To me, walking outside in the fresh air is much more fun than walking the treadmill. I have enjoyed these cool mornings and have started walking our country road for 30-45 minutes each morning. This makes 4 weeks that I have been doing this daily. When I wake up in the morning, I'm ready to hop out of bed and go for my walk before breakfast.
I wear my bright orange t-shirt so I can be seen easily and take along my reach extender and trash bag and pick up the litter as I walk. It gives me something to do while walking. Picking up litter daily is much easier than picking it up weekly. I can walk faster with less zigzagging, plus it is better for my back.
When I hear a vehicle coming, I get off the road. Most people wave as they pass by. I thought to myself, "Who says they have to wave first?", so I started throwing my hand up at everyone I meet. They wave back. Great way to start the day and the exercise is producing good results.
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
These are wild flowers that I see every day on my walk. It won't be long before the Fall flowers will start popping out.
Who says we have to join a gym / fitness club to get in shape?! Thanks for the reminder / nudge and great example.
That's right. No dues, no set schedule, and no traveling expense. Just make yourself get started and see the difference you make in yourself and your community.
After my morning walk and picking up litter, I have a desire to talk trash. So here I go, again.
I find a little bit of everything on the roadside. After picking up litter for 30 years, nothing I find surprises me. In fact, I really don't give it much thought any more.
The reason I carry a large DOT trash bag is because many times, I pick up large items like feed sacks. beer cartons or pizza boxes that have blown out of a vehicle on the way to the dump. Mostly though, I pick up small items such as plastic bags, paper, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and lots of cigarette butts. I took a photo to show you. (I use this pool for yard work only)
Did you know that tobacco products are the most littered item on our highways. It can take a cigarette butt years to decompose. If that is unbelievable, take a few cigarette butts and place them out in the weather in a place where they will not wash away or blow away and see how long they hold up.
Some may wonder what I do with all the rubbish I collect. So I would like to share my method of taking care of roadside litter when you bring it home.
I have a special trash container that I put the litter into. We take our trash off weekly and usually by then, I have a full bag. That is not counting the recycling that I have kept separated.
When I start another bag in the container, I use the one I picked up litter in on that day. The next day I start out with a new bag and when I get back home, I empty the trash into the trash bag I have in the container. I take the empty bag and rinse it out with the hose and hang it up to dry. Afterwards, it is clean and ready to use again the next day.
I don't have a problem with ants and try not to bring them home but just in case the trash I have picked up has ants or will attract ants, I spray the inside of the trash bag with Raid Ant Killer and keep the bag tightly tied. Ants are not a problem during the winter months.
I hope that I have inspired someone to give a hand and help keep out little world clean.
I agree that a morning walk is a very good way to start the day. Fortunately I walk in a neighborhood that seems to be very mindful of littering and so there is hardly a need to carry a bag.
Cybergrannie, thank you for your comment.
I believe it's only a small percentage of people that actually pitch their litter from their vehicles. Litter comes from many different sources.
There is a convenient center for household trash located at the end of our road and our road is the route taken when the trash is hauled to the transfer station.
Most of the time, you can tell where trash dumps are located. All you have to do is follow the trail of trash.
Fortunately I'm not the only one on our road that is concerned about the litter. Our community works together to keep our road clean. If you traveled our road, you would not know there was a trash dump at the end.
Little by little, big jobs get done.
I have lived in an area where litter bugs seem to multiply daily and I did some of the same things you describe. I also believe that little jobs get the big jobs done and our world is better when people take responsibility for their own daily lives. It is nice that you feel well enough to follow your routine and enjoy your walks and can still do more than your share of helping our environment.
Thank you. I just hope someone will take my place when I'm no longer able to do it and I do believe they will. I love my neighborhood.
On my walk Saturday morning, I saw some pretty mushrooms and wild daisies. It won't be long before the leaves will be turning and cooler weather will be on the way. I love the fall time of the year.
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
