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Post by sweptaway on Jan 7, 2018 14:13:22 GMT -6
My boss gifted us all stainless steel straws. I love it in theory, but I'd rather go no straw than a metal one. It just sets my teeth on edge! I just bought silicone straws. I only just got them so the jury's still out but could work for you
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Post by brookethecat on Jan 7, 2018 14:17:17 GMT -6
I miss so much how convenient and expected these things were when we were in England! H and I were just talking about that, like how the recycling bins were bigger than the trash ones and picked up more frequently. We fill up our recycling bin way faster than our garbage bin. I wish it wasn’t still hard to recycle in some parts of this country. Ridiculous. Us too. We are only allowed 1 trash bin, but can have 2 recycling bins and 3 greens bins. We are at the point where the trash bin usually only gets filled half way for pick up day, but the recycling bin is full. So we’re doing something right (I think.)
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jaidit
Ruby
Posts: 18,135 Likes: 300,270
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Post by jaidit on Jan 7, 2018 14:19:40 GMT -6
I’m really lucky that there are strict laws against waste here. Most packaging is recyclable, and things like plastic take out containers will soon be banned. Small changes i do at home are: Using recharable batteries Splurging for long lasting light bulbs Using loose tea with a tea strainer Using a French press (don’t need coffee filters) I miss so much how convenient and expected these things were when we were in England! H and I were just talking about that, like how the recycling bins were bigger than the trash ones and picked up more frequently. I love the initiatives set forth by our current president and mayor of Paris - we have car free days each month in the city and France is a big part of European enviornmental efforts.
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hawkward
Global Moderator
Loss, Infertility
Posts: 19,638 Likes: 123,092
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Post by hawkward on Jan 7, 2018 14:29:38 GMT -6
I love it in theory, but I'd rather go no straw than a metal one. It just sets my teeth on edge! I just bought silicone straws. I only just got them so the jury's still out but could work for you Me too!
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Post by helloerrbody on Jan 7, 2018 14:42:21 GMT -6
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Post by enchanted on Jan 7, 2018 14:52:46 GMT -6
I miss so much how convenient and expected these things were when we were in England! H and I were just talking about that, like how the recycling bins were bigger than the trash ones and picked up more frequently. We fill up our recycling bin way faster than our garbage bin. I wish it wasn’t still hard to recycle in some parts of this country. Ridiculous. Recycling here is a pain in the ass. It's not free pick up and even the paid service won't come to our neighborhood. I bought two huge trash cans and when those are full, we throw them in the truck and drive to the closest center. It isn't that far, but still an extra stop in my day. ETA: And those get filled much faster than the city provided trash can.
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Post by thechickencoop on Jan 7, 2018 15:09:01 GMT -6
I'm glad out recycling is easy. We have to have a private waste company where we live, they pick up garbage/recycling once a week and I don't think there's a limit on recycling. We usually fill up our recycling can before trash ad well, I keep wanting to buy one of those huge blue cans but they're expensive 😕
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Post by bighair12 on Jan 7, 2018 15:26:28 GMT -6
Our city just started composting so that has been nice. I wish they picked up recycling every week but it’s every other. It is always over flowing.
We use old wash clothes and such instead of paper towels. We also use glass and Tupperware for all lunches and leftovers. DD has some bags that get reused multiple times.
We could be better about recycling glass. That is not included and we would have to take it somewhere. We need to get better about that for sure.
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Post by ldubhawksfan on Jan 7, 2018 15:28:08 GMT -6
Reusable produce bags. Bee's Wrap to replace plastic wrap/foil (this is a phase in for us- it's pricey). I got the bees wrap as a Christmas present and I like it thus far!
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Post by ldubhawksfan on Jan 7, 2018 15:37:12 GMT -6
Most everything has been mentioned already:
Pyrex containers for most storage. We also reuse many of our ziplock bags by washing.
Cloth diapering 85% of the time (nighttime we use 1 disposable for the toddler and with our newborn right now we are using disposable more frequently since I don’t have a huge NB stash)
Rags we use are cloth diapers that we reuse.
Glass or plastic reusable water bottles.
Wool dryer balls, and I built a cloth line
I’m intrigued by the cloth napkins and may try to do that.
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Post by miawallace on Jan 7, 2018 15:58:38 GMT -6
We cloth diaper 24/7. I use a diva cup too. Reusable cups all the timee.
We use cloth napkins all the time for meals. They are white ones. So easy to clean and sanitize with washes. I think they are the IKEA ones. I just fold them and have them in a basket by our table.
One of my ttgp mom friends made me some reusable microfiber multi use rags. They are perfect and I absolutely love them. We do buy paper towels, but it takes forever to use them up.
I use mesh bags for my veggies/fruit. I take them with me when i go grocery shopping. So they just weigh them in my mesh bags and then I add to my reusable bags.
We also use reusable pods for our keurig and always always bring our reusable cups at Starbucks.
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Post by Lord Disick on Jan 7, 2018 16:00:26 GMT -6
We switched to wool dryer balls as well. So much cheaper in the long run and less waste. I did it also to avoid chemicals. I'm not really an "omg CHEMICALS!!!" person but dryer sheet are pretty nasty. I love my wool dryer balls.
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Pistol
Diamond
Posts: 28,064 Likes: 62,420
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Post by Pistol on Jan 7, 2018 16:08:23 GMT -6
We rarely have things that can’t be put in the dishwasher but I hate sponges (hello bacteria) and H hates dish rags because they tend to get left in the sink and then stink, not to mention we really don’t have the drawer space to put them in. So I bought this. It can be put in the dishwasher to clean it (which I do every time I use it) and I have a hook by the sink I hang it on. Silicone Dish Sponge Washing Brush Scrubber 5 Pack Household Cleaning Sponges, Antibacterial Mildew-Free Brushes www.amazon.com/dp/B076BHDBXZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_gKPuAbKP8A3FTI am pretty good about the kids’ lunches, though I want to get the reusable snack/sandwich bags. My big downfall on disposable stuff is their yogurt. I buy them non dairy yogurt and I have yet to find a large tub of it that I can split up. I might go back to giving them regular yogurt so I can split a large tub up. They take a yogurt cup in their lunch every day. And because my mom has a ton of them so she’s been giving them to me, I use the small dressing container things for ranch for R’s lunch since he either takes salad or carrots every day. Once they are gone, I have small reusable containers to use for that purpose though.
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hawkward
Global Moderator
Loss, Infertility
Posts: 19,638 Likes: 123,092
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Post by hawkward on Jan 7, 2018 16:21:42 GMT -6
Pistol, I used to get So Delicious yogurt in a big container. I ordered it through my local hippie food store for convenience, but I think they have it at Target too.
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Pistol
Diamond
Posts: 28,064 Likes: 62,420
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Post by Pistol on Jan 7, 2018 16:27:12 GMT -6
Pistol, I used to get So Delicious yogurt in a big container. I ordered it through my local hippie food store for convenience, but I think they have it at Target too. I don’t have a target. There is one Kroger that tends to have more dairy free options that I might check with to see if they have anything. It’s just inconvenient to get to.
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hawkward
Global Moderator
Loss, Infertility
Posts: 19,638 Likes: 123,092
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Post by hawkward on Jan 7, 2018 16:28:29 GMT -6
Pistol , I used to get So Delicious yogurt in a big container. I ordered it through my local hippie food store for convenience, but I think they have it at Target too. I don’t have a target. There is one Kroger that tends to have more dairy free options that I might check with to see if they have anything. It’s just inconvenient to get to. I feel ya. I drive just over an hour to "mine," but I really don't have a good closer alternative either.
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Post by unicornsparkles on Jan 7, 2018 16:50:00 GMT -6
Most of what’s already been said here... -stainless steel water bottles -I recently did away with paper towels (I do keep some on hand for if our dog has an accident) in place of reusable cloths -recycle everything. Thankfully we have a great city recycling program butI am obsessive about recycling glass which requires me to take it to a drop off location. Thankfully there is one close to our house, we take glass recyclables about every other week. -wool dryer balls in place of softener/dryer sheets -decreasing meat intake -saving food scraps (end of celery, carrots, etc) to stick in the freezer and make broth. Composting is my next step. -bento boxes for school lunches
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Pistol
Diamond
Posts: 28,064 Likes: 62,420
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Post by Pistol on Jan 7, 2018 16:53:40 GMT -6
I don’t have a target. There is one Kroger that tends to have more dairy free options that I might check with to see if they have anything. It’s just inconvenient to get to. I feel ya. I drive just over an hour to "mine," but I really don't have a good closer alternative either. It’s 1.5-2 hours to the closest target from me. 😩 I go but only on special occasions. We have Walmart and kroger. That’s about it for around here.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2018 16:58:42 GMT -6
For all of you composting, do you have garbage disposals? I put pretty much all of our food scraps down there.
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Post by blurnette989 on Jan 7, 2018 17:05:15 GMT -6
For all of you composting, do you have garbage disposals? I put pretty much all of our food scraps down there. We do not have a garbage disposal, so composting makes the most sense. I have a large outdoor bin with a lid and we also put yard waste there.
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piratecat
Diamond
Posts: 36,035 Likes: 143,914
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Post by piratecat on Jan 7, 2018 17:05:20 GMT -6
Pistol I’ve been wanting a scrubber like that, thank you!
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Post by wildflower on Jan 7, 2018 17:08:06 GMT -6
I’m really lucky that there are strict laws against waste here. Most packaging is recyclable, and things like plastic take out containers will soon be banned. Small changes i do at home are: Using recharable batteries Splurging for long lasting light bulbs Using loose tea with a tea strainer Using a French press (don’t need coffee filters) We have switched out a lot of our light bulbs for LEDs. Much more energy efficient and they last like 10 years. I found them on a B1G2 sale on black Friday last year and stocked up!
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Post by goldenbird on Jan 7, 2018 17:10:26 GMT -6
I'm thinking about switching to cloth napkins. I feel bad about how many paper napkins we use. I've always had rags/cloths for dusting/wiping things. I do use paper towels and spray for the kitchen counters though. We've cut waaay back on plastic water bottles. MH uses a few a week. It used to be quite a bit more.
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Post by twoblackcats on Jan 7, 2018 17:56:59 GMT -6
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Bookshelves
Emerald
Generally at a 2
Posts: 11,563 Likes: 104,431
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Post by Bookshelves on Jan 7, 2018 17:59:51 GMT -6
Our entire community is so bad about recycling, much like enchanted mentioned. As an individual household we do our best, and I try to take things home to recycle if I'm out and about, but one of my long-term goals is to look into feasibility of recycling containers in our walkable downtown area, as a small start at improvement. I'm sure there will be 1,000,000 naysayers before the idea even gets off the ground, which is why I've been putting it off until I have the time and energy to tackle it. If we survive 2018 with no nuclear wars, it's on my short list for 2019.
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Post by sweptaway on Jan 7, 2018 18:04:34 GMT -6
For all of you composting, do you have garbage disposals? I put pretty much all of our food scraps down there. I have a garbage disposal but I don't purposely put scraps in it. That shit can still clog.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2018 18:58:47 GMT -6
For all of you composting, do you have garbage disposals? I put pretty much all of our food scraps down there. I have a garbage disposal but I don't purposely put scraps in it. That shit can still clog. We luckily haven’t had an issue with that. I pretty much put everything except banana peel down it.
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Pistol
Diamond
Posts: 28,064 Likes: 62,420
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Post by Pistol on Jan 7, 2018 19:19:48 GMT -6
For all of you composting, do you have garbage disposals? I put pretty much all of our food scraps down there. We do but I try not to put scraps down the drain if I can help it. We have a septic and I imagine it will just fill it up faster. Also, we compost for our garden so we have motivation to be composting anyhow. We compost vegetable scraps, egg shells, and grass clippings. Since we use it for our garden we don’t do animal scraps (other than the egg shells) but some people compost those as well.
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Pistol
Diamond
Posts: 28,064 Likes: 62,420
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Post by Pistol on Jan 7, 2018 19:25:22 GMT -6
Oh! And I am working on making some reusable grocery bags. I try to use the self checkout and use as few bags as possible and just make lots of trips in the house but reusable bags would be nice too.
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Post by elephantastic on Jan 7, 2018 20:42:51 GMT -6
A few things I do off the top of my head:
I stopped buying foaming hand soap- I reuse the plastic bottles (mine are from bath and body works originally). I buy Dr Bronners pure Castile soap. Pour about 2 inches into soap container, fill rest of the way with water. I buy the big Dr Bronners soap bottles- some bulk places actually have a place to refill your Dr Bronners bottles but I don’t have one around me sadly. I probably only buy 1-2 bottles/year tho
All purpose Cleaning solution is also Dr Bronners with h2o in a spray bottle that I refill as needed. Bathroom cleaning solution is diluted bleach. Stainless Steel and glass cleaner is diluted vinegar.
I make laundry detergent- easy and cheap. Let me know if you want the recipe. I use dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. I don’t currently do this but I used to make reusable dryer sheets by keeping a jar of clean rags in a mixture of diluted fabric softener— wring one out and toss in dryer with other wet (clean) clothes. Put back in jar when dry with your load.
We hardly ever use paper towels. I have a cabinet by the sink with 2 side by side trash cans— one is for clean rags and one is for dirty. Wash as needed (I do mine maybe 1x per week- whenever I do a load of towels).
Face clothes/make up remover wipes etc are squares of flannel. Wash and reuse.
I make a lot of beauty items- face toner, lotion bars, deodorant.
I never use paper plates/plastic at home except our 1x per year Halloween party.
Glass straws. Many brands are lifetime warranty against breakage.
I have a Travel set of silverware and a stainless Steel straw I keep in my purse to avoid plastic silverware, plastic straws when I’m out and about. This might be #extra and I’ll own it but I’m used to it now- i keep them in a little fabric pouch that is easy to wash as well.
Shampoo bars and conditioner bars- no more plastic bottles. I also only use bar soap now (I used to be a bath & body works shower gel queen). I have a razor that only requires the head be replaced rather than tossing the whole thing in the trash.
Bamboo toothbrushes- they are compostable/biodegrade. You can also find toothbrushes made out of recycled yogurt cups, etc (they actually sell them at TJs if you have one of those). I really like my bamboo ones but TJs hasn’t gotten on that train yet.
Reusable shopping bags for everywhere/everything. I have one that folds up tiny I keep in my purse for when I run into a random store and forget to grab a bag or unexpectedly make a purchase.
I’ll add if I think of anything else.
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