Give it up

Well this post may be a short entry or a really long one.  But I was thinking last night, what can I give up, do I need so much stuff (from here on out referred to as stuff) around.  How can I simplify?  Getting rid of clutter just seems smart, and in my mind a way to organize.  Stuff can really start to weigh you down, I mean how much stuff do we actually need?  But we need to get rid of stuff in the right way, an environmentally friendly way.  Because where is all this stuff coming from and where does it go when we are finished with it that is what we need to keep in mind here.  Then I started thinking what could everyone give up that may help or benefit the planet, animals, or human animals in some way.  I guess the point is, similar to the very subtle (yeah right) underlying theme of this blog, is it is the little things that count and that add up quickly if we all start doing them, but we have to start doing.  Doing nothing does not seem right, and trust me when I say that I get we all cannot go out and stop factories from polluting or a million other large scale atrocities that happen every day, but we can still do something.  I would also like to add before I continue that I get it, I am not perfect I have stuff, I have a lot of stuff.   Does that mean I need it?  No, I can donate, I can go without, sure I could I am weak human no different than other humans.  So I guess that is really who I am talking to here and now, is me.  I need a good slap in the face every once in a while to remember that I can be better.  Not trying to sell some extremist philosophy here, not asking myself, or anyone else for that matter, to give up everything and live in a hole in a tree and eat nuts and dirt for the rest of their lives (although that does sound delicious, just in case anyone eats that).  But there have to be areas in my life, or your life, where we can cut back.  So what can we give up?  Can we give up trash?  I mean for just one day could we figure out ways to avoid putting stuff in a trash bin.  It will make you think about where stuff goes, and maybe how much stuff we actually throw away.  Multiply your trash by 6.5 billion and you get, crunching the numbers here... a lot of trash.  So could we give it up for a day?  What about water bottles, could we give up buying those annoying water bottles?  Maybe use the one that we used the other day and refill it with tap water, could we do that?  I mean it saves some money and no one would know.  Could you give up plastic bags at shops, not just grocery shops but any shops?  Could we say I don't need a bag, thanks or I have my own bag?  I mean how many plastic bags do we need at home anyway.  Could we give that up?  What about the doggie bags could we do that, could we say,  "I will give up styrofaom doggie bags", even if you just make the decision to do it once, could you do it.  Could we give up meat, just for one day?  If you figure out how much money you save by giving up meat at least once a week you may end up giving it up twice a weak.  Could you donate some food or clothing to a friend or charity?  Let me say again, I am not perfect.  I mean look at my constant struggle to give up paper towels (oh please,  know right,, but if I could give up paper towels think how much paper just my family alone would save, just typing that sounds awesome and is providing some extra motivation), I work on it every day.  And the thing is, even in a moment of weakness if I do use one, I still think about what I am doing.  And even that thinking is doing something.  I guess sometimes, me and we, have to remember there is more than stuff.  There is life, people, and a planet to remember, all of which is bigger than me.  Lets save the world, yay!