Our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi got the prestigious Global Goalkeeper Award for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. India has definitely improved its sanitisation coverage but we still have a poor waste management infrastructure.
We can help manage waste right from where it all starts and that is our home. The 3 important R’s that everyone talks about when we come across waste are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Now the question, why should we use the 3Rs? Once we dump our trash properly, our duty is over, right? Absolutely wrong!! The current population of India is 1,387,160,324 as of January 2021. Think about the amount of trash generated on daily basis, then weekly basis and yearly basis.
The 3Rs help our environment and keep our planet clean. They also make one’s life eco-friendly and sustainable. Don’t forget that it will save you some bucks as well. Thanks to books and Peppa Pig, kids already have an idea about it. But how can we make sure that even our kids implement it in their daily lives.
We need to make sure that they know how and when can they reduce, reuse and recycle.
♻️REDUCE♻️
Reducing is nothing but cutting back on the amount of trash we make. This is the best way to keep our earth clean. Making less trash means no need to clean the mess. You are tackling the problem at the start itself.
Pack your kid’s lunch in lunchbox instead of paper or plastic bag. Even if its a sandwich, do not use cling wrap. Instead of using small plastic use and throw containers for sauces, chutneys and pickles, do one time investment in reusable containers like Tupperware.
Make kids carry reusable shopping bags like cloth ones instead of using plastic bags or ending up buying paper bags at the supermarket. Some people do prefer to carry their own bags but only to the vegetable market or supermarket. When it comes to shopping at the mall, a reusable bag might not look nice but think about the difference are you making. Less buying of paper bags means less production and even lesser cutting of trees to make them. All in all, good for the environment.
Make sure kids turn off the lights of their room when not in use. They cannot see any waste made out of overusing or wasting electricity but a lot of work goes behind making it and we try to avoid that waste as well while saving some money over the electricity bills.
Make sure kids do not waste water by leaving the faucets open while brushing. Use water only as much as you require. Switch to plain old bath from a bucket instead of a shower or a bathtub. Lack of water issues are very well known to all that we face almost every year in India. We even have organisations who keep looking for donations to build hand-pumps with pipelines in small villages where water needs are hardly met.
♻️REUSE♻️
Use vegetable skins to make soups and broth. Garlic skin, onion skin and peels from vegetables like carrots, cucumbers and gourds can be used in an excellent way by adding them to the pot of vegetable broth or bone broth. Boil them nice and good and then strain them away. You are left with a broth full of nutrition. Eggshells are high in calcium and can also be used in your garden. Orange and lemon peels when dried and powdered can be used in recipes and also as a scrub.
Reusing is to find new ways to make use of the trash instead of throwing it out. Lots of our kid’s stuff can be reused and in much better ways.
Donate your child’s clothes. Make sure your children are involved in this and Instead of throwing away the clothes that do not fit, hand them down to someone who will reuse them. Orphanages are happy to accept kid’s clothes which are in good condition.
Do not throw away old toys. Make sure you use them in good condition or repair them in a way that they can be used and donate them as well. Not every child receives a toy every time they do something good or have a birthday. Believe me, your child will be very happy to see another less fortunate child happy with their toy.
Clothes can be turned into toys. There are many small businesses doing this for their living. You just have to send in a bunch of your child’s clothes and they turn them into beautiful dolls and stuffed animals for you, of course at a price. This way you have reused clothes and also supported a small business. You can even think about getting such toys made and send them in charity.
Cotton clothes also make good rags. Instead of buying wash clothes and kitchen wipes, use cotton clothes. They can also be used to make carpets and pullovers. Remember our Dadis and Nanis making big pullovers and blankets before winter also little ones for new babies coming in the family. Some brands like H&M, offer discount vouchers in excahnge of 8-10 old clothes and you can use the vouchers when you shop with them.
Make sure you use reusable cloth diapers instead of the plastic ones. They are environment friendly and skin-friendly for your child. Plus you save a lot of money on them.
Do not dispose your kitchen waste. Instead you can make good compost out of it for your garden along with your kids.
Do not throw away the waste water from your RO water filter. Collect it and use them to wash fruits and veggies. Wash vessels and mop your floor. You can even use it for washing your car.
Get rid of dark circles with used green tea bags. Instead of using new ones, make sure to chill the used ones and apply them over your eyes. Later you can use the green tea in them in your garden.
Make coasters out of CDs and DVDs. This can turn out to be an exciting craft for your kids while giving you some interestingly designed coasters.
Make sure kids use printed paper to do your crafts. Read the news online instead of getting newspapers and if you get them, use them for crafts and as gift wrapping paper as well.
Use metal bottles and straws for kids. Also make sure to use glass jars as containers in your kitchen.
♻️RECYCLE ♻️
Recycling is to recreate ways to make new things out of trash instead of throwing it.
Make sure you segregate your waste and have a separate bin for waste that can be recycled. Bottles and tin cans are collected and sent to plants wherever they are recycled and turned into new bottles and cans for reuse. Well-known recycled materials are glass, paper, plastic, and aluminum.
There are many more ways to use things before it reaches the trash can. All it needs is a bit of determination and time to do it and when you have you little ones to help you out, this job is just easy peasy! It is all about being smart when using things.
Just keep reminding yourself and your kids the mantra of…
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE…
This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter.
My World with Eira 
Kitchen waste is a really good source of manure. We get to nourish our plants, properly dispose waste and at the same time avoid chemical fertilizers too!
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So true! All these small changes make a huge difference.
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Great suggestions dear and luckily I follow most of these in my day to day life. I agree these 3 Rs are must to follow to save our mother nature and each one should try to put at least some efforts from their side to bring a change.
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Wasting water is the nightmare I have. My kids take forever to bath with the shower on. I feel so guilty. I have to show them the pic your shared to make them see sense
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I put up that picture so that my daughter who loves to shower in summer can make sense of what this all is about.
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Yes. That’s a great thought
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You have summed up a few valid points. Especially the ones shared about reusing. Those are pearls of wisdom. Training kids is very important for a bright future. Plus, as you said, reusing clothes, not throwing away toys. Using clothes as a toy is a unique idea. Thanks a lot for sharing.
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Yes, I remember my mother telling me that if you hurt other nature she will hurt back. We witnessed this during Kerala floods. Everything that was dumped in the sea was taken back to the shore.
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Such a wonderful topic to discuss about. Yes, these 3 R’s are very essential to follow in today’s time.
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My daughter loves to create things out of waste. I’m thinking of shifting her into another house so that she can hoard and collect whatever she needs. 😜
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Very good procedures I must say. Recycling prevents the emissions of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants and saves energy. Using recovered material generates less solid waste. Recycling helps to reduce the pollution caused by the extraction and processing of virgin materials. I often suggest my nieces in this…
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I’m also making an everyday effort and aligning my family along to bring these changes as much as we can ; Your blog post gave me so much more insight & ideas into reducing, reuse , recycling. Thank you
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I love this post. So well articulated and it is so important to follow the 3Rs. I think it’s high time we all start actioning the sustainability and understand how to reduce and recycle as much.
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It’s so important to Reduce recycle and reuse. And above all teach our children to do the same. Your post was a kind reminder of how important Mother Nature is.
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These environment-friendly 3Rs are the perfect mantra for keeping our mother earth clean and pure. Reducing trash, reusing what we can and recycling wherever possible is the right way to go!
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These are some great tips. I think each one of us should contribute little to make a big difference. If not for us for our future generations, we all need to be overtly conscious.
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This is such a brilliant post! You have shared some wonderful ideas to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste. We have been trying to follow the 3Rs too but there’s still a lot that can be done. I will be taking up some ideas from here. Thanks for sharing.
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Yes I am to one of such to re use the stuff at home and like just to throw out things honestly it is a great read with so much information thank you for sharing…
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From a young age, both my kids have been learning about the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. In fact, my daughter has been a real advocate of the 3 R’s in her school, writing about the topic in her school journal. I’ll definitely share this post with her.
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Thanks for a really relevant post. Totally agree with all your points and also try to follow as much as possible. These summers we tried composting, though didn’t find it as easy as described!
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Conserving nature and preparing next generation for the same is very important. I am also working on reducing waste.
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My kids are toddlers but me n my husband, both make it a point to teach them small lessons in sustainability. For eg. Keeping the tap open while brushing, reusing their toys, books, in fact explaining the concept of reusing became a cake walk with a few books meant for children.
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Everyone need to read this article. We really need to think for next generation. I am totally agree with all these points. Thanks for sharing
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All the 3 R’s hold a special value in our life and we all can abide half of the list in the post we can be good contributor towards the mother nature. I lied the idea of old Cd’s into the coasters, shall try it out. And I guess I have few floppies too from the Dino era, shall make use of them too.
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The only thing that we will leave back for our future generation is the mother nature so it’s our duty to respect it and for abuse it. From going green to minimalistic living, we have to adopt to new lifestyles so our next generations can breath clean air and live ina greener world.
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You have listed out excellent ideas doe reduce, Reuse and recycle. I really try to follow all the suggestions you have shared. I hope each one who reads your post tries to do their bit. Only if the awareness spreads can we save our environment.
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You have shared some very practical tips. And training kids is very imp in this regard. The sooner they pick up these habits, better it is to remember and follow in the long run.
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Agree with you the 3REs.
I liked the practical tips you have shared, and how each of us can be a part of this change.
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I love everything about this post. We too have been consiously making an effoprt to follow these points since a long time. This is need of the hour.
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We all need to understand to do our bit to save our environment. Thanks for sharing this post, it is really great tips you have told!!
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We definitely try to follow all the three R’s wherever we can.. and this is the best time to take this up .. nicely written and we’ll researched
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These are definitely some valid and useful pointers Seema. Mother Nature would only be kind to the us and the coming generation, if all of us behave consciously in living our life. The 3Rs are so apt and we almost do all of them. Teaching our kids to be kind and empathetic to nature is definitely the way ahead to preserve our green environment.
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I feel out of the three R’s to maintaing a good environment, Reuse is the most powerful one. As it does not involve any additional cost and if made as a habit it will be very easy to follow
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nice ideas and tips dear. loved the ease to try and practical approach for these tips. I have also moved on to glass bottles and ceramic and steel dinnerware. Even for picnics, we use the same instead of disposables.
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As it is rightly said charity begins at home
If we take care of small things at our level it vl definitely give an effect at bigger levels. Such a nice post.
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These are some good environment friendly ideas to follow. I also believe in the 3Rs and collectively if we take efforts we can surely make a difference.
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These three principles are the basis of making environment happy and leaving it healthy for the generations to come.
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Wot a lovely post dear! Loved it. Keep writing & making a possitive difference in environment 👍🏻🌿
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We stopped buying plastic tiffin boxes,containers long time back.The three Rs are crucial for good health of mother earth and our own too
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I have started making small changes like replacing plastic with wood and steel. Using cloth bags and upcycling. This is a wonderful blog
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Hi useful Post. Completely agree on the three Rs. Try to follow at home as much as possible and instilling the same in kids too.
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We have also been focussing on the 3R’s and trying our best to help mother nature. We are using the kitchen waste to make organic manure. We are also making our own planters using old plastic bottles. It’s a great way to teach our kids about what’s good for our environment and what we should avoid.
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Glad you chose to write on this buddy, I have been making a meticulous effort to follow them religiously in our life.
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