The spread of the coronavirus has
forced us to change the way we live and the way we think about what’s
economical or good for the environment.
I’ve always been in favor of “recycle,
repurpose, reuse.” Try not to waste anything. Avoiding waste saves money;
saving money is the first step to building wealth.
Only weeks ago, there was a movement
to eliminate single-use plastic items: straws, water bottles, utensils. Bring
your own bag to the grocery store. But now, in these times of extreme caution
to avoid contamination, how smart is it to wash and refill a water bottle? Or
to keep dragging around and handling that cloth grocery bag? I’d even think
twice about picking up a gently-used paper napkin to wipe up a spill instead of
cracking open a fresh roll of paper towels.
I’m the person who will return a stray
shopping cart from the parking lot on my way into a store. In the past, my aim was to prevent said shopping cart from dinging someone’s vehicle.
Yesterday, I did this at Costco and then realized with horror that I might have
exposed myself to the coronavirus. There were no wipes at the entrance; the
staff advised customers they’d already wiped down carts prior to giving them out.
But because I had picked up my cart from the parking lot, I’d skipped the
sanitation process. Luckily, my husband had some hand sanitizer in his pocket.
Being an avid reader, I love and
support libraries. The other day, I mentioned to a friend that I had to rush to
the library to pick up a book before municipal and county buildings went on
lockdown for the rest of the month. “I wouldn’t touch a library book,” my friend said. “If I want to read a book, I buy it new from Amazon.” She wrinkled her
nose, cringing at the thought of handling such filth.
Yes, library books have been touched
by many other people. So have new items on the shelves of stores, unless they’re
kept behind a glass case. Am I getting paranoid now?
Probably the filthiest item in our
lives these days is cash. Think about how many hands have touched that bill or
coin in your wallet right now. We’ve been progressing toward a cashless society
for a while; will the coronavirus pandemic push us closer?
It’s a new reality, and it’s hard to balance
saving money, saving the environment, and saving lives.
How have your habits changed as a
result of the pandemic? I’d love to hear your comments.
We're still taking our own bags to the grocery, but only the plastic-y ones that we can wipe down with sanitizing wipes or wash. I feel bad about the number of plastic gloves I've worn and then discarded when going out in public. It's tricky, balancing an eco-concerned lifestyle with a germ-concerned one! @samanthabwriter from
ReplyDeleteBalancing Act
At least you're discarding the gloves after touching things. Some people don't change them, so they're spreading germs just as much as they would have without them!
ReplyDelete