Many friends know me for doing this particular thing to my take-out drinks. I'll take out the straw from its wrapper and tie it around my straw as it floats happily in my drink. I'm sure you've seen at least one person do this before, if you haven't done it yourself at least. Depending on where I get my drink, this can make a lot of drinks look pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

Besides being an innovative drink accessory to make my drink as extra as I am, this action serves two purposes. First, it marks which drink is mine if more of my friends and I feel like we're rich enough to not get water at the table. However, it also proves to be a very helpful action in that it reminds me to throw away my trash.

Littering is such a small thing that we often forget about. Even if we clean up after ourselves, we see others do it as well, or see the effects of it around us: gum spots on the ground, napkins blowing in the wind, the leftovers of those responsible by being irresponsible.

Keeping the world clean is the responsibility of each and every one of us as consumers, whether it's by recycling things properly, picking up after others, or even just tossing our own things in the trash. As cliche as it is, this is the only world we live in, and keeping it livable is a collective effort.

And so, we look to ourselves as the solution to this dirty problem. If it helps you to remember, start tying your straw wrappers to your straws too! Remind yourself as well as others to toss your trash and keep our living spaces clean.