the cost of convenience
disposable wipes for every surface, 100-calorie packs, "lunchables," paper plates to make you a better mother, bottled water and single-serving drink mix packets, one-use everything...have we learned nothing? when will it end? and why don't people get it?
jesus. we're doomed.
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so." (Adams)
I'm inclined to agree that they are mostly unnecessary, despite my occasional indulgence in single serve packs (for kids lunches), but as for things that will doom the human race, I'm pretty sure there more probable candidates.
oh, no doubt there's a long list. but i think it comes down to the same problem; we can rationalize anything.
What are lunchables?
Original Post by merylwhite1:
What are lunchables?
They are like little ready made lunches for kids.
Ohhhh..... PG, you've hit on something that makes me want to scream! When we're looking at all the waste going into our landfills, laziness, and capitalism at it's best (just to name a few issues), the need 'convenience items' are at the top of the list of culprits!
Bottled water really gets me going. "But it's convenient and safer then tap water?" Not according to the experts and many studies. Why not use a reusable water bottle? And if you're afraid of your tap water, then get a filter!!!!!
I'm really anal about this topic. I buy real head lettuce and real carrots (the ones you have to peel), if I want a salad. It's much cheaper then bagged salad, tastes better, and really doesn't take all that long to fix.
I even pick up cheap or disposed bed sheets and tee-shirts from rummage sales to cut up into rags for cleaning so that I don't have to put paper towel into the landfills.
See.... told you I was anal! I blame it on the Crying Indian commercials that I was raised on back in the 70s!!!
It looks like the Crying Indian 'Keep American Beautiful - don't litter' trend of the early 1970's, has been replaced by the new trend of 'Reducing your footprint.' Is 'trend' the right word? Is so, it's sad that it has to be just a trend.
EDIT: Regarding those lunchables..... Are we so lazy that we can't put a piece of bologna, a few crackers, and a piece of cheese in a reusable lunch sack? I'm going to get slammed by busy working moms, but let's face it, if we have time to watch two hours of TV every night, then we can surely find time to shred lettuce or to pack a lunch. Two of the biggest pros being that you save money and help keep unnecssary garbage out of landfills.
Original Post by kaufmkk:
Regarding those lunchables..... Are we so lazy that we can't put a piece of bologna, a few crackers, and a piece of cheese in a reusable lunch sack?
But...but...they're not in precut circles and squares and packed in a compartmentalized plastic container so they don't touch!!!
Four words: cookie cutter, bento box
Original Post by kaufmkk:
Ohhhh..... PG, you've hit on something that makes me want to scream! When we're looking at all the waste going into our landfills, laziness, and capitalism at it's best (just to name a few issues), the need 'convenience items' are at the top of the list of culprits!
Bottled water really gets me going. "But it's convenient and safer then tap water?" Not according to the experts and many studies. Why not use a reusable water bottle? And if you're afraid of your tap water, then get a filter!!!!!
I'm really anal about this topic. I buy real head lettuce and real carrots (the ones you have to peel), if I want a salad. It's much cheaper then bagged salad, tastes better, and really doesn't take all that long to fix.
I even pick up cheap or disposed bed sheets and tee-shirts from rummage sales to cut up into rags for cleaning so that I don't have to put paper towel into the landfills.
See.... told you I was anal! I blame it on the Crying Indian commercials that I was raised on back in the 60s!!!
EDIT: Regarding those lunchables..... Are we so lazy that we can't put a piece of bologna, a few crackers, and a piece of cheese in a reusable lunch sack? I'm going to get slammed by busy working moms, but let's face it, if we have time to watch two hours of TV every night, then we can surely find time to shred lettuce or to pack a lunch. Two of the biggest pros being that you save money and help keep unnecssary garbage out of landfills.
I totally agree ~ I was a working mom of 4 elementary school aged kids (I'm still their mom but they are all teenagers now...lol). What they could do to help make their lunch each evening they did, and I did the rest. It took about 10 minutes to make everyone's lunch ~ its pretty basic people...not rocket science!
Ok...so my next comment is probably going to get me slammed but...I think that people have gotten too lazy to parent properly! What are you teaching your children when you buy all this convenience food and products? You don't teach them any kitchen lessons, or good nutrition, or that sometimes the best things in life are worth waiting for. All you are teaching your kids is instant gratification! Great...so we are raising a generation of people who can't wait for anything in life...good luck finding true love...faith...satisfaction in a job well done!
Sorry...that's my rant for the day!
I think the problem here is more of a mindset, the products are just a bi-product of the mindset.
I'll admit I am not a very "green" minded person. I'm not out to save the planet or anything on it, with the exception of my kids. I do occasionally try to stop them from killing each other.
Having said that, I am not a purchaser of convenience packs, wipes, or bottled water, just because it's not convenient for my budget. It's expensive to buy that crap when you can get the same results for much less money.
Original Post by santonacci:
Original Post by kaufmkk:
Regarding those lunchables..... Are we so lazy that we can't put a piece of bologna, a few crackers, and a piece of cheese in a reusable lunch sack?
But...but...they're not in precut circles and squares and packed in a compartmentalized plastic container so they don't touch!!!
Four words: cookie cutter, bento box
and this, i think, touches on another piece of the problem: we're afraid to say "no" to our kids, and everything kids do is supposed to be "fun." like, what's with that mouth rinse that makes food and plaque glow iridescent blue? because kids find brushing their teeth so boring. um...isn't dayglo blue plaque going to make kids less inclined to brush their teeth properly? where's the fun in brushing your teeth well and not getting a light show?
jesus. we brush our teeth so they don't fall out. i'm sorry if that's three minutes out of your busy day that isn't fun, billy. brush your goddam teeth.
(maybe the bitter child in me, who never got the flintstones vitamins, is coming out.)
Keeping the kids from killing each other should always come first! Heaven knows how my mother did it with me and my siblings! "HE did it!" "No, SHE did it!" "Liar!" "No, you're the liar!" Hee hee..... Somehow we all made it to our 40's (soon to be 50's).
I'm in no way a tree-hugger, and I don't have a 'Go Green' bumper sticker, but I try to do my part. I stop short of lecturing people in the grocery store when I see them put their one apple into one of those plastic produce bags.
I wonder what Ralph Waldo Emerson would have to say about all our convenience products these days?
I guess I'm a horrible mother. I say no to my kids all the time :) For their lunches, I have a bunch of large cookie cutters and they get a choice of shape. Unless it's a holiday, the they get the holiday shape, like it or not!
I give my kids lunch choices too.
Take it or leave it. And if they chose not to eat it at school, they get to eat it as their after school snack. If they still decline, then I guess they're not that hungry after all.
part of the joy of parenting is feeling like you are the dictator of a small country (in my case, population 5) :D
Original Post by kaufmkk:
Bottled water really gets me going. "But it's convenient and safer then tap water?" Not according to the experts and many studies. Why not use a reusable water bottle? And if you're afraid of your tap water, then get a filter!!!!!
My family was plagued with what seemed to be a never-ending series of mild gastro-intestinal disorders. We switched to bottled water (big bottles mind, like an office water cooler type deal) and those issues went away essentially overnight.
Some people may not need it. We did. Peddle your disdain on that topic somewhere else.
I agree with this entire thread! I changed alot of stuff I used to use, not realizing it produced so much waste, and we (husband and I) put out our trash every other week because the bin doesn't get full anymore! :0
Btw, getting those cloth grocery bags are the best investment ever! They hold much more (or at least mine do) than regular plastic bags so it only takes 1 trip from trunk to the house instead of 2 or 3. :o And you just take the bags and put them back in the trunk (I leave em by the door and hubby takes them on the way to work the next day).
I used to really love those taco lunchables. 
My mother used to make our lunches, all 3 of us, it took her like 10 minutes. Was always a sandwich, some chips/cookies and a fruit. Then I started buying school lunches and well... yeah. >_>;
I do admit I have crystal light (store brand - lemonade) packs in the cabinet.
Edit: My mother made us eat those flintstone vitamins every day growing up! lol
Original Post by hatamoto:
Original Post by kaufmkk:
Bottled water really gets me going. "But it's convenient and safer then tap water?" Not according to the experts and many studies. Why not use a reusable water bottle? And if you're afraid of your tap water, then get a filter!!!!!
My family was plagued with what seemed to be a never-ending series of mild gastro-intestinal disorders. We switched to bottled water (big bottles mind, like an office water cooler type deal) and those issues went away essentially overnight.
Some people may not need it. We did. Peddle your disdain on that topic somewhere else.
Have you tried a filtered water system? Plop it over the sink nozzle and it filters the tap water. Saves you money, filters last pretty long, I drink like a fish and I replace mine every 3 months or so.
Original Post by hatamoto:
Original Post by kaufmkk:
Bottled water really gets me going. "But it's convenient and safer then tap water?" Not according to the experts and many studies. Why not use a reusable water bottle? And if you're afraid of your tap water, then get a filter!!!!!
My family was plagued with what seemed to be a never-ending series of mild gastro-intestinal disorders. We switched to bottled water (big bottles mind, like an office water cooler type deal) and those issues went away essentially overnight.
Some people may not need it. We did. Peddle your disdain on that topic somewhere else.
Point taken. There are exceptions. My brother lives in a remote farm house and currently his water is not potable. Until he has his well repaired, he uses those large 5-gallon bottles of water for drinking.
My 'disdain' (actually frustration and not disdain) isn't aimed at people who drink bottled water because of situational circumstances..... it's for those who use bottled water as sheer convenience when they have healthy alternatives.
I myself am guilty of having the occasional bottle of water. I might use old tee-shirts to clean my windows, but that doesn't mean that I live 100% green.
Thanks for pointing this out.
Original Post by kaufmkk:
I wonder what Ralph Waldo Emerson would have to say about all our convenience products these days?
kauf, thanks for bringing up Emerson. i'm already feeling more serene....
Just remember that unless you see the person repeatedly buying new bottles of water, they may be taking the cheapskate environmentally friendly approach of buying one bottle of water then refilling it with tap water (washing out as necessary) repeatedly until the bottle 'dies'. Obviously, there are lots of people going through cases of the stuff since they're keeping the water bottling companies in business, but some of us are just buying the handy reusable bottle that happens to come pre-filled with water.
Re: the blue tooth issue, I thought the real point of that was to show kids which parts of their teeth they hadn't brushed properly. We had bright pink stuff when I was in about third grade that we used for a week or two to make sure we were brushing properly - since kids have a tendency to ignore the parts near the gums. I think it was part of a dental hygiene unit at school.
Lunchables escape me though. Here's a bunch of nutrition-free processed food in a ton of plastic. Who thinks that's a good idea to give their kids for lunch?
Original Post by qmwillcand:
I give my kids lunch choices too.
Take it or leave it. And if they chose not to eat it at school, they get to eat it as their after school snack. If they still decline, then I guess they're not that hungry after all.
part of the joy of parenting is feeling like you are the dictator of a small country (in my case, population 5) :D
Youmade me laugh! Thank you!! Good job, mom
Original Post by pgeorgian:
and this, i think, touches on another piece of the problem: we're afraid to say "no" to our kids, and everything kids do is supposed to be "fun."
Oh, I have no problem saying "no" to my kids - I just don't have a problem with getting a little creative with their lunch.
As for the blue/pink teeth thing - it depends on the kid how they see it, but I remember chewing up pink tablets thinking they were candy, and was totally freaked out when I saw the pink spots all over my teeth. I thought I was sick. When it was explained to me, I recall being grossed out by the thought of all that gunk on my teeth that I couldn't normally see. I started brushing my teeth for four minutes just to be sure.
