Recently, I cleaned out my kitchen cupboards. It’s my holiday ritual and this time I found, within my cutlery drawer, a heap of plastic spoons and forks and disposable chopsticks. Okay, I already knew they were there because every time I open the drawer, I had to sort through the plastic to get at the regular cutlery. This time, I decided to bundle them all up and put them in the recycling bin.
This cleaning spree got me thinking about the many things we hoard in our homes. I do spring cleaning and clearing out of cupboards at least once a quarter and I confess to being quite ruthless about throwing things out. Still, this does not stop me from ending up with absolutely useless stuff. I learnt the truth about this when I purchased two new chests of drawers to replace my 17 year old set. The old set had 3 cupboards with assorted drawers and was twice the length of my two new chests. You can imagine what I had to get rid of in order to fit everything into the new drawers. But it was an excellent exercise in decluttering.
In the kitchen, I found bottles of expired spices when I cleaned out my pantry. I can go on but you get the drift. I am truly aghast by my behaviour although generally, I would consider myself a non-hoarder. I am especially upset at the food that I had to discard because they can no longer be consumed. But enough is enough. I have resolved to be even more ruthless in throwing stuff out and in purchasing food stuff especially when what is thrown out is stuff that should not have been purchased in the first place.
So, to reinforce my aspiration to be an eco-friendly aunty and to keep my home clutter free, I have come up with these tips. If they are useful to you, great!
- Say no to the hawker uncle/aunty every time they put plastic cutlery/ disposable chopsticks with your takeaway.
- Bring your own tingkat to the hawker centre to avoid collecting a mountain of plastic containers.
- Consider buying and using a set of reusable cutlery or foldable chopsticks if you have to take food away often for consumption at your desk.
- Also say no to the bags of chillis/ soya sauce, if you don’t need them. Say no to dishes of chillis/soya sauce at the hawker stall too if you don’t need them.
- Ordering fast food? Ask for no sauce if you already have enough little bags of sauce at home from the last orders. Perhaps we should even petition fast food providers to include this option when taking orders.
- Travelling? Resist the temptation to buy too much local food that you think you will eat/cook/give away. Chances are, you won’t and you’ll end up throwing a lot away.
- Clean out your fridge regularly and get rid of food that has been around for a while.
- If you have to save pretty boxes, bottles etc, make sure you have a space for them and save only the best. Junk the rest.
- Refuse plastic bags and shopping bags if your purchases are small and can be put into your handbag. You can’t do much with the itsy bitsy plastic bags (unless you use them to put cat/dog poo in) so they will end up as thrash.
- Carry a foldable bag when you go out shopping and you won’t need to collect plastic bags.
- Say no to freebies. They sound attractive and desirable when offered but they end up as junk. Who needs an extra balloon, file or plastic cup in the house? Also, be extra wary of conference bags and related promotional handouts.
Do these suggestions sound extreme? I don’t think so. The one thing I’m not doing enough of is remembering to take my tingkat to the hawker centre. But when it comes to refusing plastic bags and plastic cutlery, I’m almost number 1, although I still have department store people look at me strangely when I stuff whatever new apparel I’ve bought into my handbag without a plastic bag. If you plan to do this too, always remember to keep your receipt, in case you get stopped by the security guard.
And oh, once you have decluttered and feel a lot more righteous, resist the temptation to go shopping. You don’t need to buy more stuff. Er... well, maybe until the next big sale?
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