Our Parents Were Recycling Before It Even Existed
Latino parents are geniuses who’ve always been ahead of their time. Take being green ♻️…sure, now it’s all hip and cool to be green and eco-friendly, but our parents were doing this before reusable bags were en vogue. Let’s check out some of their most brilliant, green (and old school) tricks.
Disposable plastic cups aren’t disposable.
Credit: @msmyth44 / Instagram
They washed, dried, stacked, and put them away for the next party. Why would you waste something that is still in good shape? That’s just wasteful and mami and papi are not here for that.
Empty Sopa Maruchan cups were also reused for drinking cups.
Credit: @djphanto / Instagram
Some people had Doña Maria jars as their day-to-day glasses. However, my family relied heavily on these styrofoam cups to give us our daily allowances of water and other beverages.
All containers are always reused over and over and over again.
Credit: @cantstayput / Instagram
The container might have some kind of words and pictures on it now. By the time your family is done with it, it will be solid white and you won’t even remember what the container once held inside.
Always.
exhibit A of my lrt #notbutter #GrowingUpHispanic pic.twitter.com/aMSHRODMiS
— alyssa (@busan_wonbin) August 13, 2015
Credit: @busan_wonbin / Twitter
You can never trust a Latino fridge. It is a room of lies and we still have trust issues because of it. There is always a moment of hesitation before we open any containers in the fridge because it is always a surprise.
Bread bags were recycled as lunch bags.
Credit: @antzona / Instagram
Which replaced the bread bag you used for lunch last week. It is important that we save the earth by any means necessary, even if that means being made fun of by your friends and classmates.
You washed the car using the two-bucket method.
https://www.instagram.com/p/pWWJSUmvsG/
Credit: @cuhhhbb/ Instagram
One bucket for the soapy water and one bucket to rinse the car. Saving water one car wash at a time. This is one of the best ways to make sure that you minimize your waste while optimizing your output.
Barbie was forced to make questionable fashion choices.
#GrowingUpHispanic when ur parents didn't want to buy you the shoes for ur doll ???? pic.twitter.com/1Juz7d21Ue
— ashley llanos (@ashley_llanos) July 27, 2015
Credit: @ashley_llanos / Twitter
Because even she had to be a thrifty shopper. How else was she going to get a full closet of clothing on a shoestring button? She was able to rock some of the most questionable outfits in her day.
Old shirts made great washcloths.
https://instagram.com/p/ipZGDwgpaP/
Credit: @danadlo / Instagram
Not only green but cost effective too. Same went for the newspaper. Anything could be reused. Some dads even forced their kids to reuse paper towels to make sure we get the most out of every Bounty roll.
They taught us to make liquid soap last and last and last…
Credit: @JessMKnoll / Twitter
Me: “Mami, we are out of shampoo.”
Mami: “Echarle agua.”
Me: “I’ve done that twice this week. Can we just buy more shampoo?”
All those coffee grounds we produce have an afterlife.
Big thanks to @Starbucks and @Kroger for the free #CoffeeGrounds! #composting #gardeninghttp://t.co/n1OX6sB4E9 pic.twitter.com/QircGDBikj
— James McWhorter (@JamesMcWhorter) January 15, 2015
Credit: @JamesMcWhorter / Twitter
How else do you think we have so many chiles to roast? Our coffee grounds literally make sure that we can grow all of the chiles we want. Our parents are about saving money and energy. They are helping the planet and beefing up their bank accounts.
Old grocery bag? More like a new trash bag!
#GrowingUpHispanic even if you had a real garbage, the trash still ended up here pic.twitter.com/RbvyV105rA
— Bruce (@BruceKromka) July 17, 2015
Credit: @BruceKromka / Twitter
Of course, there is also a bag to hold all the bags. Why would you buy something that would hold all the bags when you can just use a bigger plastic bag to do the job? It’s one of the greenest things you can do.
Clothes are still worn until they literally fall apart and usually in a public and embarrassing place.
Credit: @buffland / Instagram
No matter how old you get, you are still rocking some old af clothing because it is better for your bank account. Also, who doesn’t like a classic look that gives everyone the struggle chic style people love to show off today.
READ: People On The Internet Are Sharing What Their Moms Would Pack Them For Lunch For School And It’s Way Too Relatable
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