Earth Day Life Hacks

[ohinvrtedworld]

Happy Earth Day, GKU! I keep seeing posts about ways to be more green on Facebook, and it made me wonder if you guys also had some sustainable "life hacks" to share.

Do you have an awesome system in place for recycling or composting? Any products that are more earth-friendly that you swear by? Tips for growing your own food or planting trees? I want to know. I am doing a few things right now to reduce waste and use less toxic chemicals but I want to do more.

My only one to share would be that I am loving reusable snack bags. I think they are Planet Wise brand. They are super cute and easy to clean, and I love not throwing away Ziploc bags all the time like I used to.

Teach me your ways!

[rablissful]

Dawn + vinegar for cleaning. It works WONDERS. Vinegar by itself (diluted with water) works for little messes, but the two together are a powerhouse.

[lemoncupcake]

We're lucky in that we have a roll-out recycle bin provided by our waste company - it's huge (larger than our trash cart) and single stream so we don't have to separate things out. It definitely helps us to be able to easily recycle as much as we can without making a separate trip to a recycling facility.

We also compost in our backyard. I have a small pail that I keep by the kitchen sink to collect coffee grounds, egg shells and the spare bits of fruits and veggies. When we started composting it was surprising how much we had been throwing away before - on average we have to empty it out every day. It also helps that we can compost some of our own leaves, so they don't have to be hauled out to the dump.

Last spring we started a veggie garden, so we are continuing with it this year. I'm hoping to get to the point that we can replace more of the produce that we normally buy, but I haven't developed my green thumb quite yet.

[longhornwino0907]

Apr 22, 2015 12:59:17 GMT -5 ohinvrtedworld said:

Happy Earth Day, GKU! I keep seeing posts about ways to be more green on Facebook, and it made me wonder if you guys also had some sustainable "life hacks" to share.

Do you have an awesome system in place for recycling or composting? Any products that are more earth-friendly that you swear by? Tips for growing your own food or planting trees? I want to know. I am doing a few things right now to reduce waste and use less toxic chemicals but I want to do more.

My only one to share would be that I am loving reusable snack bags. I think they are Planet Wise brand. They are super cute and easy to clean, and I love not throwing away Ziploc bags all the time like I used to.

Teach me your ways!

I need these in my life! I throw away so many Ziploc bags!

[Deleted]

*clean with old rags/scrub brush instead of paper towel
*use rain barrels for collecting water to reuse on plants
*compost EVERYTHING from bones to newspaper
*plant native flowers or trees instead of introduced species

MH is a pro at starting trees from seed, and he usually soaks the seed in water until it roots. Then he puts it in a medium size pot until it is big enough to be planted outside. He usually waits until the tree is a couple years old.

While I love composting I prefer to save my veggie scraps in the freezer and make a big pot of veg stock. Then I strain it and freeze it in containers and compost the chunks.

When I wash clothes I use the shortest cycle and hang my laundry up outside to dry. I have even put out large things like duvets on the line during a rain storm to get washed. Then I leave it out until the sun comes back.

[ohinvrtedworld]

Apr 22, 2015 13:20:04 GMT -5 longhornwino0907 said:

Apr 22, 2015 12:59:17 GMT -5 ohinvrtedworld said:

Happy Earth Day, GKU! I keep seeing posts about ways to be more green on Facebook, and it made me wonder if you guys also had some sustainable "life hacks" to share.

Do you have an awesome system in place for recycling or composting? Any products that are more earth-friendly that you swear by? Tips for growing your own food or planting trees? I want to know. I am doing a few things right now to reduce waste and use less toxic chemicals but I want to do more.

My only one to share would be that I am loving reusable snack bags. I think they are Planet Wise brand. They are super cute and easy to clean, and I love not throwing away Ziploc bags all the time like I used to.

Teach me your ways!

I need these in my life! I throw away so many Ziploc bags!

If you can handle an online cloth diaper store, I think Nicki's Diapers has free shipping for the brand I use!

[ohinvrtedworld]

@marymargaret line drying is next on my list!

[rablissful]

I want to line dry this spring/summer as well, and would love more info about how to compost!

[Stringy]

I second the reusable snack bags...and we just started using cloth napkins every day too. They are just cotton and white, nothing fancy. Well, they aren't too white anymore. We just have a hanging bag in the kitchen for dirty dish towels, rags (cuz we don't have paper towels) and the cloth napkins and we throw that in with a load of towels once a week.

What I want is a way to stop using paper plates!

[ceejay]

Apr 22, 2015 15:42:56 GMT -5 W said:

Lol my dad washes his Ziploc bags and reuses them.

My mom does that too!

[rablissful]

Apr 22, 2015 16:10:08 GMT -5 Stringy said:

I second the reusable snack bags...and we just started using cloth napkins every day too. They are just cotton and white, nothing fancy. Well, they aren't too white anymore. We just have a hanging bag in the kitchen for dirty dish towels, rags (cuz we don't have paper towels) and the cloth napkins and we throw that in with a load of towels once a week.

What I want is a way to stop using paper plates!

We never use paper plates, unless it's for a party or we're moving. There's also only two of us. It's just a matter of keeping up with dishes!

[helloerrbody]

Curious about this composting thing...

So what do you do with the composting bucket/pail outside where everything goes?

[shemarie82]

Apr 22, 2015 16:10:08 GMT -5 Stringy said:

I second the reusable snack bags...and we just started using cloth napkins every day too. They are just cotton and white, nothing fancy. Well, they aren't too white anymore. We just have a hanging bag in the kitchen for dirty dish towels, rags (cuz we don't have paper towels) and the cloth napkins and we throw that in with a load of towels once a week.

What I want is a way to stop using paper plates!

We have not used paper plates in probably 2 years.  Since it is just the two of us, and we have a lot of plates (from combining homes) so we have enough to run the dishwasher about once a week (if that). My MIL brings paper/plastic plates to every gathering, I still use the real ones. 

[ohinvrtedworld]

Apr 22, 2015 16:10:08 GMT -5 Stringy said:

I second the reusable snack bags...and we just started using cloth napkins every day too. They are just cotton and white, nothing fancy. Well, they aren't too white anymore. We just have a hanging bag in the kitchen for dirty dish towels, rags (cuz we don't have paper towels) and the cloth napkins and we throw that in with a load of towels once a week.

What I want is a way to stop using paper plates!

I keep forgetting that I bought some for the purpose of not using paper ones! Whew. I'm glad you reminded me. I need a few more sets!

[helloerrbody]

Apr 23, 2015 7:50:51 GMT -5 bluebird44 said:

Apr 22, 2015 21:03:28 GMT -5 helloerrbody said:

Curious about this composting thing...

So what do you do with the composting bucket/pail outside where everything goes?

Not quite sure what you mean. We have a bin with a lid that we dump the pail into. We also occasionally turn the material in the bin. The pail gets rinsed out and brought back inside. Is that what you are asking?

No. You dump the stuff into a large bucket outside correct? Then what do you do with that? Mix it up? Just let it sit? Then you put it in the garden? Sorry I'm clearly a compost dummy.

[ldubhawksfan]

Apr 23, 2015 11:09:00 GMT -5 helloerrbody said:

Apr 23, 2015 7:50:51 GMT -5 bluebird44 said:

Not quite sure what you mean. We have a bin with a lid that we dump the pail into. We also occasionally turn the material in the bin. The pail gets rinsed out and brought back inside. Is that what you are asking?

No. You dump the stuff into a large bucket outside correct? Then what do you do with that? Mix it up? Just let it sit? Then you put it in the garden? Sorry I'm clearly a compost dummy.

I think this is a valid question. We had a big composter, but according to the instructions, there is supposed to be a ratio of green (grass clippings) to food waste that we could never hit because we don't have lawn. It also took a very long time. It didn't work for us, but I'm interested in composting with worms on a smaller scale.

[ohinvrtedworld]

Apr 23, 2015 11:09:00 GMT -5 helloerrbody said:

Apr 23, 2015 7:50:51 GMT -5 bluebird44 said:

Not quite sure what you mean. We have a bin with a lid that we dump the pail into. We also occasionally turn the material in the bin. The pail gets rinsed out and brought back inside. Is that what you are asking?

No. You dump the stuff into a large bucket outside correct? Then what do you do with that? Mix it up? Just let it sit? Then you put it in the garden? Sorry I'm clearly a compost dummy.

So am I, actually. Now that it's warmer outside, I feel like we could start a bin outside but I know nothing!

[ohinvrtedworld]

bluebird44 love it!! Thanks for the photos!

[rablissful]

You're the best bluebird44!

Did you make the bin or buy it? I was worried about my dog getting into just an open pile but this would be a great solution!

[helloerrbody]

So to get this straight, you don't do anything other than dump stuff into that bin, correct?

Oh hey wanderingheart, have you ever composted?

[wanderingheart]

Apr 23, 2015 21:27:16 GMT -5 helloerrbody said:

So to get this straight, you don't do anything other than dump stuff into that bin, correct?

Oh hey wanderingheart, have you ever composted?

YAAAAAAS #randomtags #ilurvechocolate

[wanderingheart]

Apr 23, 2015 22:53:41 GMT -5 hippo said:

icaughtfire was just telling me the other day about her grand composting plans.

Well now you're just trying to hurt my feelings on purpose. 

[icaughtfire]

Apr 23, 2015 22:53:41 GMT -5 hippo said:

icaughtfire was just telling me the other day about her grand composting plans.

PLAN:

Step 1 - Learn what composting is
Step 2 - Say fuck it, ain't nobody got time for yard stuff
Step 3 - Sit inside & drink wine
Step 4 - Win at life

[MissMusic]

Apr 22, 2015 13:20:04 GMT -5 longhornwino0907 said:

Apr 22, 2015 12:59:17 GMT -5 ohinvrtedworld said:

Happy Earth Day, GKU! I keep seeing posts about ways to be more green on Facebook, and it made me wonder if you guys also had some sustainable "life hacks" to share.

Do you have an awesome system in place for recycling or composting? Any products that are more earth-friendly that you swear by? Tips for growing your own food or planting trees? I want to know. I am doing a few things right now to reduce waste and use less toxic chemicals but I want to do more.

My only one to share would be that I am loving reusable snack bags. I think they are Planet Wise brand. They are super cute and easy to clean, and I love not throwing away Ziploc bags all the time like I used to.

Teach me your ways!

I need these in my life! I throw away so many Ziploc bags!

The Steals website just had a sale and the Yummi Pouch site is too with coupon code! I can go dig up the code if you want.

The other site ishttp://baby.steals.com/daily/deal/id/3011755/yummi-pouch-snack-bag-sets

Sorry not clicky. Its a site for baby, kid, girly and art stuff but the link should only show you the bags.