Zero Waste
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Fall Zero Waste Swaps
It’s officially fall! My absolute favorite season of the year. Give me all the “basic” — sweaters, pumpkin spice, candles, pumpkin decor. I have no shame. But truly. I love this time of year — the anticipation of upcoming holidays (including my favorite, Thanksgiving), the camaraderie behind football, respite from 100+ degree days, quiet weekends spent baking and reading, abundance at the farmer’s market, the State Fair of Texas… the list goes on. With all that goes on this time of year, sometimes it can be difficult to remember your New Year’s resolution from January that involved producing less waste. Never fear. Here are a few small things you can…
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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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Eco-Friendly or Zero Waste School Supplies
This Wednesday… July turns into August. And many of us start looking forward to the crispness of fall (my favorite season) and new beginnings. As a kid though, August meant one thing. Back-to-school school supply shopping. Walking around OfficeMax… buying the perfect matching notebooks and folders. Ah. Bliss. Fast forward 20 years and I still get somewhat nostalgic for those beautiful school supplies. I get a little giddy seeing all the new adorable stuff available at Target. BUT — man. The whole thing is super wasteful. The packaging surrounding the supplies and then the ultimate toss to the landfill. Or even just the mass of school supplies that end up…
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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!…