REFLECTIONS OF A MAD RECYCLER

Living Intentionally with an aim to leave as small of a 'footprint' on Mother Earth as possible is not always about what you do but what those around you are doing, especially when living with others.
Just a small deviation can undermine and cancel out years of effort and make for confrontations about 'how to live' on so many levels. My self experimentation with suburban "Eco-Living" has brought me up to many brick walls (dare I say Brick Heads?) while I try to find the most advantageous way to live in modern society and at the same time live my ideals. Over the past few years, with live in partners, roommates and a few relatives, I have found the task daunting and frustrating to say the least. Not everyone cares in the same way about our planet (NOT A NEWS FLASH) and compromise sometimes is not an option when personal integrity is at stake along with one's life values.
I am in the process of dealing with the loss of yet another roommate/friend due to my own stubborn way of dealing with modern life. In his own words: I, "have to many rules". Hell I thought I was actually pretty free willing, but maybe I am missing something about myself in the big picture, or Not?
The 'rules' my friend Rick is talking about, are lifestyle, choice rules I have self imposed on myself and those who live in my house. Actually in my eyes they are common sense things and acts which I hope will lessen my weight upon the planet.

RULE # 1: I RECYCLE. Yes, demon spawn of Hitler that I am, I require those who live here to yes, gasp, Recycle. This means, if you drink a case or more of beer, or a number of bottles of wine,,, which my dear friend did daily, even when I asked him if there was possibly a problem with his drinking patterns, I ask that after you sober up, and clean up the mess of glass bottles, you recycle them. Hell, I always heard that you were just borrowing the beer/wine anyway as it is pretty soon recycled by the body and pissed out, so why not take a few extra footsteps to the recycle bin and leave the garbage can for product wrappings we can't recycle? I have THREE huge RED RECYCLE boxes, yes they are outside,, at the back door, possibly 15 feet from the closet where the garbage can rests, so I concede it may take some effort, but Please at least try.
After repeated request that my friend use the recycle bin, I determined he actually had NO RESPECT for me at all, or the planet.
The clincher on this was the comment he drunkenly made one night when I requested, yet again for him to try harder to recycle his beer/wine bottles was this comment,, which I still am reeling from, "I make enough money now, so I don't have to conserve or recycle unless I Choose to do so."
I replied that while in my house he had better learn to choose to recycle, I guess he showed me by moving out? Oh Well.
RULE #2: Again with the recycling, I COMPOST. This means that vegetable matter waste is used to grow dirt for the next years' garden. Yes, it takes some effort. SO, when you are making a meal, you save, collect in a bowl the discarded parts , like stems, peels, tops, ends of fruits and veggies. Eggshells too along with most anything else organic, just NO MEATS. Again their is a bucket near the back door to dispose the daily 'goods', I said I would be happy to do the rest of the 20 feet or so to the compost pile proper. I know it is a long and hazardous trip through my back yard, past the drought stricken fruit trees and shriveled gardens, but I still make the trip in the hopes next years garden lives a bit longer and wetter than this year.
RULE#3: I CONSERVE WATER as Much as possible. This means, for myself I take "Navy" showers where you , wet, turn off the water, soap up then rinse in less than 5 minutes use of water, I have not taken a tub bath since the drought began this spring, even though I long for a long hot one. I turn the water OFF when brushing my teeth, and if it is YELLOW I LET IT MELLOW IN THE TOILET (unless there are guests in the house) Also, I have placed water filled jars in the tank of the toilet to lessen the amount used to flush, installed shower heads that conserve water use, and gasp, I wash dishes by hand. Then since the drought recycle the water to keep what plants remain in the yard living. (Thinking about a big bucket for my shower, and reclaiming the rinse water in the washing machine, this weeks projects)
RULE #4: CONSERVING ENERGY, for this one, I have tried my best by paying out of my pocket for low watt use light bulbs through out the house, and outside too. TURN OFF THE LIGHTS when not in a room or home, ( I HAVE DOGS, they bark if someone comes up to the house, so I don't leave them on when away) CLOSE THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR, this is a weak point on my part, I can't afford a new fridge yet, (SAVING FOR PURCHASE) and it is old, and the door doesn't always catch, so you must make sure it is closed before walking away. Simple? Evidently not. I came home, woke up to the door wide open to many times to count, I begged and pleaded, please help me out on this one, but evidently TOO MUCH TO ASK.
Also, do you know that clothes are washed by the friction of the movement in the water not the temperature? YES IT IS TRUE, COLD WATER CLEAN JUST AS WELL,,,,,, EVEN WHITES.
I have washed clothes for YEARS in only cold water,, so when I realized that my roomie was washing clothes and leaving the knob turned to hot water, I asked him to try using cold, then asked when that didn't work ,, just to remember to change the knob back to Cold/Cold,, I had grown to used to never looking over the years. So, I got a bit pissy one night after digging a 12 pack of bottle out of the garbage and taking them to the recycle bin, plus a cut finger on one broken bottle,, so I Turned the valve off to the washing machine for HOT WATER. This might have been what incensed my old friend to move out. For me, it was a defining moment when I realized ,, this was my house and what few rules I have are not that much of an inconvenience, and out of respect for what I had done for this friend, I really was taken aback by the belligerent
behavior I received after my repeated request to help out.
I am sure if asked, Rick would tell you more of my totally dictatorial rules ,, I really can't think of any more,, but promise if I do, I will announce them myself without hesitation. I know I can be difficult to live with, but I am always the first to apologize when I see I have done wrong, and I do think I give out more than I recieve from anyone who has lived here, so, for now
I guess the communal way is on hold.
Being a hermit is looking good, Adrian is trying to keep me from disappearing into the woods, and for the moment, I feel stuck in the suburbs with a morgage, etc, etc.
But I am still going to try and leave a smaller 'footprint' on our poor planet, I feel I must, even if you or anyone else doesn't give a damn.
Because I do.