Monday 17 December 2007

Toothpaste? Not for teeth only.

I taught the children some equations for green environment in my PowerPoint slide:

Natural Alternatives-chemical waste=less pollution
Waste composted=less waste=less eyesore+less stench

However, I think some of the children are too young to understand what going organic is about. They may also be too young to read and understand labels on products to make the right choices if they have any say in household purchases. So, what can I do to put the right message across through their parents?

Using toothpaste as an example would be a good start. Do you know that toothpaste can be used as a cleaner for your jewellery? So, before you throw away that tube of toothpaste that you can no longer squeeze anything out from, cut off its top and you will be amazed by the amount left over inside the walls of the tube. You may even have excess to wash your cup and saucers with.

So, before you consider throwing away your coffee or tea stained cups and saucers, give them a rub with the toothpaste. I think toothpaste is a better choice than the chemically abrasive detergent that you would have to use to get the job done.

After you are very sure that all the residual toothpaste has been used up, following is another equation the children can work with:

Waste+Constructive Usage=conserving natural resources=green environment

Get the children to cut the tube into strips as shown in this picture.



These will come in handy when the school reopens and you have more than one school going child wearing different sizes, patterns and colours of socks. Use one to hold each pair of socks neatly together.



Don't miss out doing the same for your tube of facial cleanser to give your face extra washing out of it.



So, no more rushing in the mornings to locate a full set of socks for each child.

And touching on going organic, my A to Z Guide For An Environmentally Friendly Garden may get your children interested in taking up gardening.

2 comments:

Peridot&Sapphire said...

hey... thanks for sharing this... never thought of using the tube too!

Nancy Poh said...

Don't forget the fridge. It is the best place to use toothpaste to clean up. I took a chance and did not wash it off. Even tricked my daughter into helping me wash. Such a novelty using toothpaste when it is not for her teeth.