Just One Change Can Make a Difference

Sometimes making small changes can make a big difference for the world.

Last year I told my husband that although I was happy that we recycled paper (with a container in our kitchen to gather newspapers and other paper products to take out to our blue can), and we gathered glass and aluminum cans on the patio (to take to a recycling place for cash), I felt like we should do more.

We decided to add more things to recycling, particularly food cans (for cat food and our own food). These now go in the blue can to take out to the curb.

It's amazing the difference this has made to the amount of trash which goes out to the normal trash can. I didn't feel like we used that many cans, but apparently they add up. Now, however, they add up for recycling and not the landfill.

It was a small step which took only a little more effort on our part (rinsing the cans and putting them in the right container). That little extra effort, however, is making a difference in the world, I believe.

Each of us could take a small step today to improve things in the world. I started carrying shopping bags to the store early this year. I am sure I could do more, but each small step helps improve what I am doing.

In the same way, I've decided that in my own projects I may have tried to do too much all at once. With my recycling habits, I added one habit at a time and it was successful. I'm trying to step back on my other projects and see if adding one habit at a time will work for them as well.

My recycling and shopping bag habits have shown that just one small change at a time can make a big difference. I'm trying to apply that to the rest of my life now.