Ratty, Ripped PJs and Earth Day
Toss ’Em? Ragbag Bound?
Mend Them?
I
know you’re out there. You know who you are. You hide in those ratty ripped PJs
and sweats. You wear them when nobody except those who love and accept you can
see you. When you no longer can abide them or even embarrass yourself by
wearing them, off they go into the give-away bag or even into the ragbag or
trash.
My
favorite PJ bottoms are thin white cotton. They are soft and cool against my
skin. They are light, airy. They also are ripped at the waistband. Another tear
has developed on one of the legs. I love these PJ pants. I love the way they
feel. I don’t love that they are torn. I don’t love the idea of throwing them
away.
Today
is Earth Day—the day people plant trees and pick up trash and focus—if only for
24 hours—on what they can do to maintain and save this beautiful place we call
home. I’m not sure today is the day we focus on ratty clothes, but that’s my
focus.
Ripped
PJs are just one part of a bigger problem on Earth Day and everyday. We use,
use, use and consume, consume, consume. When we have used, used, used and
consumed, consumed, consumed, whatever is left—those ripped PJs or sweats, and
millions of other items—goes to the landfill, where it joins megatons of other
refuse.
My
Earth Day challenge, therefore, is to continue to love my ripped PJ bottoms.
The action part of my challenge is to sit down and mend them with thread,
needle, and time. These PJs—and probably hundreds of other items I own—have life
left in them. It is not necessary for me—or anyone—to use, use, use and
consume, consume, consume.
What
can you mend today? What can you save from a landfill? How can you do less
using, using, using and consuming, consuming, consuming?
