

Still relegated to my phone but will give this a try. YES to recycling. It was a happy day when we got curbside recycling because for years my husband had been taking monthly trips to the recycling facility with our bins. But I have to say, Susan, your recycling bin is prettier than ours. Ours are BLUE! Garbage is green. That always seemed backwards to me.

Cathy said...

Such a good reminder Susan! Great photos too.

Anonymous said...

We have the same box!! I love to fill that thing up to the brim…it makes me feel good knowing that just one person can make a huge difference for the better of our world! Thanks for sharing, and great photos!

Terri Porter said...

Oh, I love this! I am always surprised when traveling to be in a city that doesn't recycle. In this day and age? Really? Makes me feel kind of superior that we do and have for many years. Your pointing out that box that someone put in the regular bin brought back memories of how loooong it took me to educate my husband on what was and what was NOT recyclable! And I agree with Dotti -- your recycle can is so much prettier than ours. We have the blue and green too with the blue being for recyclables which I agree seems backwards. You succeeded in making them beautiful which is as it should be. Thanks for the great post!

CarolHart said...

Great subject matter for an Earth Day post Susan! Our recycle cans are Blue, our yard container is green, and our garbage can (in a much smaller size) is black. The company who picks up the garbage, recycling, and yard holds yearly contests, giving recognition to those in the neighborhood who reduced the amount of their garbage, and put their recycled items in the bin in a clean, neat way. In other words, rinsing out the cans and recycle bottles, and breaking down boxes. It's a lot of fun and even past the contest I notice everyone's garbage bin getting smaller and smaller. At our house we are also slowly but surely switching out all the light bulbs for LED, which lasts years longer, and draws much less wattage so that saves our electricity bill too. In my garden I am currently adding plants that are more draught tolerant and figuring out methods of irrigation that doesn't demand as much water. A super simple way to help the environment is to bring our own bags to the grocery store so that we don't bring home those plastic things that end up in the landfill. One step at a time. It really does make a difference. Great post!

Viv@Thoughts from the Desktop said...

We have a great recycle service in my area, we are doing better in my area...

Kim Stevens said...

Well, you have the best recycle bin ever...ours is just a small box (no lid) and we have to provide our own garbage can. Another way we are helping our environment is by going organic in our yard, and no pesticides what so ever. We take our glass bottles to a glass recycling do-it-yourself-throw-it-in-a-large-container (you could get drunk from the fumes alone), and can I say it's also good for any frustrations! Great post Susan!

AFishGirl said...

Recycling is alive and well in Nova Scotia. We have a green bin (not so pretty as yours!) and also all boxboard and glass and plastic get curb side pick up. I gather the litter in the woods when we are fishing. I try not to feel really angry at the people who left it there (as that's head litter) and I just bring it out and that makes me feel better.

Deanna said...

Oh yes, we have 2 large plastic cans...both blue but one is definitely for recycling, glass and plastic with papers going into a smaller container. And ofcourse garbage into the other large bin. For yard waste we have to buy paper bags that also get picked up once a week during the spring, summer and fall season. I think most of our neighborhood does their part in helping with recycling and keeping our neighborhoods clean. I saw a group out just a day or two ago in one of our parks picking up the "winter" trash that had accumulated. Hopefully by continuing these practices our beautiful Earth will remain a beautiful place to live.

kelly said...

honestly, i think only you could make such a lovely photo of a recycling bin. :) we've had curbside recycling for years. like everyone else has said, it just makes it so easy. i've taken to trying to make it so that our recycle bin gets more full than our regular trash. :)

Cathy H. said...

We've only had curb side recycling for a few years and I'm glad they started it! I fill my recycle bin and there's only a bag or two of garbage each week! I do feel good about that! Love your shots! My bin is exactly like yours!

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