because we are classy like that

You know that I am all about being a little more green and doing what we can to be nicer to the planet, right? The kids and I usually take cloth napkins in our lunch. We try to use containers in our lunches rather than plastic baggies. We do what we can.

I am especially all for being a little more green when it requires little or no work on my part. For a while now, the kids have been saving soda cans and redeeming them at the recycling center for cash for the ice cream man. They are learning about recycling, responsibility, and that hard work can sometimes be rewarded with monetary gains. Plus we don't have to shell out money for the ice cream man! Little is required of me except to nag remind them to take the cans to the big bins in the garage on a regular basis. Once we have several trash bags full of cans, the kids crush them to take them to the recycling center.

To crush them, the kids set them up on the driveway. Um, yeah, we might drink a lot of soda. Then the crushing can begin.

This time, their buddy, Austin helped out. After the cans are set up, the kids sit in the grass and watch the show. (Oh my! Check out those filthy knees!)

Daddy does the crushing! He drives up the driveway and back, crushing the cans with his truck. The kids scream in delight as the truck comes closer. I'm the lookout. I make sure the kids stay where they are supposed to.

This time we had a little audience because Greg's mom, his grandma, and Danny happened to be at our house. They were alternately amazed and amused. Greg told his mom how his dad used to do this to help him and his sister crush cans when they were little. She had no recollection of this event taking place in her driveway. Danny? He just thinks we are all nuts!

After the truck was done, the kids finished off the job with their scooters. Really, no additional cans were crushed, but they had a good time screaming their way through the pile.

Me? I just kept taking pictures and more pictures. I'm about to get that look from Greg because I keep getting closer and he knows that all photos may potentially end up all over the internet. Here he's still amused by me, but I'm pushing my luck. Hee hee.

Since the cans now have sharp edges, Greg shovels them in the bag while the kids hold it open. Five or six big trash bags of cans were crushed and fit back into just one trash bag. The kids made out with $17.55 for their efforts these past few months. I think I hear the ice cream man.

And yes, the irony that we are using up perfectly good diesel fuel to crush cans to be kinder to the environment is not lost on me. Maybe one day we will invest in one of those crushers that hangs on the wall. But for now, this is fun that can't be missed.