Gertrude and Garbage

Gertrude always used the paper grocery bags to line the trash can in the kitchen. After making coffee she would take a section of the newspaper and dump the grounds on it and wrap them like a present before placing them in the trash can. She did that to everything before placing it in the trash. If she broke a glass; the ritual is even more elaborate. She would find a box, wrap the broken glass in newspaper, and then in the box like a gift (minus a bow) and place it in the trash. Why? She did not want the trash collector to get cut.

Table scraps were wrapped in newspaper. Cardboard was kept for other uses. String was saved, bread wrappers reused, gift wrapping paper saved for the year and the list went on.

Today, I took out our trash and got a good whiff of the trash bin. Wow, Gertrude would have a fit. After the trash man took the big trash can, she would scrub the inside and outside of the receptacle. Her trash would never have smelled like ours did today. She certainly was a head of her time on protecting the earth and the trash man!