Ideas on How to Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse

                Cut plastic and single-use items out of your daily routine

 

So many of our everyday products are designed to have a short useful life. Here are some ideas for more sustainable swaps.

Health and beauty products

• Choose a toothbrush with a replaceable head to avoid having to throw out the handle each time you need a new one.
• Invest in a reusable metal razor with a replaceable, recyclable head. (Back in 1990, the EPA estimated Americans tossed two billion disposable razors. And our population has grown by about 75 million people since then.)
• Swap your facial wipes for a reusable washcloth.
• Buy hair-care products and soaps in economy sizes and decant them to smaller, reusable containers when needed. (The same goes for laundry detergent and cleaning products. Also, look for options sold in concentrate.)

We make, stuff and send over 10,000 personalized Christmas stockings to our US troops stationed around the world.  It involves a lot of community participation, from making the stockings, writing cards, donating or making items to stuffing the stockings, boxing them up, and shipping them out.  The best and easiest ways to help are to shop for the items needed and come help stuff in November.

If you look around the website (click here), the biggest thing we need are the items that go in the stockings.  The biggest needs are usually socks and small cans of tuna, Beefaroni, etc.  Any food purchased needs to be able to last through December and travel well; Nutri-grain bars, for instance, are no good as they get smushed.:-)  Candy is very welcome, personal care items, beef jerky, trail mix, cookies, paperback books (no romance novels), razors, lip balm, wipes, powder, DVDs, CDs, puzzle books, beanie babies -- all welcome!  Anything we can't use is donated. It's also a great place to donate leftover or unwanted Halloween candy.  :-)

The donation box is in the Church School Hall.  We're collecting through November but the earlier you can give items the better. Monetary donations are also welcomed, but we actually prefer stocking items.  And then in November, we need people to come stuff!  We are located in the Brandywine Town Center at the old Ashley Furniture store, near Target. We are there Mondays - Thursday, 6:30-8:30pm, and we can use volunteers as young as 4th grade (with adult supervision); high schoolers can come on their own.  It's a very festive holiday atmosphere and everyone is welcome. 
 

Click here to read the latest issue of "Midweek Musings".
 

Westminster Presbyterian Church
(1502 W. 13th St., Wilmington, DE)

Friday, November 8 
9 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Spaghetti dinner from 5-7 p.m.
 

Antiques, Collectibles, Gifts, Baked/Gourmet delights, Pecans, Children's Clothing & Toys, White Elephants (huge variety of equipment for households, sports, tools, yard tools, etc.)  (Total Bazaar proceeds support Westminster's Mission Outreach Programs.)