Cloth Diaper Addiction

We Recycle (now)

A few months ago, after watching an episode of Handy Manny (of all things) my kids started recognizing the recycle symbol everywhere. We started talking about what it meant to recycle and reuse and how that helps save the Earth. My daughter, Nyla, 5, started to really get into it and asked a lot of questions that I wasn't 100% sure about.



I went to the library and got a few books out so that we could start doing more for our part. Where we are from, there isn't a big emphasis on recycling so I felt silly (and sometimes still do) not knowing what to do or where to start.


We read 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth by the Earth Works Group. This had a bunch of very kid friendly ideas that we did right away. It was easy enough for my 5 year old to understand and help with. My 3 year old was bored pretty quickly until we started to do the actual stuff. Then he would do a little and then run and play with his trucks.

One of the first things we did was fill an empty gallon milk container with water...

and put it in our toilet tank!


I explained to the kids that it was #1 reusing the plastic container and #2 (no pun intended) helping to not waste so much water.



The milk jug takes up a large portion of the tank and therefore makes the inner workings of the toilet sense that it is full faster using less water.



Not only does this help with our plan to "SAVE THE EARTH" as Nyla puts it, but it also helps on our water bill as well. A double plus! (triple if you count reusing the jug!) This is a simple and easy thing to do and the kids LOVED being able to see inside the toilet tank...how cool is that!




We have started to do a few other things as well but I want to evolve them a little bit more and be able to share our experiences with you in depth. I will be writing a little bit each week of our adventure into recycling and what works for us and what doesn't.

Our first 5 family recycling goals:

1. Visit the recycling center in our neighboring town (ours doesn't have one)
2. Find some reusable snack bags and not buy any plastic ones from now on (gonna be tough on Daddy! Although we do use a lot of Tupperware)
3. Un-paper towels and napkins all the way(we are doing this partially already)
4. Do at least one recycle craft per week-sneak peek here for next week
5. Finish our recycling station/bins (including a picture on the bins per Nyla)

If you have any ideas or tips for me, please share! (jen @ clothdiaperaddiction.com) We would love to hear what you do with your kids as well!