the big o takes on dixie cups

Last night I couldn't sleep (again). I ended up watching the Big O (don't tell B - he isn't a fan and it irks him that I watch even if only for entertainment value). The show was about wastefulness. I had no idea how bad things were in America.

Ms. W challenged two families to essentially curb their consumerism and need to stay tuned in (to TV, the Internet, or an Ipod). For one week these families were asked to not buy anything (other than food), to eat in, to not turn the central heat past 70F, to limit TV to one hour per day (I guess so they could watch the show), to use the Internet only for homework, to turn off video games, and to not drink bottled water. It seemed overly simple, yet as expected these families had a really hard time - and not just the children under 10.

In the introduction to these families they were shown doing many wasteful things. In one household, the mother cleaned out the cupboards and refrigerator before heading off to the grocery store. Most people do this, but this woman took things to a whole new level. She got out a giant garbage bag and went to town. If a bottle of soda was open, it was tossed because chances were it was flat. If a box of cereal or crackers had been opened, it too went into the trash. And of course there were the leftovers and spoiled produce. She then went to the store and spent almost $300 to feed a family of 6.

In another segment this same woman was shown cooking four different meals for dinner as there were so many picky eaters in the family. At breakfast, when one of the girls didn't like what Mom was making for breakfast, Dad made a trip to Dunkin Donuts. When he returned with a bagel for another one of his daughters, she declined it - even though she asked him to buy it for her. Crazy!

For the other family, their big area of waste was more of time. The computer was always on and someone was in front of it. Their 7-year old daughter spent most of her time in her room in front of the television, while her 6-year old brother was in the living room playing video games. The boy had a really hard time kicking the habit. His mother said her son looked like a heroin addict she had seen on a series on TV.

Amazingly though, by the end of the week, the kids were playing with each other. And the father stayed home and read to his children instead of watching a football game with his buddies. The video games have  stayed put away since the week was over. They make smaller portions to eliminate leftovers and waste. They also gave up paper napkins for cloth. And the daughter now takes the bus to school instead of Mom driving and wasting fuel.

To end the show the Big O put her own staff at Harpo to the test. She learned that her staff was going through $41,000 worth of paper cups a year (or $850/week).  Take a second to let that sink in.

Most staffers took a new cup for each beverage they consumed. Many even double cupped. To prove a point they locked up the paper cups for a week and people figured out how to use mugs. This is now a must for all full-time staffers. Apparently Harpo hires a lot of contractors, so they are allowed to use paper cups when they are working in the office. Of course the jury is still out on how much water will be wasted washing mugs, but that is another story. This actually gave me a brilliant idea for a business, but I'd rather not share.

Still, it was hard to watch the state that these families were in. By no means am I a saint, but I gave up on TV in high school. I actually have lived completely TV free for year intervals. It is possible. And even when a TV is around, I rarely keep it on for background noise.

I have recycled for a long long time. In grade school my sister, her friend, and I collected newspapers from people in the neighborhood. Our neighbors agreed to put them out on trash night and we collected them. This was before curb side recycling, so after saving up papers for a month, we would talk my Mom into taking us down to the recycling center. They weighed the car as you entered and when you left to determine how much to pay you. We saved the funds and went to Disneyland.

When B and I lived in northern California, we didn't have curbside recycling either and would save up cans, bottles and paper and trek over to the recycling center. There we had to wait for each bag to be weighed. As you can imagine there were some interesting characters there.

We still take our bottles and cans to a recycling center to claim the CRV (California Redemption Value). When we stay at hotels, we take all of our recycling with us (we travel mostly by car).

I am actually a fan of leftovers. I am one of those cooks who makes enough to stretch out for a few meals so I don't have to cook every week night. I am also am pretty good at figuring out how much we need, and make grocery lists and meal plans. 

We probably could work on our water consumption. Both of us enjoy showers that last more than 3 minutes. And I have been known to wash something a second time if the stain doesn't come out. I do wash only in cold though, and line dry, so I guess every bit helps.

I still think it is important to consider alternatives, as well as if the alternative if truly better. For example, in the paper cup experiment, how much water, soap, and energy will be used to clean the mugs? There are also issues of sanitation, and office politics (from who is responsible to emptying the dishwasher to what happens when Oprah's lucky cup goes missing). These things aren't as simple as they seem, still I think there are some important take aways.

All of us can benefit from taking an inventory of our lives and our problems of abundance, as my friend calls them. Check your cupboards, closets, refrigerator, and trash bins and see what's inside. Look over your grocery receipts, energy bills, and checking account to see where your money is going. Figure out what's coming into your home, what's going out, and what's happening while your family is inside. Where is there waste in energy as well as time and money. Make a plan and start making changes.