Four things this picture represents...

3 year old shampoo containers

The first thing this picture represents is... hygiene needs!
Back in 2009, I decided I wanted to try and build a year supply of toiletries. Well, in order to do that I needed to know how many bottles of shampoo my family uses in a year.  So I whipped out my felt tip marker and when I opened a new bottle of something, shampoo, dish washing detergent, washing machine detergent etc, I would write the date on the container.  After the container was empty I took note of the opening date and the date the container was empty and calculated how many I would need for a year's supply. 

The second thing this picture represents is...recycling!
What I did next was find a salon that offered refills.  Not only do I save a little money per ounce but I also save a little space at the local land fill.

The third thing this picture represents is...guilt!
After three years the plastic in this bottle is as flexible as it was when I first bought it.  It has not oxidized, it has not become brittle, and by no means has is become noticeably more decomposed.  Hum, plastic really is a problem for the environment.

The fourth thing this picture represents is...a need!
I wish Tide or Cheer or Cascade dish detergent came in refillable biodegradable containers.  Or perhaps a grocery store should offer a refilling service of our cleaning product containers like the salon does my shampoo bottles.  Or maybe manufacturers should begin manufacturing our hygiene and cleaning products in old fashioned cardboard wax lined containers that our milk use to come in.  One mulit-use plastic pumping spout sure beats an entire 120 ounce plastic container of washing machine detergent.

So this is what I am going to do later on, I am going to call corporate headquarters of my favorite products, and make a few suggestions!  I'll let you know what they say in a future post.