$$$-The 5 Rs-#2-Reuse-$$$

Hey there everybody,
It's been a while, but I assure you I'm still around. Today's topic is one that is often easily overlooked by many. Reusing things is as easy as using them the first time except you don't have to go and buy it...again.

First things first, bottled water.
Almost everybody these days drinks bottled water, whether it's Aquafina, Dasani, Ice Mountain, or whatever; including me. But we all have this sneaking suspicion that all we're paying for is the plastic. Mostly this is true. Most of the cost comes from the bottles but since they have to process the water (ie distill, and use reverse osmosis) we pay for that too. So why not reuse the bottles? Ok so you don't want to use your tap water right? "Why would I buy bottled water if I trusted my tap water?" you say. I say, "Get a water filter." They are generally pretty inexpensive these days and they will definetly save you in the long run. You can get water filters pretty much at any store including Walmart, Kmart, Pick n Save, Target almost anywhere. Speaking of those stores Walmart and Pick n Save I know for sure have these neat little water stations where you can get gallon jugs or 5 gallon jugs (or you can use your own). It's about 67 cents for a gallon but if you reuse the gallon jug they reward you and it only costs about 36 cents depending on where you are of course.
Now I know there's an issue with reusing certain kinds of plastics (that's for a later discussion), but reusing them a few times won't kill you.

Next up is bags
Since I used to work there I know Pick n Save gives you a 5 cent discount for each reused paper bag. So if you brought it 5 of your own bags they will take off 25 cents from your total order. When I worked there some people would bring in like 10 bags (that's 50 cents) and only needed like two but they got the whole 50 cent discount. You can also buy a reusable bag that you can use over and over. Over time it will pay for itself and thensome. This is true for all Roundy's owned stores and I'm sure for some others too; ask around and see.
You can also reuse your paper bags for your paper recycling. I know where I live we have to put our paper recyclables in a brown paper bag and they do take grocery bags.

Paper
Before you recycle your paper, see if you can reuse it. I for one cannot remember anything hardly ever so I write everything down. When I do right little notes I usually use the back of some old school assignment or the edge of a newspaper or something. Try to keep some scrap paper around for things like grocery lists, to-dos, reminders, etc.

This is just a small small list of some of the things you can reuse. Just about anything can be reused for something. Old clothes for example can be used as rags for washing around the house or dishes. Dig for your creative side and try to reuse as much as possible.
and remember TURN OUT THE LIGHTS