Trash
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My Favorite TerraCycle Programs
I love TerraCycle’s free recycling programs. It allows me to recycle items that otherwise would end up in the landfill. This doesn’t mean that I purposely pick a packaged item over a bulk one in order to TerraCycle it BUT it is exceedingly useful for those items that I don’t have much of an alternative for. TerraCycle also has paid programs (where you pay for a box to fill up with various items and then ship back to them to recycle) but I’ve had great experiences with the free programs. Some programs do have a waitlist but I’ve gotten into most within a few months. So how does it work?…
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Top 5 Eco-Friendly Laundry Swaps
Continuing on with our little eco-friendly swap series… we’re on to the laundry room! I think the laundry is one of easiest areas to make eco-friendly swaps because there are so many good, effective alternatives. The item: Liquid laundry detergent in plastic jugThe swap: Powder detergent in boxI personally love the JR Watkins powder detergent (linked above). It’s a bit tough to find but it’s usually available somewhere online. One box lasts me about 9 months and it’s worked just as well as my old Tide detergent. The item: Dryer sheetsThe swap: Wool dryer balls + essential oilsAnother super easy swap. A couple drops of essential oils on a wool…
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Top 5 Eco-Friendly Food Swaps
Last week, we talked eco-friendly kitchen swaps. And this week, we’re drilling down even further to food specific swaps! We all know that if you can find a specific item in the bulk section (grains, spices, oil/vinegar, tea/coffee, candy/chocolate, baking ingredients), you should go for that and stick it in your own containers. But here are some other food items that usually aren’t in the bulk aisle that I’ve found some alternatives for. The item: Yogurt in plastic container The swap: Yogurt in glass containers My husband goes through A LOT of yogurt. Which also means a lot of plastic cartons. I found this brand at Whole Foods and Central Market…
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Top 5 Eco-Friendly Kitchen Swaps
ICYMI — 2 weeks ago I wrote about my top 5 eco-friendly bathroom swaps. So now it’s time to move on to the kitchen! First up — let’s talk about those kitchen cleaning and organization items (food items are a whole other story!). The item: Paper towelsThe swaps: Cloth napkins (or IKEA dish towels) for dining and old tea towels for spills, cleaning, etc.I found our cloth napkins at Homegoods years ago (but you can also cut up an old sheet and hem the edges if you want to be extra conscious). I also find cloth napkins to just feel a bit more special so it’s a win-win. And old…
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Top 5 Eco-Friendly Bathroom Swaps
When first making the swap over to more eco-friendly or zero waste products, it’s hard not to wonder if you’ll also be downgrading on quality or efficacy. Fear not, my friends! It is possible to find products that are both good for the environment AND awesome to use. First up — we’ll be exploring the bathroom items. The item: Conventional toilet paperThe swaps: Tushy bamboo toilet paper + bidetI LOVE this toilet paper. I buy a massive box of 50 (to get the free shipping) and it lasts a year. The toilet paper is soft and not at all scratchy. It also comes wrapped in paper — no plastic here!…
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Minimal Waste Travel
As someone who travels a fair amount, I really do try to be mindful of the trash I produce while exploring the world. But. Reducing waste while traveling is HARD. Between all the trash created during long haul flights, hotel toiletries, quick meals out in a new city… it’s easy to create a significant mound of trash during a week-long trip. So… what do we do? Nope — we don’t need to be perfect. My primary reason for traveling is to explore. And if exploring leads to a bit of waste… it’s okay. However, I am mindful to not create too much unnecessary waste. Here are my tips for reducing…
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Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Or…. not. I wanted to share some pictures today from my recycling classes with the city. We toured multiple facilities including a single stream recycling plant, a textile recycling facility, and an electronics recycling facility. I think we all have a feeling of “go me!” when you declutter, take things out, and drop them off at whatever place takes that particular item. But then… we kind of forget about it. We forget that our decluttering leads to clutter and trash and stuff elsewhere. So here’s a little reminder that while the stuff is no longer in our possession… they are now stuck being dealt with by someone else. And guys……
