The Popes ENCYCLICAL LETTER “LAUDATO SI’” does a great job of putting forth a moral argument for why we need to take action on saving our planet. “Our planet” is exactly how he describes our earth. It is up to all of us to take care of our common home. He makes a plea to humanity to start to recognize the signs and symbols that we are hurting our earth and need to seek a sustainable future.

What I think stuck with me the most in this is that he talked about how we live in a “throwaway culture” in which we are quick to throw things away rather than recycle them or fix them. I think most people have the money to get the newest and best thing and are quick to abandon whatever they don’t need anymore. I think we can find a middle ground here though. We need to make better choices, make more effort, and find the places in which we can donate things for reuse. One thing I do in which I feel finds this middle ground is that when I declutter my house or get rid of old clothing I take it to the thrift store for them to reuse things. Instead of going to the mall to buy new clothes, I shop at the thrift store and buy clothes other people didn’t want anymore. I think that is a proper way of doing things.

I am sure everyone has heard of the saying “One mans trash is another mans treasure” and I think this can apply to today as well. We need to get over the “ick” factor of buying used products and spend less on new items. I think I have saved hundreds if not thousands of dollars buying things second hand rather than brand new. This includes clothing, furniture, shoes, appliances, etc. I have no shame in buying used things because in my mind we are all the same and we can all benefit from sharing things. I think the pope would agree that we can all make moves big or small to save our earth from ourselves.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/rebeca-gomez/2014/10/dos-and-donts-of-thrifting-by-a-thrift-store-shopaholic/