I do love the earth, but not all of my OCD habits are good for the environment. I’ve expressed my disdain for reusable shopping bags, which spread germs from customers’ homes and cars directly to the store counters with which my groceries come into contact. There are times when going green isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
I don’t waste much food. I try to keep track of what’s in the refrigerator and not let food go bad. But I overlooked a package recently. It was a container of pre-washed baby kale leaves. I love the convenience of pre-washed vegetables, which saves much time in the kitchen. I used them once or twice, but for several days after that, I forgot to use them. I had a feeling I had left them in there too long and wasn’t looking forward to opening the plastic box.
This was an instance I wished I had been wrong. The kale leaves were in a slight state of decay. Because it was in the early stages, the smell wasn’t bad, but there was a bit of brown slime, or goo, forming in the container. There was condensation on the lid of the plastic box, and many of the droplets were brown. I took the container to the trash can to scoop out the remaining leaves, then I was going to take the container to the sink to rinse it out before putting it in the recycling receptacle. I had my gloves on; I even had my arms wrapped up to protect them. Unfortunately, I forgot to don my protective mask. Pushing down on the bottom part of the box caused the lid to snap off – and all of the brown droplets splattered on my face. I now had brown goo on my face and in my hair.
I was thoroughly disgusted. I wanted to jump right in the shower, but I didn’t. Hard to believe, isn’t it? It was early evening, and if I had taken a shower then, it wouldn’t have replaced the shower that I take right before getting in bed. I patted myself dry, and I made the decision to endure the goo for four or five hours until I could shower. But naturally, I was not able to touch my face or hair during that time. I even had to wait until after my super-shower to brush my teeth. It was a long wait, but it was simpler for me and saved time.
As much as I love the earth, the next time I have a slimy plastic box, it’s going straight in the trash! Staying in the shower an extra twenty minutes was not environmentally friendly at all.
