What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?

[Linea_Norway]

Just received our electricity bill and it's significantly lower than for this time last year. Our thermal efficiency measures are working!!

Well done! I hope to see the same at the end of the year.

[frooglepoodle]

Just received our electricity bill and it's significantly lower than for this time last year. Our thermal efficiency measures are working!!

Haven't yet taken the plunge to start trying cloth nappies on my baby. Maybe today is the day...

Almost everything we own for the baby came to us second-hand. It feels good to have avoided buying brand-new with the environmental impact that entails.

Our freezer has been running very efficiently thanks to all the meals my MIL cooked and stashed there for us - does that count? ;-)

Hurray for the lower electricity use! I waited until 5 or 6 weeks in to use cloth nappies - we'd received a fair number of disposables as gifts, and the extra laundry was something I just wasn't up for dealing with the first few weeks.

I am 100% with you on secondhand baby and kid things. My son is growing into 3T sized clothing, and thanks to some generous neighbors we had almost everything he needs (including a snow jacket and boots for next winter). Most of the things I've purchased to fill in the gaps have been secondhand as well. :-)

Today I'm going grocery shopping at the store that lets you bring your own jars for bulk, and picking up a few things for my neighbor while I'm there to save her a trip.

[jengod]

* After a gloomy start to the week, the sun was back today so hung a couple of loads of laundry to dry. I am genuinely in love with line-drying and thank MMM, Sharon Astyk and Amy Dacyzyn for advocating for it so strongly. Our fancy wall-mount clothesline was a great investment.

* Shredded and froze four pints of zucchini.

* BIG KAHUNA: In honor of America's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords, I switched to our electric company's "Green Rate." For a 20 percent premium, all of our electricity will be sourced from renewable sources. We have a very low and ever decreasing electric bill so this will not be a budget buster for us. Politicians are (apparently) useless. Personal action is paramount.

[HappierAtHome]

Personal action is paramount.

So true.

[Anatidae V]

I'm in the middle of purchasing to save on waste (startup costs).

I'm organising some cloth nappies so we can reduce our use of disposables. I'm washing out our work farm next week and setting it up. I've ordered a trolley so I can walk to the local grocer & butcher to purchase almost all our food, and I'm ordering reusable produce bags so we don't use the thin plastic any more. I've been testing some recipes for treats/snacks so I can buy the ingredients in bulk from now on. I've been working out how to get places using public transport even though we are usually still using the car for trips - not quite organised enough with the new baby yet!

[HappierAtHome]

I'm in the middle of purchasing to save on waste (startup costs).

I'm organising some cloth nappies so we can reduce our use of disposables. I'm washing out our work farm next week and setting it up. I've ordered a trolley so I can walk to the local grocer & butcher to purchase almost all our food, and I'm ordering reusable produce bags so we don't use the thin plastic any more. I've been testing some recipes for treats/snacks so I can buy the ingredients in bulk from now on. I've been working out how to get places using public transport even though we are usually still using the car for trips - not quite organised enough with the new baby yet!

All of this is awesome! But also... Don't you just hate that initial expenditure / consumerism even though you know it'll reduce waste long term? I find it confusing and difficult.

[Anatidae V]

I'm in the middle of purchasing to save on waste (startup costs).

I'm organising some cloth nappies so we can reduce our use of disposables. I'm washing out our work farm next week and setting it up. I've ordered a trolley so I can walk to the local grocer & butcher to purchase almost all our food, and I'm ordering reusable produce bags so we don't use the thin plastic any more. I've been testing some recipes for treats/snacks so I can buy the ingredients in bulk from now on. I've been working out how to get places using public transport even though we are usually still using the car for trips - not quite organised enough with the new baby yet!

All of this is awesome! But also... Don't you just hate that initial expenditure / consumerism even though you know it'll reduce waste long term? I find it confusing and difficult.

I keep apologising to my husband for spending money. He keeps patting me on the head. Uh, which sounds really sexist but it's just who feels more comfortable with spending money or not! So far I'm just trying to trust that this is another transitional period, and then we won't spend much and will be much happier with our slightly adjusted lifestyle.

[HappierAtHome]

Some useful ideas in this Plastic Free July chart.

[frooglepoodle]

AV, try not to be too hard on yourself! Conveniences are totally appropriate when you're making the transition to life with a new baby, and the upfront costs of reusable items will end up having a very, very low cost per use.

I bought all my produce without using any plastic bags yesterday. I ended up using one bag for bulk after my darling (*cough*) son got cranky and threw a jar I'd already filled with cashews out of the cart, shattering it. Grrr...

Made asparagus soup with dinner last night. I'd been saving the woody ends in the freezer, then boiled them with some homemade broth and threw it all in the blender with some cream. Delicious! I also made double the amount of quinoa I normally would in the Instant Pot and froze half to reduce the energy useage.

I signed up to participate in a "Refashion Exchange" where you send an unworn garment to another sewist and they turn it into something new and send it back to you, and you receive one from someone else. The gal who I'm sewing for sent me two boxy dresses that I was able to turn into a nursing-friendly dress for her and a matching baby dress. There's some waste inherent in cutting up a perfectly good (if unworn) garment to make something new, but the baby dress helped reduce that and the rest will get cut up into squares for a future postage stamp quilt.

* BIG KAHUNA: In honor of America's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords, I switched to our electric company's "Green Rate." For a 20 percent premium, all of our electricity will be sourced from renewable sources. We have a very low and ever decreasing electric bill so this will not be a budget buster for us. Politicians are (apparently) useless. Personal action is paramount.

Way to go! We don't have this option where we live or I'd do it in a heartbeat.

[Anatidae V]

My cloth nappies are ordered and DH is onboard with using them during the day at home to start with. I hope we find them easy, though washing is one of the few tasks I'm actually keeping on top of at the moment. We got PUL covers, cotton prefolds and reusable liners. I'm putting a jar of water on the change table so we can use tiny towels as cloth wipes as well :)

I ordered reusable produce bags from onya.com.au, as well as compostable kitty/dog poop bags, and a reusable coffee cup. That cuts out a lot of our common disposable plastic use without any effort on our part.

[I'm a red panda]

We replaced our 2.5 gpm Moen shower head with a 1.5 gpm Niagara. We love it and it saves a gallon a minute!

We were able to sell the moen, so it wasn't just discarded!

[HappierAtHome]

Unintentional: apparently I only wash my hair once a week now. My scalp must have adjusted quickly as it's not looking too greasy. My hair is thick and takes forever to wash properly in the shower, so this is saving a lot of water!

[Monocle Money Mouth]

A former coworker left but never turned off her computer before quitting. I made sure to turn it off. It would probably still be running if I had not powered it off.

[Tyson]

Unintentional: apparently I only wash my hair once a week now. My scalp must have adjusted quickly as it's not looking too greasy. My hair is thick and takes forever to wash properly in the shower, so this is saving a lot of water!

I also only do that once a week.  My skin is a lot healthier new as a result.  And you are right, the hair adjusts.  One thing I do is shave my armpits (I'm a guy), because I realized it's the hair that makes the pits stinky, getting rid of it makes things much nicer.  Plus I can do a quick wash of the pits if they do get a little smelly. 

[Linea_Norway]

Hung up 3 loads of laundry outside to dry. On the first batch some had dried already so that I could make place to hang up load nbr 3.

[jengod]

Rode my bicycle to a planning meeting. Good exercise, plus didn't have to park.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Cold-washed, line-dried washing.

Took cloth bags to buy groceries.

(I still need a better solution for buying loose fruit and veg rather than the plastic bags - I've heard zippered mesh lingerie bags work well - but in the meantime I'm re-using the same couple of plastic bags over and over.)

Currently sitting here with no lights on, mostly because the sun is going down and I haven't gotten up yet.

We had a houseguest last night and I got talking power prices with him and told him about my war against leaving lights/appliances on unnecessarily. I was stoked to see that when he went to his room a couple of times during the evening to get something, he turned the light off before coming back to the lounge room.

I need to say something to my BiL who will let himself in, turn three lights on the way to his room, shower for half an hour then go to bed with everything still turned on...

[Anatidae V]

(I still need a better solution for buying loose fruit and veg rather than the plastic bags - I've heard zippered mesh lingerie bags work well - but in the meantime I'm re-using the same couple of plastic bags over and over.)

That's basically what the bags I bought from Onya are - they're an Australian company, too :)

[Linea_Norway]

(I still need a better solution for buying loose fruit and veg rather than the plastic bags - I've heard zippered mesh lingerie bags work well - but in the meantime I'm re-using the same couple of plastic bags over and over.)

That's basically what the bags I bought from Onya are - they're an Australian company, too :)

On TV some time ago they tested bringing a plastic container. This worked, although it takes some more time when paying. They need to way the empty container before waying the food. So you'll need to bring an extra similar container as well.

[aetherie]

(I still need a better solution for buying loose fruit and veg rather than the plastic bags - I've heard zippered mesh lingerie bags work well - but in the meantime I'm re-using the same couple of plastic bags over and over.)

I have a set of these and like them.

[mustachepungoeshere]

(I still need a better solution for buying loose fruit and veg rather than the plastic bags - I've heard zippered mesh lingerie bags work well - but in the meantime I'm re-using the same couple of plastic bags over and over.)

That's basically what the bags I bought from Onya are - they're an Australian company, too :)

Thanks for the recommendation, Anatidae V, I bought those yesterday.

Very excited for them to arrive.

A friend messaged me to say she bought a reusable cup for takeaway coffee. She isn't working so I don't think she should be buying takeaway coffee at all, but at least she's being environmentally-conscious.

[Trifle]

I am continuing to learn about hypermiling.  I have now added a total of 6 mpg to my fuel economy, just by inflating my tires higher and driving differently.  Now that I have this mindset, I shake my head at all the bad/fuel-wasting driving behavior I see.  Looking forward to FIRE, when driving will be a rare occurrence for me.     

[Linea_Norway]

Walked to work for the second time this week.

[VeggieTable]

(I still need a better solution for buying loose fruit and veg rather than the plastic bags - I've heard zippered mesh lingerie bags work well - but in the meantime I'm re-using the same couple of plastic bags over and over.)

I have a set of these and like them.

These look awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[nick663]

LED projector bulbs were on sale so I bought the max (12) for our kitchen.  I need to pick one more up this week and I think the whole interior of the house will be on LED or CFL bulbs.  Based on my calculations, they'll pay for themselves in just over a year.

This is the 3rd place I've moved into where the previous owner still had incandescent bulbs.  I don't understand it.

[jengod]

Rode my bike twice instead of taking out the car.

Cloth diapered the baby.

Harvested more homegrown comfrey and curly dock to use as plant food for our small trees.

[Trifle]

Harvested more homegrown comfrey and curly dock to use as plant food for our small trees.

Jengod -- do you chop it up and top-dress the soil with it?  Do you compost it first, or add it green?  Thanks!

[Chaplin]

This is the 3rd place I've moved into where the previous owner still had incandescent bulbs.  I don't understand it.

I wouldn't be surprised if some, or even many people kept their old incandescents to put back in upon selling so they can take their LED bulbs with them.

[Linea_Norway]

This is the 3rd place I've moved into where the previous owner still had incandescent bulbs.  I don't understand it.

I wouldn't be surprised if some, or even many people kept their old incandescents to put back in upon selling so they can take their LED bulbs with them.

Could be true. We did this with an advanced wall ventilator. This thing cost 400 euro and we didn't want to give it away to the new owner of the house. We replaced it with an el cheapo ventilation vent before the viewing. I did not replace light bulbs, though.

[jengod]

Harvested more homegrown comfrey and curly dock to use as plant food for our small trees.

Jengod -- do you chop it up and top-dress the soil with it?  Do you compost it first, or add it green?  Thanks!

Top dress! I hardly even chop it, just drop it in piles at the base of the trees. It sort of shrivel-dries in the sun into a mulch. I also throw extra greens on the continuous batch compost pile and to the chickens. I think the "correct" way to do it is to make comfrey tea: soak it in water and then aerate it with a pond pump. It smells like hell rot but it's very rich in microbes for your soil. However, I'm too lazy for this and prefer a no-till, chop-and-drop permaculture style of sheet mulching.

[Teachstache]

I rode my bike to work, our family (2 adults, 1 kid) took our 100% electric Nissan Leaf downtown to hear an outdoor concert last night, so no petrol used for transportation yesterday.

Today, I used a full rain barrel to water our 4 zucchini plants, 9 tomato plants, and 5 varieties of herbs that we planted in our backyard garden.

Hanging clothes out on our umbrella dryer this morning.

Using cloth diapers on my not yet potty trained 2 year old son.

However, we DO have a home air conditioner set on 76, and we do use electricity to run 4 crypto currency miners 24/7 on a 240 volt line in our basement (which runs 10% more efficiently than using a 120 volt outlet).

[frooglepoodle]

Planned menu to stretch a single, 4lb whole chicken into 3 dinners + leftovers + broth. Gave some of the broth away to my brother in case we don't have a chance to use it.

Hung dry all of my laundry this week. Have been working on getting DH to line dry at least some of his clothes - he's started hanging his athletic-fabric polo shirts and some of his workout gear since it dries so quickly. Progress!

[Poundwise]

Oops, wrong topic!  Well, I'm drying some laundry on the line and I am trying to freecycle some icepacks that I got through BlueApron.

Replaced gas burner tube and igniter in oven.  Tube had a hole in it next to the igniter, which was probably reason why igniters were burning out so fast.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

I did some research on what else can be safely thrown on our compost heap. I didn't realize you could compost coffee filters and stale bread. The stale bread doesn't last long. I'm guessing the birds and raccoons are probably getting to it before it has a chance to break down. I'd rather they get to it from the compost heap than by getting in to our trash can. 

[Trifle]

I did some research on what else can be safely thrown on our compost heap. I didn't realize you could compost coffee filters and stale bread. The stale bread doesn't last long. I'm guessing the birds and raccoons are probably getting to it before it has a chance to break down. I'd rather they get to it from the compost heap than by getting in to our trash can.

Congrats Mies!  Composting is super enjoyable.  Also fine to compost FYI -- eggshells, hair/fur, used paper napkins and paper towels, dryer lint, newspaper, cardboard, and much more.  www.smallfootprintfamily.com/100-things-you-can-compost 

if you have animals, poop and wood/paper/straw-based bedding from vegetarian pets or livestock (rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, sheep, horses, cows, etc) is A-OK and can go straight in.   Poop from omnivores (chickens) should be aged a few months before it goes in, and poop from carnivores (cats, dogs) is a no-go.     

[Monocle Money Mouth]

I did some research on what else can be safely thrown on our compost heap. I didn't realize you could compost coffee filters and stale bread. The stale bread doesn't last long. I'm guessing the birds and raccoons are probably getting to it before it has a chance to break down. I'd rather they get to it from the compost heap than by getting in to our trash can.

Congrats Mies!  Composting is super enjoyable.  Also fine to compost FYI -- eggshells, hair/fur, used paper napkins and paper towels, dryer lint, newspaper, cardboard, and much more.  www.smallfootprintfamily.com/100-things-you-can-compost 

if you have animals, poop and wood/paper/straw-based bedding from vegetarian pets or livestock (rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, sheep, horses, cows, etc) is A-OK and can go straight in.   Poop from omnivores (chickens) should be aged a few months before it goes in, and poop from carnivores (cats, dogs) is a no-go.   

Thanks! We've been composting vegetable peels and egg shells for awhile, I just never thought to look any deeper than that. That's at least a little less stuff to be hauled away by the garbage truck.

We don't have any pets, so we don't put any dookie the compost.

[Linea_Norway]

My DH has been freediving today in the Oslo fjord and picked up 20 or so pieces of fishing lures made of lead. Last week he also removed a ghost net for catching crabs (netbthat is forgotten by owner).

[frooglepoodle]

It's going to hit the mid-90's today and I don't want to turn on the oven. I'm experimenting with baking bread on our gas grill using a dutch oven.

[VeggieTable]

I did some research on what else can be safely thrown on our compost heap. I didn't realize you could compost coffee filters and stale bread. The stale bread doesn't last long. I'm guessing the birds and raccoons are probably getting to it before it has a chance to break down. I'd rather they get to it from the compost heap than by getting in to our trash can.

Congrats Mies!  Composting is super enjoyable.  Also fine to compost FYI -- eggshells, hair/fur, used paper napkins and paper towels, dryer lint, newspaper, cardboard, and much more.  www.smallfootprintfamily.com/100-things-you-can-compost 

if you have animals, poop and wood/paper/straw-based bedding from vegetarian pets or livestock (rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, sheep, horses, cows, etc) is A-OK and can go straight in.   Poop from omnivores (chickens) should be aged a few months before it goes in, and poop from carnivores (cats, dogs) is a no-go.   

Quoting you, Trifele, since you seem knowledgeable - do you compost egg cartons? The ones I get from Aldi are made from "100% reclaimed paper" (whatever that means) so I'm wondering if I can throw them on my compost pile...should I cut them up first?

[Trifle]

I did some research on what else can be safely thrown on our compost heap. I didn't realize you could compost coffee filters and stale bread. The stale bread doesn't last long. I'm guessing the birds and raccoons are probably getting to it before it has a chance to break down. I'd rather they get to it from the compost heap than by getting in to our trash can.

Congrats Mies!  Composting is super enjoyable.  Also fine to compost FYI -- eggshells, hair/fur, used paper napkins and paper towels, dryer lint, newspaper, cardboard, and much more.  www.smallfootprintfamily.com/100-things-you-can-compost 

if you have animals, poop and wood/paper/straw-based bedding from vegetarian pets or livestock (rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, sheep, horses, cows, etc) is A-OK and can go straight in.   Poop from omnivores (chickens) should be aged a few months before it goes in, and poop from carnivores (cats, dogs) is a no-go.   

Quoting you, Trifele, since you seem knowledgeable - do you compost egg cartons? The ones I get from Aldi are made from "100% reclaimed paper" (whatever that means) so I'm wondering if I can throw them on my compost pile...should I cut them up first?

Yes, as long as they are paper-based and not styrofoam, you can certainly put egg cartons in.  Cutting them up will make them decompose faster.

[mustachepungoeshere]

I did some research on what else can be safely thrown on our compost heap. I didn't realize you could compost coffee filters and stale bread. The stale bread doesn't last long. I'm guessing the birds and raccoons are probably getting to it before it has a chance to break down. I'd rather they get to it from the compost heap than by getting in to our trash can.

Congrats Mies!  Composting is super enjoyable.  Also fine to compost FYI -- eggshells, hair/fur, used paper napkins and paper towels, dryer lint, newspaper, cardboard, and much more.  www.smallfootprintfamily.com/100-things-you-can-compost 

if you have animals, poop and wood/paper/straw-based bedding from vegetarian pets or livestock (rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, sheep, horses, cows, etc) is A-OK and can go straight in.   Poop from omnivores (chickens) should be aged a few months before it goes in, and poop from carnivores (cats, dogs) is a no-go.   

Quoting you, Trifele, since you seem knowledgeable - do you compost egg cartons? The ones I get from Aldi are made from "100% reclaimed paper" (whatever that means) so I'm wondering if I can throw them on my compost pile...should I cut them up first?

Yes, as long as they are paper-based and not styrofoam, you can certainly put egg cartons in.  Cutting them up will make them decompose faster.

Another option - if you know anyone with chickens - is to ask if they need cartons.

I have family members who are very generous with their eggs but it is BYO carton.

[Trifle]

I did some research on what else can be safely thrown on our compost heap. I didn't realize you could compost coffee filters and stale bread. The stale bread doesn't last long. I'm guessing the birds and raccoons are probably getting to it before it has a chance to break down. I'd rather they get to it from the compost heap than by getting in to our trash can.

Congrats Mies!  Composting is super enjoyable.  Also fine to compost FYI -- eggshells, hair/fur, used paper napkins and paper towels, dryer lint, newspaper, cardboard, and much more.  www.smallfootprintfamily.com/100-things-you-can-compost 

if you have animals, poop and wood/paper/straw-based bedding from vegetarian pets or livestock (rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, sheep, horses, cows, etc) is A-OK and can go straight in.   Poop from omnivores (chickens) should be aged a few months before it goes in, and poop from carnivores (cats, dogs) is a no-go.   

Quoting you, Trifele, since you seem knowledgeable - do you compost egg cartons? The ones I get from Aldi are made from "100% reclaimed paper" (whatever that means) so I'm wondering if I can throw them on my compost pile...should I cut them up first?

Yes, as long as they are paper-based and not styrofoam, you can certainly put egg cartons in.  Cutting them up will make them decompose faster.

Another option - if you know anyone with chickens - is to ask if they need cartons.

I have family members who are very generous with their eggs but it is BYO carton.

That is too funny, MustachePun -- I have chickens and just ran out of cartons today (giving away eggs).  You are right!  I would love it if someone gave me some cartons. 

[Linea_Norway]

I am working on my DH to convince him that this summer, we don't need to take an airplane to the very north of Norway to go fishing. I rather want to go to some national park much further south that we can reach by driving the car. Then we are talking about 1000km instead of 2500km. And there are also nice trouts, although not as extremely big as some that are in the north.

[JLR]

I'm putting a jar of water on the change table so we can use tiny towels as cloth wipes as well :)

I used to put warm water in the thermos on a winter morning and use that to wet the cloth wipes.
Now my babies are all grown I use their old cloth wipes on myself for #1's.

Do Enjo still sell mesh veggie bags? I bought some about 10 years ago and still use them.

Today I tried to take a container back to The Body Shop to get it refilled. I think I showed how rarely I go in there, as apparently they stopped doing that a long time ago because they had to send the bottles back to the UK for refilling. But she was happy to put my empty bottle in her recycling bin so I could fit the new bottle in my backpack.

[Linea_Norway]

I did some research on what else can be safely thrown on our compost heap. I didn't realize you could compost coffee filters and stale bread. The stale bread doesn't last long. I'm guessing the birds and raccoons are probably getting to it before it has a chance to break down. I'd rather they get to it from the compost heap than by getting in to our trash can.

I haven throwing in coffee filters and tea bags and bread for a long time. Notice that some pyramid-shaped tea bags are made out of plastic and should be be thrown in. I also put in old flowers from my own garden and all stems and skins from food or leftover cooked food that is not enough to keep or spoiled food. Sometimes I throw in kitchen paper (unbleached) if it is drained in sauce or so and I cannot throw in into the paper bin. Eggshells and nutshells can be added.

What is not smart to add are bones from meat. This doesn't disappear fast enough. Also shrimp is really not smart. This will smell awfully for weeks and can be smelled from a long distance. We added old twigs from the garden to the compost bin. They are completely blocking the bin, so we can't get anything out from underneath. That was really not smart either. So don't throw in stuff that is hard and needs a really long time to decompose. Just soft fruit, veggies, meat cut-offs, plants, coffee and tea in recycle bags.

[Anatidae V]

I'm putting a jar of water on the change table so we can use tiny towels as cloth wipes as well :)

I used to put warm water in the thermos on a winter morning and use that to wet the cloth wipes.
Now my babies are all grown I use their old cloth wipes on myself for #1's.

Do Enjo still sell mesh veggie bags? I bought some about 10 years ago and still use them.

Today I tried to take a container back to The Body Shop to get it refilled. I think I showed how rarely I go in there, as apparently they stopped doing that a long time ago because they had to send the bottles back to the UK for refilling. But she was happy to put my empty bottle in her recycling bin so I could fit the new bottle in my backpack.

My mum used our old nappies as her favourite cleaning tags. I did my first full day of cloth nappies on the baby today. Nights are a challenge I'm not up for quite yet. I think our disposable nappy use is about to slow down a lot :)

[Anatidae V]

My DH has been taking his coffee to work in a reusable cup! An obvious change, but we had to try a couple of options to find one he likes.

[bucketsofrain]

Started composting! (I am on a monthlong vacation at my family's cabin; normally I live in a city with no outdoor space). Has anyone composted without an outdoor space? I am considering getting a worm composter (for smell issues), but am not sure what I would do with the resulting compost.

Also continuing to go around the house unplugging things that aren't being used and turning off the lights. I've turned into my dad.

[HappierAtHome]

Bucketsofrain, a bokashi bin might be a good option for you rather than traditional composting - worth looking into!

[Linea_Norway]

Walked to work again. This time on some other shoes (my comfy but neat looking go-to-the-office shoes), as my running shoes give me blisters all the time. So far so good with today's shoes. Let's hope my feet will still be fine after walking home.