The Dilemma of the Disposables

I did it.  I washed a plastic plate today.  And a plastic bag. 

I used to chuckle at my grandma who would wash and keep the plastic spoons and plastic forks the aunts and uncles had brought to the family dinner precisely so she wouldn't have to wash the utensils.  I would roll my eyes at my mom (sorry, Mom) when she would wash out the Ziploc storage containers for later use.  All the while, I would be thinking, they're disposable!  They're supposed to be disposed! 

This was much like how my mother (again, sorry, Mom) would never want to use the airconditioning in the car.  We needed to save on gas and this was the best way to do it, so we would roll down the windows on steamy summer days rather than feel the cold refreshing blast of the AC.  All this did for me was mess up my hair with those gusts that blew into the car, and make me think about the day when I would have my own car in which I would run the air conditioning year-round!  And I would throw away all my plastic spoons!  Surely, this was the height of really living!

Now, years later, with a year of graduate school underway and another to pay for, a baby coming in months, and just the cost of life in general, I'm beginning to see that the height of really living can be expensive!  Where, when I was younger, I admired those who bought brand name, I now count as heroes anyone who can show me how to find a bargain.  I clandestinely envy coupon clippers (having not been able to even come close to mastering this deceivingly intricate art) and religiously study blogs whose topics are all things thrift.

And this is why I didn't feel bad today when I washed out the Ziploc bag that had earlier contained my husband's sandwhich.  Just this morning, I had scanned the blog of a thrifty mom who suggested this as a great way to save some cash: washing the disposables.  I will admit, I had to choke back a little of that naive, childhood pride that had said, "When I'm a grown-up, I'm throwing it away!"  One second of letting my mind think about our insurance costs for the month though and I was ready to wash and keep everything!

Yes, I now see the wisdom behind not disposing of the disposables.  I've decided I'm not even going to think of it as penny-pinching, or even thriftyness.  I mean, nowadays, it's all about recycling and reusing, isn't it?  I'm not being miserly, I'm living environmental-chic.   

However, I'm still going to use the air conditioning in the car.  I don't want the wind to mess up my hair.