03 May 2010

Being frugal doesn't mean being inconsiderate.....

Hey there!  Good morning!  My headline is referring to taking your dogs for a walk. Dogs usually have to "do their business" once they have walked a bit. And while you are not likely to step in it because you know where the bomb landed, others wanting to take in some of that wonderful sunshine and fresh air along the same route might not. We're talking urban walks here.  If you're out in the country, let the amount of space you have and your conscience be your guide. Nobody likes to step in dog poop. Picking up after your dog is being considerate of others. It's not a nice job but someone has to do it and if it is your dog, it is your job. Be considerate and pick it up. So today I will discuss what to use for this, uh, messy and smelly task.

You can go to your local Wally World and pick up a box of plastic bags "made" for this purpose, but actually you can do much better than that. You can use sandwich bags. By placing your hand inside the bag, you can pick up the mess without touching it  (GAG!!!) then just use your other hand to pull the plastic back over the mess and off your hand. Then either place the whole thing in a plastic grocery bag you have brought along for this purpose, or zip it up if you used those kind of sandwich bags (in order to zip, though, please remember to turn the bag inside out before you place your hand inside and scoop). Now me, frugal queen that I am, went a step further with this. You know those air-filled lengths of plastic tubing (used as packing material in lieu of those white peanuts to keep things protected in transit) that come in some of the bargains you have purchased on line (you ARE buying bargains, right??). I cut those apart, slit one end open, and keep a supply of these in my coat pocket and "Dog-on-the-Go" bucket. No, that isn't a bucket for what you think it is, no pun was intended here!  It's a bucket I keep in my car for all the doggie essentials we will need if the 3 of us go for a little motorized outing. That was last week's post --- you did read it, right? ----. So these free little plastic squares are repurposed and saves me money by elminating the need to buy dog poop disposal bags or even sandwich bags. One teensy little caveat here ---- not all of those air-filled little plastic sacks are the same size.  I opened a package sent to me just the other day and it had air filled packing material alright, but it was teeny tiny, finger-sized air filled little sacks and of no use to repurpose at all.  Not a good idea for bomb disposal. 

Now, if you use sandwich bags you can get twice the service out of them if you save them after you eat your sandwich----- once for lunch, once for bomb disposal.  You've repurposed a plastic product and won't feel as guilty throwing them in the garbage. :-)  I don't recommend throwing them in with your plastic recycling. The guys that man the recycling bins get a little testy if you try that! Picky, picky, picky. Go figure.

That's it for this week. Hope you have a lovely week. Oh, and take those dogs for a walk. They'll love you for it!
PS Please return..........I promise I won't talk about dog poop on a regular basis. Knuffles. 

2 comments:

  1. Great ideas! I just use the plastic grocery bags for the pick up and the holder but yours is probably "safer"!!

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  2. I like to get the cheaper than cheap sammich baggies too! They are perfectly perfect for this very purpose!

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