Rethink Retail, Sustainable Interior Design

With the recent celebration of National Recycling Day, Nov. 15, let’s talk trash and make sure nothing gets turned into waste.

According to National Geographic, Americans send 64 tons of waste to landfills during their lifetime. That’s 246 million tons of waste each year.

National Recycling Day aims to encourage Americans to purchase recycled products and recycle more. Recycling is a much older concept than we give it credit for. Finding recycled or reusable resources has always held a premium in human history.

Whether it’s the “dustmen” of Victorian-era England, who went around and collected coal fires to help with brick making, or wartime periods of buckling down and recycling.

In our modern times, nationalism has been replaced with environmentalism and the urge to help preserve our sparse resources by reusing goods and reducing waste. If pre-historic humans can figure out how to recycle, we can surely carry the tradition.

One way to recycle is to shop at a resale establishment for home improvement products and gently-used home furnishings. These are an ideal destination for shoppers who care about sustainability, but also a treasure trove for shoppers with unique taste. You usually won’t find the same variety at typical retail stores, as you would at these cost-savings outlets.

Many items are of high value that formerly would end up in a landfill before given a chance at another loving home. Next time you plan to replace, map out your economical shopping route to include resale.

Cape May County Habitat for Humanity is located at 20 Court House South Dennis Rd., Court House, NJ 08210. For more information, call (609) 465-1626 or visit