It’s time for the next installment in the Small Change, Big Difference series. Today I want to talk about something that affects me every day of my life. Carelessness. I’m a mom, and any mom on this planet will tell you that teaching away carelessness is just part of the job description. All kids are careless. I’m sure of it. Certainly some are more careless than others, but it’s a sickness that affects all children.

The consequences of carelessness are many. I have lost treasured heirlooms from carelessness. I have had to spend countless dollars because of carelessness. If you remember my post on the types of trash I find on the beach, I said I would reveal in a later post what the third most frequently found piece of trash on the beach is. Well, now is the time. After plastic bags and plastic bottles? Flip flops. Everywhere, everywhere flip flops. I couldn’t say how many I have found. My daughter loves finding them and wearing mismatched sandals all around. A former neighbor has a collection of thousands. It’s crazy, and it’s gotten worse since the cruise ships started coming around. How long does it take for a Croc to biodegrade? I don’t have a clue, but I would guess it takes a while. So carelessness ends in extra trash as well.

This is a simple fix, though it may take a while to train out bad habits.

• Always put things in the same place. This way you won’t lose them and have to buy a replacement.
• Create checklists in your mind. When I was in college and partied a lot, I trained myself to make sure I had my wallet and my shoes before leaving anywhere, especially a place I had been partying. That’s where the title comes from. It’s a line from a Phish song, “Whatever you do, take care of your shoes.”
• Be gentle with your things. This is an especially tough one for my six year old. He plays rough and regularly ends up breaking his toys. I also frequently have to remind him that running and throwing are not allowed in the house. This drives me bananas and leads me to another issue.
• Buy fewer things but higher quality. Especially with something like toys or clothes, better made items are less likely to get destroyed. Obviously it’s the exact opposite with something like plates. I have decided to only buy plastic plates for a while. Another option is to buy used things from a thrift store or online sales site. In this way you waste less money buying another, and there’s less environmental impact as well since you’re not responsible for the creation of a new item.
• Clean regularly. Boy, it’s taken me a long time to get a handle on this one. If you clean a little every day, things will stay clean. I found a wonderful program called FLY Lady, though I know there are others. I have thrown out toys because they were too gross. I have also tossed clothes because they had sat long enough to get black mold. Granted, that does happen pretty fast in this climate. Still, clean things will last longer.

Take good care of yourself and your things! You’ll save money and help reduce trash, pollution, and climate change!

Remember! These are just the small changes, and every bit adds up, but the big changes happen when we put pressure on big industries and corporations to change their dirty habits! That will be my next series: Big Change, Big Difference: How to Put the Pressure on the Dirtiest of the Dirty Dogs.

Much love, y’all!

As always, all pics are mine or pixabay unless otherwise noted.

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