Eco-friendly items to always keep in the trunk of your car
How many times have you drove up to the supermarket parking lot and remembered that you “forgot” to bring your recycled shopping bags?  The following is a list of “must pack” items that you should always keep in your trunk of your car before you leave your driveway.
1)    Recycled Shopping Bags – great for supermarket shopping and clothing shopping as well.  Refuse to take that GAP, OLD NAVY , ANN TAYLOR LOFT or other brand name shopping bag, instead use your own.  

2)    Empty and Cleaned Pyrex Storage Containers – bring these containers with you the next time you go to a restaurant and refuse to take the non-eco-friendly plastic doggie bag/container home.  Instead, use your own container.

3)    Filled Water Bottles – Stop making impulsive drink purchases by having a filled water bottle in your car before you start your trip.  You will save money and the environment.

4)    Clothing Hangers – Always have some clothing hangers ready in your car trunk so you can bring them to your dry cleaners and have your newly dry cleaned clothes hanging from your own hangers (don’t take those metal hangers with you).

5)    Loose Change/Coins Container – Always have a loose change/coins container in your car and make sure you use them for small purchases.  The average American loses over $50 a year in loose change by misplacement or dropping the change in transit to their destination.

6)    Notepad/Pen – Use the notepad/pen to track purchases (e.g. gas and other small purchases). You can avoid printing unnecessary receipts and de clutter your car.  The next time you are given an option, decline having a gasoline receipt and jolt down the amount you paid in your notepad instead.

7)    Colored Pencils/Notepad – Have a set of colored pencils and notepad handy for each of your children stored in the car, encourage them to entertain themselves by drawing pictures or planning the next family trip.  This enables you to avoid “throwaway” toys and impulsive purchases at supermarkets or grocery lines.

8)  Extra change of clothes and jacket - For seasoned parents, this suggestion is a no-brainer.  Kids make a mess and tend to get their clothes dirty so have a spare set of clothes for each child so you don't have to worry about impulsive clothing purchases if the weather suddenly changes on you.



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Instead of paying for costly services, you can consider exchanging services or engaging in a barter system.  For example,  when you want tax advice you can obtain some free advice from a friend who is an accountant and in exchange for his or her advice, you can offer your services (e.g. lawn mowing, hair styling/cutting, etc.).  There are a number of online barter systems that award points among different individuals in local areas that are interested in such exchanges.  If you are wary of entering such a system, you can always find out whether there is any local interest by posting information at your local library.  
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Since the early 1980s, major supermarkets have vending machines and an onsite area designated for recycling aluminum soda cans.  This was a win-win situation for soda companies and individual consumers.  Now major chain stores such as Target and Walmart have set aside recycling plastic bags bins in front of their stores.  I am asking you to join me to get these stores to do more.  


The following are simple items that should have corresponding recycling bins located in such major chain stores:
- yogurt containers
- clothes
- plastic laundry bottles/containers
- food packaging


Since most consumers make weekly trips to their supermarkets, these supermarkets should partner with waste management and eco-friendly companies to establish aggressive recycling programs.  For those naysayers out there, the above recycling initiative enables these major chain stores to work more efficiently with their vendors.  Also, such cross functional initiatives will attract more eco-friendly consumers (major market research studies have shown that eco-friendly consumers are quality conscious and tend to spend more on quality goods as opposed to bargain purchases).


How can we make a difference?
Write or speak to your local store manager today and mention the above proposal.  This is exactly how these stores started offering plastic bag recycling bins/stations at their stores...  All driven by consumer demand and consumer expectation.


Hoping my prediction comes to fruition.  It is just a matter of time.
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