Hug the Whales

If you know me personally, you’ve heard that my motto, “I’m a hug the whales, kiss the trees and save the planet kind of gal.” I am basically obnoxious about recycling. I know it, but I can’t help it. I feel strongly about reduce, recycle and reuse.

Before Mark and I hit the road we recycled aluminum, tin cans, glass and plastics. We reduced the amount of trash we created; by looking for products with less waste packaging and using reusable food storage,  lunch boxes and drink containers, and we reused by updating items to be useful again.  Since giving up our traditional home, (sticks and bricks), I have struggled with how in continue to reduce our footprint on Mother Earth. 

I mean we drive the one ton diesel truck dragging our home around, that might not the best thing, pollution wise. We still recycle aluminum and we are working to reduce our plastic consumption. I have to finish the products I already have but I have scoped out several items to try. We are already using a solid moisturizer by Lo-Lo bar by Barmaids. I love their scents and the feel of the bar but it is a heavy moisturizer; great for most me because I have dry skin, but not for my face.  The Lo-Lo bar comes in a metal tin that adheres perfectly to the magnetic strip we have in the medicine cabinet for clippers and such.

There is an awesome place call Lush that I get a bar moisturizer that is light enough for my face and a nature henna hair dye I use, when I get around to that.  I’ve found a solid bar shampoo and conditioner, that I can’t wait to try, as soon as I use up the shampoos and conditioner that we already have; also a dissolving laundry sheet, as soon as I use up the liquid soap, I already have. While these products seem more expensive at first glance; your not paying for water to make them liquid and they are more concentrated as a rule. How much is it worth to save a clean beautiful planet for future generations? Do I have plastic totally out of my life? Nope and probably never will.  But we are doing the best we can.

Today I found out about the recycling they do here. I knew they have aluminum can recycling at the camp grounds for the entire guest population to use, but there is so much waste in normal societies day to day business. I don’t know if these initiatives are from the National Parks Service, or if they are from the concessionaires that we work for; but there is a lot of recycling here. The employee dormitory and the work areas collect not only plastics, aluminum, and glass but also nitrile gloves, soaps and shampoos all go to recycle. There are several different companies involved to get these things to the right places, but I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

That cigarette package can take 1-12 years to biodegrade. The cotton rope can take 6 months, and the plastic glove up to 450 years depending on the plastic used. And yes I picked this up after the photo.

Please look around and see what things you can do to reduce your footprint on Mother Earth. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, every little bit helps; and we are all part of this earth.

Hug the Whales, Kiss the Trees and Save the Planet.

Thanks for checking on our Pre-retirement adventure. Leave us a comment so we know you’ve been here and let us know how you decide to Reduce, Recycle or Reuse.