Awesome, great, best thing since sliced bread....well maybe I wouldn't go that far.
But pretty terrific. And definitely one of my favorite tools these days.
I wouldn't say I am a tree hugger.
I don't get all crazy if I see recyclables in the dumpster, BUT I do like to do my part.
When God put Adam and Eve in the garden they were instructed to care for it.
I just see recycling as my part of being a good steward of God's Creation.
So, after we were married and had child #1 aka Fun Girl, maybe after child #2 aka Hockey Player I started wanting to recycle more. We did the aluminum cans. (Hello--Money there!! and the kids were all over the change and so was I). I started saving newspapers and dropping them off at the local grocery store.
Hubby wasn't a big fan of having "trash" around.
I bought trash cans to sort.
Not really buying it.
Child #3 aka Little Princess entered the world.
SHE. DID. NOT. LIKE. sleeping in her bed.
Forget about napping there.
She liked the sling.
She liked touching me.
She liked being near me.
She was a Momma's girl!
Ahhhh, how sweet. How wonderful....
Yeah, but every once in a while it is nice to NOT BE TOUCHED!
The only other place she was willing to nap was in the car seat in a moving vehicle!
So I started brain storming. I was all past the first - second child we gonna do this by the book to get her to sleep in her bed. It was survival. It was what ever will work for the now planning time.
So I created a schedule.
A schedule of activities that needed/could be needed to be done every week.
Each activity was assigned a day.
Do you see where I am going with this??
We went for a daily drive every day during nap time. Oh yeah!!
Once a week we went to the library that had a drive through and on the way was the local recycling facility. Oh yeah!!
How could Hubby complain about recycling that was dumped every week? ! ?
Hockey Player and Fun Girl would help to dump the containers, that is if they hadn't fallen asleep.
If they were still awake, then we might stop at the park before going home. It was amazing during that time period, how many errands I could come up with that required me to be out every day. Of course, that was before the gas prices went up. We won't discuss how un-ecological I was to be out driving every day of the week. Because the choice was to save gas or sanity.
Sanity won out!
Then Little Princess grew a bit more and the daily napping trips were no more.
By then I was recycling and Hubby was not impressed.
Somewhere in there I had to give up my weekly trip to the library with a drive thru. That is such an amazing perk for a library to have if you have nappers in the car. With this trip gone, I had no where to drop off my recycling. I couldn't justify the gas anymore.
Sad sigh!
The recycling stopped.
Couple more kids added... #4 and #5 and I am thinking we are going to have to get a second dumpster. A notice comes in the paper. A new trial service is being offered through our trash company.
RECYCLEBANK !
The best part, they supply the container.
No wait, the really BEST Part:
NO SORTING
Yep you read that right.
NO SORTING!
You just toss all your recycling in the bin.
Amazing.
No bins, no pile up.
How could Hubby refuse?
He humored me.
I signed up.
Initially it was like $4 a month.
Points are earned based on weight.
Points are cashed in for rewards...coupons, gift cards, ecards
That first year, I pulled in rewards worth more than we spent!
Hubby was sold.
Of course, the first year on deals like that are pretty awesome.
But honestly, I still pull out some pretty good rewards each year.
Now, I accumulate gift cards to use for just that gifts.
Hello Christmas shopping without the shopping.
As time has passed, they have, also, opened up their site to those who don't use them for curb side recycling. You can download apps and track your own recycling and earn points. There are educational opportunities, videos and activities that may be completed to earn additional points. This has been helpful when trying to teach my children about the various environmental actions they can take to be more Eco-minded. I want my kids to recycle. But I, also, want them to take note that turning off the water and lights when not in use are important actions as well. They enjoy the games, activities, as do I, and they definitely enjoy the benefits of the rewards it brings home. For Dad's Bud last year, he needed to complete some environmental tasks for his Cub Scouts awards. It was great to sit down with him at the computer and take him through various videos and tutorials about Recycle Bank itself and ways we could care for our planet and environment and all from the comfort of our home. No running the car across town to ask questions.
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