s/o plastic bags: zero waste home

[Laura in CA]

do not get takeout (avoids styrofoam containers)

 

don't use paper plates, disposable cups etc, even for large gatherings

chose a house within biking distance from work; DH bikes daily

a few comments – I'll come back and add things when they come to mind:

 

California recently banned stores from offering plastic bags, so that's not an issue here. (Note: we lived for many years in Europe without free plastic bags, but got used to it again when we moved back. One European habit I haven't lost is using drying racks or clotheslines to dry everything except sheets and towels.)

 

Styrofoam and hard-plastic clam-shell containers are also forbidden here, so take-out and "doggie bags" are cardboard. EVERYTHING at many restaurants, especially in places like Berkeley, is compostable, including the "silverware". Even so, I wanted to mention what I do – I take my own plastic, metal, or glass containers with me to restaurants where I know I will have leftovers to take home. Much more convenient than asking a waiter for a container, zero-waste, and the cardboard they have to use here gets so soggy anyway, and is not air-tight.

 

I had the luxury of choosing my empty-nester part-time job within biking distance of my house. Sometimes it's too cold or too hot or too dark, but when I do bike to work, it's a lovely commute.

 

Recycled TP, of course

 

I wrap Christmas and birthday presents in brown paper with reusable ribbons, or in a fabric square (for sew-ers).

My mother wraps presents in the color funny papers (Sunday comic section).

 

That reminds me, we used to subscribe to WSJ AND the local paper, and I loved the morning ritual of reading a paper newspaper. But it got too expensive, and it generated tons of recycling. I do still prefer paper books, but I am trying to use the library more for both books and movies – as much from a decluttering perspective as zero-waste.

 

Most people in our town have a 20-gallon garbage cart, but 96-gallon recycling and organic/green/garden waste carts (collected weekly). I know our recycling cart is often more than half full, while the garbage cart has only one plastic kitchen bag in it.

 

ETA: we keep the house at 59–61° during the day (once in a great while we splash out & bump it up to 64°, or even higher when we have guests :) ), and 54° at night. We do live in a mild climate (although it can drop below freezing at night in winter), and we all run warm, and use hot water bottles in our beds. And wool blankets from Iceland and Germany. :)

Edited November 19, 2016 by Laura in CA

[regentrude]

Styrofoam and hard-plastic clam-shell containers are also forbidden here, so take-out and "doggie bags" are cardboard. EVERYTHING at many restaurants, especially in places like Berkeley, is compostable, including the "silverware". 

 

 

Wonderful. We are so behind here in the Midwest.

[importswim]

I thought the data was pretty clear that dishwashers were way more efficient, esp with regard to water consumption.

Acc to this you'd have to wash and rinse a dinner plate in a cup of water. 

 

http://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/built-in-dishwashers-vs-hand-washing-which-is-greener.html

I have heard that before as well. :thumbup:  It also probably gets the plates technically more clean. It's a balancing act for me though, with having excess things in the house vs. being completely more eco-efficient. Usually we do a run of the dishes/pans/etc... at the end of the night so it's a combination job. 

 

My DH works out of town half the month every month and so I was buying paper plates so that I didn't have to do dishes when he wasn't home - because after a while the groundhog day feeding schedule was wearing on me (you children want 3 meals a day!?! WHAT!?!). That's when I decided to buy one set of dishes for each person. I no longer have to buy paper plates OR worry about cleaning lots of dishes. I probably should have said that in my first post! HA!

[Nan in Mass]

Turn the heat way down at night and take a hot water bottle to bed.

Mend clothing.

Sheets can be dried by draping them over the drying wrack. Amazingly, both the sheet and the stuff under it dry for me except for in the most humid part of the summer.

Hang towels on a windy day and they wind up soft. I like them crunchy line dried better because they seem to be more absorbent, but I don't have skin problems and can tolerate it.

Rewear clothing.

Eat more simply. Oatmeal for breakfast, for example.

Use a thermous.

Make your own notepads out of used paper.

Use a slate. The white boards meant for hanging on doors make great slates if you can't stand chalk.

Grow herbs on a sunny windowsill.

Eat fruits and vegs that are in season.

Sail instead of motorboating.

Carpool.

Fix things even if it is cheaper to buy a new one.

 

Not that I manage to do all those all the time...

 

Nan

[Liz CA]

What are these?

 

 

I love my fountain pen, although I don't use an ink well, but plastic cartridges that hold the ink.

 

I cannot find toilet paper from recycled paper in this town, except very rarely as special buy at Aldi (and wrapped in plastic). Back home, most tp is from recycled paper. For the purpose it is being used for, it seems ridiculous not to.

 

Check with Azure. They are a company that ships along interstates and highways. You can check if they have a drop near your place. They have lots of organic items and reusable / recyclable things. Some items you can purchase in bulk quantities.

[Liz CA]

Use cloth napkins, diapers, tablecloth, placemats

Recycle everything due to great recycling program in our county

Launder or boil dish washing sponges (don't like cloth). Found one that can be reused many times.

Use glass bowls with lids.

Cook most things from scratch - no take out containers

Make lunches and take to work in reusable containers - Bought car mugs and soup thermos

Look often at "Mighty Nest" what is available. Good source for zero waste products

Wash clothes on washboard with homemade soap

Use clothesline

Use rags for general cleaning and washable mop cover

Use "green bags" for produce and reusable shopping bags

Buy refurbished appliances if possible

 

[Nan in Mass]

A composting toilet is something I want. We have a complicated septic system that requires electricity. I think that could be simplified if it had only to deal with grey water.

 

Nan

[regentrude]

 

Wash clothes on washboard with homemade soap

 

Wow. You do this for the clothes of an entire family?

 

This is one thing I would not be willing to do. I have lived several years without a washing machine and had to hand wash all our clothes (there were no laundromats); I really don't want to go back to this. Definitely not with young kids. (ETA: Or with a judoka who brings home sweaty gis)

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by regentrude

[shawthorne44]

Homemade soap is incredibly easy, but I don't think I could do a washboard.   I am grateful and fascinated by my washing machine.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

no no no...no washboard here

 

Hell I bitc* about washing clothing with a machine.  Never mind finding a way to make it pure hell.

 

 

[Nan in Mass]

Of all my convenience machines, a washingmachine is the very last one I would want to give up. I,d give up the water heater and the furnace before that one. I, too, lived with no washer for awhile and I love mine.

 

Regentrude, I can,t imagine dealing with sweaty gis by hand. Maybe if you could anchor them at the bottom of a waterfall for the night? At least my gym brats just had nylon pants and teeshirts. It was a big day when I finally realized that it would simplify my life if each child had more than one outfit. I was stupid about that for years. We were in a tiny house and my boys didn,t need much for clothing so it was years before I figured that out. My poor sons were always worried they,d have to go to gym in yesterday's chalky sweaty pants. So stupid.

 

I can imagine having a washingmachine that did not use electricity, like those little ones for boats, if I were single and did not need to dress up for work. I,m sure a non-electric washing machine could be designed which could deal with family-sized loads. I haven't seen one, though. Our strategy has always been to wash clothing only when we need it clean for an event or it smells or got into toxins - poison ivy or bottom paint or something. My husband's shirts for work go to a commercial laundy. That is a place we could do better, I am sure, but our starching/ironing skills are not up to par.

 

Nan

[Guest]

 

I cannot find toilet paper from recycled paper in this town, except very rarely as special buy at Aldi (and wrapped in plastic). Back home, most tp is from recycled paper. For the purpose it is being used for, it seems ridiculous not to.

Scott makes tubeless tp and 100% recycled tp. Amazon or a bigger walmart carry them. We just stock up when we are in a town with stores that carry them, that way we dont have shipling boxes to recycle.

Last I read, the bpa in the recycled is an issue with many.

The ultimate solution is to go back a century and use water or vegetation, combined with a diet that doesnt leave lots of residue on the skin from elimination.

[Liz CA]

Wow. You do this for the clothes of an entire family?

 

This is one thing I would not be willing to do. I have lived several years without a washing machine and had to hand wash all our clothes (there were no laundromats); I really don't want to go back to this. Definitely not with young kids. (ETA: Or with a judoka who brings home sweaty gis)

 

:lol:  I slipped this in there just to see if someone was paying attention. :lol:  No, I have a front loader and use it gleefully.

But the rest is all true!

 

I cannot save on gasoline or driving because my job requires a certain amount of driving. It would be nice if I could bike to work and stay in the office.

 

[Liz CA]

Scott makes tubeless tp and 100% recycled tp. Amazon or a bigger walmart carry them. We just stock up when we are in a town with stores that carry them, that way we dont have shipling boxes to recycle.

Last I read, the bpa in the recycled is an issue with many.

The ultimate solution is to go back a century and use water or vegetation, combined with a diet that doesnt leave lots of residue on the skin from elimination.

 

Oh dear. That could be a very specific diet....

[regentrude]

:lol:  I slipped this in there just to see if someone was paying attention. :lol:  No, I have a front loader and use it gleefully.

 

Well - I would have been ready to accept that some people actually do use a wash board. That tells you what circles I run in ;)

 

A friend of mine started homesteading 40 years ago, and there are photographs of her washing clothes in a  tub and using a manually powered wringer. They now have electricity, but with her first baby, she lived in a  shack without (and without running water). 

[kubiac]

Well - I would have been ready to accept that some people actually do use a wash board. That tells you what circles I run in ;)

 

A friend of mine started homesteading 40 years ago, and there are photographs of her washing clothes in a  tub and using a manually powered wringer. They now have electricity, but with her first baby, she lived in a  shack without (and without running water). 

 

FWIW I do own a washboard and have been known to use it if I just have one or two soiled garments that I want to get cleaned up fast. It says "hecho in Mexico" on it. They are sold in the laundry aisle of the Hispanic-oriented supermarket near our house here is SoCal.

[Lady Florida.]

Who is the author of the book? My library has a book called Zero Waste Lifestyle. Amazon has two called Zero Waste Home by two different authors, and two called Zero Waste Lifestyle by two different authors.

[Lady Florida.]

double post

Edited November 20, 2016 by Lady Florida.

[Lady Florida.]

Things we do -

 

-Recycle what we can - our city's recycle program keeps improving but can be much better.

-Take some things to the grocery store that the city doesn't recycle (plastic bags, styrofoam)

-Recycle batteries - Target has a bin for this

-Compost both kitchen waste and yard waste

-We use paper coffee filters but they're unbleached and we toss them into the compost bin along with the grounds

-Use cloth for paper towels (I cut up old bath towels when we got new ones) and cloth napkins

-Only run the dishwasher every few days

-Only do large loads of laundry

-Take reusable bags when shopping, including bags for produce

-Use stainless steel water bottles

-I bring my own coffee cup to Starbucks

-Use containers rather than ziploc bags for storing leftovers

-Get almost all books from the library

-We cut up scrap paper to use as note paper

 

Things that aren't good-

 

-I too use a Swiffer because of my back and knee pain. I did try using microfiber or other reusable cloths, but they have to be rinsed more often and that requires too much bending. Sometimes pain wins and this is one of those areas.

 

-We drive a lot but there isn't much in our town. A few grocery stores, a Walmart and a Target. Basics like hairdressers and doctors, but not much else. Also, all of our family and friends live out of town. We're looking at moving to be closer to those we want to spend time with.

 

-I've tried repeatedly to use a clothes line but the humidity in Florida makes it difficult. Often times you can leave clothes out all day and if it doesn't rain they still don't get dry because the air is too humid. I sometimes dry things on racks in the house but there's only so much room for that.

 

-Air conditioner runs 24/7 most of the year. 

Edited November 20, 2016 by Lady Florida.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Wow. You do this for the clothes of an entire family?

 

This is one thing I would not be willing to do. I have lived several years without a washing machine and had to hand wash all our clothes (there were no laundromats); I really don't want to go back to this. Definitely not with young kids. (ETA: Or with a judoka who brings home sweaty gis)

 

 

:lol:  I slipped this in there just to see if someone was paying attention. :lol:  No, I have a front loader and use it gleefully.

But the rest is all true!

 

 

 

I was sitting here slack-jawed, so I'm glad you came back to update. LOL

 

I actually did wash clothes on a washboard in a tub, wring by hand, and line dry when DH and I were first married. Long before the birth of the first baby (who was cloth-diapered), I knew that I was not cut out to be Ma Ingalls after all, and I made DH buy a washing machine. Handwashing for real, with all kinds of family laundry, is HARD work.

 

I have thought of those days when laundering teens' Civil Air Patrol BDUs and taekwondo doboks, and the work clothes of the construction workers in the family. Just no way.