Freaky Frugalite

This post brought to you by Aladdin. All opinions are 100% mine.

One of my jobs as a freelance writer is researching and writing articles for various online companies. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about how Styrofoam cups and plastic bottles are made and recycled. It was a real eye opener. Did you know that 50 BILLION disposable water bottles are consumed every year in the United States? Did you know that 23 BILLION paper coffee cups are tossed away in one year?! A good portion of that junk winds up in landfills, but it also winds up in ditches, parking lots, and MY FRONT YARD, which is a litter magnet. :-p If so many people want to be "green" and "save" the earth, why is there so much litter clogging our country?

I think it's time to do something about it. I usually try to be as frugal as I can- I make my own coffee at home (did you know that it costs approximately $150 a year to perk coffee at home, but over $600 to buy those cups of java at a convenience store or cafe??), and we use cloth napkins and "real" glasses, here at home. I admit, however- we have probably filled a few landfills with paper plates and disposable cups during our kitchen renovation, because we had no sink to wash dishes in! And now I find myself using the disposables, even now that we have a sink, because they are so convenient! Oh no!

So I encourage participation in something called the Do The Reuse Challenge. Have you heard of it yet? It's a 30-day challenge to abandon disposable cups, disposable water bottles, containers, and all that stuff. Nine families are blogging about it on the Do the Reuse website!

I recently got my husband a reuseable coffee cup, so he doesn't have to use those paper cups from the coffee shop anymore. (Although, he was amazing- he reused those paper cups again and again until they wore out!).

This 30-day challenge will help to cultivate good habits. You may find yourself packing better, healthier lunches instead of buying pizza or vending machine snacks! Plus, if you commit to the Challenge, you can get some very good discounts on Aladdin products such as mugs, food containers, and more. Check the link for more information. You can also follow Aladdin on Facebook for more information about the Challenge.

Let's clean up our habits, let's clean up our landfills! And let's clean up my front yard! I am tired of picking coffee cups and paper napkins out of my flower beds!

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