Author Topic: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?  (Read 568966 times)

frooglepoodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1309
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #700 on: April 20, 2018, 04:53:45 AM »
My new thing is to let people know that all the plastic they ever used still exists.

I needed to read this today - illness has lead to far more plastic usage (primarily food packaging) than usual for our household.

I think you get a pass right now. Single use stuff for sick, injured or disabled people, and for hospitals & clinics, is totally ok in my book! The rest of the developed world just needs to slow the fuck down and take a look.

eta: #slowthefuckdown - the slow movement with a bit more bite.

Agreed. It is ENTIRELY appropriate for your situation.

I'm currently trying to plan ahead for late pregnancy and the first few weeks with a newborn to keep the packaging from getting out of control. But I, you know, have had notice and time to plan. That doesn't necessarily happen with illness.

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #701 on: April 22, 2018, 05:44:01 AM »
I have realised all over again that my menstrual is so much more convenient than the disposable pads and tampons I used before. Making the switch to cloth pads and a menstrual cup was daunting, but I'm so glad I did.

On that topic, today:
Used my menstrual cup and cloth pads.
Baby is in cloth nappies.
Cooked from unpackaged ingredients.
Washed clothes in cold water and line dried them.
Turned off the retic now that we're finally getting some rain.
Shifted potted plants to catch the rain.
Used warming up water from the shower to water plants that never get rained on.

Hirondelle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1598
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #702 on: April 22, 2018, 05:59:32 AM »
I have realised all over again that my menstrual is so much more convenient than the disposable pads and tampons I used before. Making the switch to cloth pads and a menstrual cup was daunting, but I'm so glad I did.

On that topic, today:
Used my menstrual cup and cloth pads.

Ohh never realized how using the cup was also an environmental win. Used mine for the whole past week and it's soooo much better than tampons. I still have friends who say they find it gross, but I find tampons much much more gross!

I also went to the market yesterday and got quite some unpacked veggies.

chaskavitch

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Fort Collins, CO
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #703 on: April 22, 2018, 06:42:59 AM »
I have realised all over again that my menstrual is so much more convenient than the disposable pads and tampons I used before. Making the switch to cloth pads and a menstrual cup was daunting, but I'm so glad I did.

On that topic, today:
Used my menstrual cup and cloth pads.

Ohh never realized how using the cup was also an environmental win. Used mine for the whole past week and it's soooo much better than tampons. I still have friends who say they find it gross, but I find tampons much much more gross!

I also went to the market yesterday and got quite some unpacked veggies.

I post this literally every time anyone in any forum/FB post mentions their menstrual cup, lol. 

I feel like my cramps are at least 10x better with a cup than they were with a tampon.  The whole process is far more manageable for me, and the cup lasts so much longer between changes than tampons do!  I recommend them to EVERYONE.  I've had my cups for far longer than the manufacturer recommends (>10 years), but they are still clean and perfectly usable.

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #704 on: April 22, 2018, 07:18:41 PM »
I have realised all over again that my menstrual is so much more convenient than the disposable pads and tampons I used before. Making the switch to cloth pads and a menstrual cup was daunting, but I'm so glad I did.

On that topic, today:
Used my menstrual cup and cloth pads.

Ohh never realized how using the cup was also an environmental win. Used mine for the whole past week and it's soooo much better than tampons. I still have friends who say they find it gross, but I find tampons much much more gross!

I also went to the market yesterday and got quite some unpacked veggies.

I post this literally every time anyone in any forum/FB post mentions their menstrual cup, lol. 

I feel like my cramps are at least 10x better with a cup than they were with a tampon.  The whole process is far more manageable for me, and the cup lasts so much longer between changes than tampons do!  I recommend them to EVERYONE.  I've had my cups for far longer than the manufacturer recommends (>10 years), but they are still clean and perfectly usable.

It's the long lasting bit that really does it for me - I LOVE not having to worry about emptying my cup for twelve hours at a time. I sleep so much better than I do wearing a pad. It's just awesome!

jengod

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1219
  • Location: Near LAX
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #705 on: April 22, 2018, 10:45:59 PM »
Car-free weekend!

I, too, used a menstrual cup!


Linea_Norway

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8569
  • Location: Norway
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #706 on: April 23, 2018, 02:12:51 AM »
I have probably written it here before. We have a project where we receive warm water from the neighbours who produce this with their mountain warmth pump. There are supposed to be solar panels set up as well, but after 2,5 years, these are still not in place. Maybe this summer, but I've heard this before...

We have been running the project the whole winter. When we started in October, the water entering our house was 32C. This went into our CV kettle that has a lowest temperature of 30C. So in October, the CV kettle didn't have to work to warm up the water for the floor heating. Unfortunately, the shower water is not going through the same system and needs to be warmed up seperately.
But as the days got colder, the water entering our house got colder. At the coldest, it was down at 25C, while 26C was very common. This water was warmed up by our kettle to 30C and then sent in the floor.
As long as we took care the thermostat didn't switch off, the water we returned was colder than the water coming in. We put the thermostat on 23C (much too warm for our house), and the house got 18C at max in practice.

Yesterday we finally had a meeting with the neighbours about this system. We told our experiences. Turns out the neighbour has been receiving 32-33C warm water into his house. While our water was down to 26C. And it is coming from the same large tank. Something weird was going in. So we did a test with changed water pressure and putting the pump higher. That worked, the water into our house changed to 32C.

It is a pity that we didn't have a meeting earlier. It didn't help that the neighbour who has this system in his house was living in south America for the last half year. So there was no one around who actually understood the system. But at least now, we find that now (when the weather is a lot warmer than in the winter) the system works well, with 2 of the 3 houses connected. But we still don't know who it will work when all 3 houses are connected and lived in and it is a proper winter.

Because we have been receiving so little warm water, which was so cold, the neighbours have decided that we didn't have to pay for this winter.

We saved 17% of our energy bill. We presume that the warmth pump at the neighbour's house uses less than our saved amount to warm up the water. When the solar panels ever are in place, this should be the main heating source in all months except for November to February.

I really want this to work, as it will make our house a lot more energy efficient. When we sell it (in a year or 2 when we start FIRE, hopefully), we can also sell it as a house with a (partly) green energy solution.

Linea_Norway

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8569
  • Location: Norway
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #707 on: April 23, 2018, 02:17:00 AM »
I have realised all over again that my menstrual is so much more convenient than the disposable pads and tampons I used before. Making the switch to cloth pads and a menstrual cup was daunting, but I'm so glad I did.

On that topic, today:
Used my menstrual cup and cloth pads.

Ohh never realized how using the cup was also an environmental win. Used mine for the whole past week and it's soooo much better than tampons. I still have friends who say they find it gross, but I find tampons much much more gross!

I also went to the market yesterday and got quite some unpacked veggies.

I post this literally every time anyone in any forum/FB post mentions their menstrual cup, lol. 

I feel like my cramps are at least 10x better with a cup than they were with a tampon.  The whole process is far more manageable for me, and the cup lasts so much longer between changes than tampons do!  I recommend them to EVERYONE.  I've had my cups for far longer than the manufacturer recommends (>10 years), but they are still clean and perfectly usable.

It's the long lasting bit that really does it for me - I LOVE not having to worry about emptying my cup for twelve hours at a time. I sleep so much better than I do wearing a pad. It's just awesome!

I have also converted to the combination of cloth pads and cup. The cup is great at night and doesn't leak like any type of pad does. But I don't want to use it at work, even though we have many handicap toilets with water in the cubicle. I have also noticed it fills up quickly when I'm hiking in the forest. So I don't want to rely on it.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #708 on: April 23, 2018, 01:39:06 PM »
Yesterday I was in the garage, about to throw out my bike tire (bulging sidewall after three years of service) when I looked down at the old belt that I had tossed in the trash earlier that morning.  Pulled the belt buckle off, used some tin snips to cut my bike tire into a long strip roughly the same width and length as the ruined leather belt, drilled some holes at appropriate locations . . .

Today I'm wearing a cool looking, comfortable belt.

Fishindude

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3075
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #709 on: April 25, 2018, 10:55:04 AM »
Planted six Persimmon trees on the back forty near the pond.  Should be an excellent wildlife food source sometime in the future.

Linea_Norway

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8569
  • Location: Norway
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #710 on: April 30, 2018, 12:27:32 PM »
Visiting a shop that we usually don't visit because it is out of our route. We found another shop in the same chain at a convenient place along the route we drove today for another purpose.

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #711 on: April 30, 2018, 05:21:51 PM »
We're having issues with Baby Ewok wetting straight through his nappies, and Mr Happier has been musing on the possibility of switching to disposables during the day (we already use a disposable overnight). I showed him this image yesterday and his immediate response was "shit, no way we can switch to disposables and do THAT". Crisis averted.

Frugal Lizard

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5582
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Southwest Ontario
  • One foot in front of the other....
Re: What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?
« Reply #712 on: April 30, 2018, 06:58:34 PM »
We're having issues with Baby Ewok wetting straight through his nappies, and Mr Happier has been musing on the possibility of switching to disposables during the day (we already use a disposable overnight). I showed him this image yesterday and his immediate response was "shit, no way we can switch to disposables and do THAT". Crisis averted.
Might be time to change the size or design of the diaper.  We had to make adjustments a couple of times with each kid to prevent the leaks.

chaskavitch

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Fort Collins, CO
We're having issues with Baby Ewok wetting straight through his nappies, and Mr Happier has been musing on the possibility of switching to disposables during the day (we already use a disposable overnight). I showed him this image yesterday and his immediate response was "shit, no way we can switch to disposables and do THAT". Crisis averted.
Might be time to change the size or design of the diaper.  We had to make adjustments a couple of times with each kid to prevent the leaks.

I recently started doubling up on inserts because our toddler is peeing through too.  The only problem is that he seems fairly susceptible to diaper rashes, and DH doesn't change him often enough in reusables, so then we go back to disposables so we can use the super-effective rash cream :(  The same thing happens at daycare, so we're only using cloth 3 days a week, and that picture @HappierAtHome posted makes my brain hurt.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I pulled apart my winter bike hubs this year to discover that the grease had mostly washed out and the cones were slightly pitted.  I removed one cone easily and replaced it, but the other one is welded on with corrosion.  Checked everwhere for spare parts but couldn't find them for the hub (some kind of generic asian one.  Rather than throw it out, I attached the axle with the stuck cone it to my trusty cordless drill busted out some sandpaper of varying grits, and spent a few hours sanding the cone smooth again.  After re-assembling the hub, it spins beautifully now and hopefully I'll get another winter out of it.

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
This morning I asked a local independent grocery shop whether they would start stocking more packaging-free lines. They said they're working on it!! This is the only place I can get unpackaged nuts, beans etc anywhere near home, so if they keep moving towards plastic-free that will be fantastic for me.

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Request for help: I need to buy bigger inserts for my cloth nappies and am looking for alternatives to my current brand, that will work with my shells. Some light googling has not brought up other brands of cloth nappies with inserts I can snap into my shells. My inserts are as per the attached picture, with a snap at each end, and they are sized. All I want is sized inserts with a snap at each end. Anyone know a brand off the top of their head?

chaskavitch

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Fort Collins, CO
Request for help: I need to buy bigger inserts for my cloth nappies and am looking for alternatives to my current brand, that will work with my shells. Some light googling has not brought up other brands of cloth nappies with inserts I can snap into my shells. My inserts are as per the attached picture, with a snap at each end, and they are sized. All I want is sized inserts with a snap at each end. Anyone know a brand off the top of their head?

@HappierAtHome Do you have to have snaps?  A lot of inserts will stay in place once they're on the baby, it just takes a little bit longer to get them on.  What kind of shells do you have? 

From a quick Googling, here in the US Alvababy and Lalabye diapers have sized inserts with snaps.  The Alvababy inserts have snaps only on one end, and the Lalaybe have a larger insert with snaps on both ends, and a doubler with one snap that you can add to the first insert.  I have mostly pocket diapers - more pricy, but I find stuffing them to be pretty easy/relaxing.

Other thought - could you just get a snap fastener tool and add snaps to inserts that are the right size?  I'd never considered it before, but the snaps are the same type you see on the fronts of most PUL diapers.

chaskavitch

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Fort Collins, CO
I made yogurt this weekend!  We've started getting milk delivered, and we're getting WAY too much, so I decided to try, and it actually worked!  Flavored with some blackberry jam I made last year, it's pretty good.

Hula Hoop

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1762
  • Location: Italy
I used the chicken stock that I made earlier in the week with the leftover bones from a roast chicken to make a soup for lunch.  I also talked my husband out of going out for pizza last night just because he didn't feel like cooking even though we have a fridge full of food.


HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Request for help: I need to buy bigger inserts for my cloth nappies and am looking for alternatives to my current brand, that will work with my shells. Some light googling has not brought up other brands of cloth nappies with inserts I can snap into my shells. My inserts are as per the attached picture, with a snap at each end, and they are sized. All I want is sized inserts with a snap at each end. Anyone know a brand off the top of their head?

@HappierAtHome Do you have to have snaps?  A lot of inserts will stay in place once they're on the baby, it just takes a little bit longer to get them on.  What kind of shells do you have? 

From a quick Googling, here in the US Alvababy and Lalabye diapers have sized inserts with snaps.  The Alvababy inserts have snaps only on one end, and the Lalaybe have a larger insert with snaps on both ends, and a doubler with one snap that you can add to the first insert.  I have mostly pocket diapers - more pricy, but I find stuffing them to be pretty easy/relaxing.

Other thought - could you just get a snap fastener tool and add snaps to inserts that are the right size?  I'd never considered it before, but the snaps are the same type you see on the fronts of most PUL diapers.

Thanks chaskavitch! I have Best Bottoms shells, which are basically a PUL nappy cover with snaps at each end for the insert.

I will totally consider adding snaps if I can find the right size (HUGE) inserts without snaps. Better still, a Perth MMMer has offered to lend me her snap press if I do that. Right now I'm weighing up whether it would actually be cheaper to sew my own inserts rather than buy the extra large Best Bottoms ones, or buy another brand and add snaps... and weighing up how many spoons (energy units) it would take, too.

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
I have been planning to dig up my strawberry plants for some time, but wanted to wait until I found someone who would take them. A friend mentioned she wants to try growing strawberries - perfect!! No need for the plants to go to waste.

MrDelane

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 618
We used to go through a lot of sandwich sized ziploc bags.
Anytime we had a bit of leftover whatever, it went into a plastic bag.
And, most of the time, once that leftover was eaten (within just a few days) then the bag went in the trash.

We use some tupperware, but never seemed to have enough of the right size. Well, we got a set of small mason jars which we are using in place of ziplock bags. It's only been a week and we already see the difference.

And, bonus, since they're glass and sit vertically in the fridge its MUCH easier to see what we have.

Hopefully this is just the first step in significantly reducing our plastic consumption.

EDITED TO ADD:
I should probably mention that I never would have thought about it if it hadn't been for this site.  So thank you to this community for opening my eyes a bit more.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2018, 08:19:00 PM by MrDelane »

jengod

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1219
  • Location: Near LAX
* Harvested some Swiss chard from the backyard for dinner, used it as the greens in this one-skillet sweet potato-bean dish we like.

* Decanted a 3L jar of citrus vinegar to use for cleaning
« Last Edit: May 07, 2018, 12:35:30 AM by jengod »

Linea_Norway

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8569
  • Location: Norway
Walked to work and will walk back again this afternoon.

BookLoverL

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 431
  • Location: England
I've been doing some weeding in advance of planting my vegetable garden this year. Delicious herbicide-and-pesticide-free produce with no shipping miles, you say? Mmm...

I persuaded my mum to buy British-grown red cabbage instead of Savoy cabbage from Spain, which I'm sure would have more air miles to it.

On Saturday I walked the half an hour to the village pop-up cafe event instead of driving there (5 mins each way) and using up the fuel.

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Working my way through the freezer contents to make sure we use everything in a timely fashion to minimise food waste.

Making baby food (finger foods and purees) from unpackaged ingredients.

Baby and I are both dressed warmly so we don't have to put the heater on (our house gets COLD in Autumn and Winter).

As always, cloth nappies.

TheWifeHalf

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 506
I dug up 54 dandelions instead of using chemicals

HouseofLife

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Awesome thread! Today I:

Rode my bike to work (about 1.6 miles to and from work)

Made my own coffee in the morning, reducing the need for a cup of coffee at the store.

Left the light off at the office and let natural light come in (feels healthier!)


dashuk

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 362
Off work sick today. To pass the time after I eventually dragged myself out of bed around lunchtime I sat and fixed three t-shirts that had started to come apart at various seams and replaced the velcro fly on a pair of board shorts. All back into circulation rather than needing to be replaced.

However I am currently more proud of the fact OH has just trundled off with the bike trailer to pick up a huge load of used kids clothes. Putting the kids in used clothes and then passing them on again afterwards is of course good in itself,  but while OH rides quite a lot, it's usually with me rather than alone, and I usually do the hauling of stuff. If I wasn't sick, I'd probably have done this trip. In the circumstances she could easily have decided to take the car. Did I mention that it's a ten mile round trip and it started drizzling just as we got the bike out? Reasonable badassity upgrade in my opinion.

Also this week, we (read: she) has managed to find a different cloth nappy/diaper setup that works overnight for both kids. We've mostly used cloth with both in the daytime, but wound up using disposables overnight. Should now be down to just using disposables for holidays where we don't have access to a washing machine (camping).

jengod

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1219
  • Location: Near LAX
Walked two miles each way to get the kiddos from school.

Made a flower arrangement for the dinner table from what's growing in our backyard rather than buying a bouquet grown far away and shipped in by truck

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
We decided not to buy any decorations, party favours etc for the small afternoon tea we're hosting for Baby Ewok's first birthday. Today on Buy Nothing a gorgeous gold "one" balloon popped up - going to landfill if no-one wanted it. Perfect! I don't ever want to buy another balloon in my life now that I know how terrible they are for the environment, but reusing one that would otherwise be thrown out really appeals to me. I expect I can find another home for it afterwards, too!

Fresh Bread

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3370
  • Location: Australia
  • Insert dough/bread/crust joke
We decided not to buy any decorations, party favours etc for the small afternoon tea we're hosting for Baby Ewok's first birthday. Today on Buy Nothing a gorgeous gold "one" balloon popped up - going to landfill if no-one wanted it. Perfect! I don't ever want to buy another balloon in my life now that I know how terrible they are for the environment, but reusing one that would otherwise be thrown out really appeals to me. I expect I can find another home for it afterwards, too!

Yes I always see occasion balloons being given away, what a score!

Hirondelle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1598
We decided not to buy any decorations, party favours etc for the small afternoon tea we're hosting for Baby Ewok's first birthday. Today on Buy Nothing a gorgeous gold "one" balloon popped up - going to landfill if no-one wanted it. Perfect! I don't ever want to buy another balloon in my life now that I know how terrible they are for the environment, but reusing one that would otherwise be thrown out really appeals to me. I expect I can find another home for it afterwards, too!

Such an amazing coincidence! Love those giveaway groups on Facebook.
And good job on not buying any decorations  single use decorations are so bad, so unnecessary and such an easily avoidable category of waste. Hope more people will follow your example!

I've eaten vegetarian and mostly vegan for the past weeks.

Walked to work (instead of biking so no environmental win there)

Haven't heated my place since April or so?

Barely use the light as the sun is up from 5.30 AM till 9 PM.

My roommates are kinda bad leaving the kitchen and hallway lights on 24/7, so I turn them off whenever I walk through the house.

Imma

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3193
  • Location: Europe
I'm staying home today to work on some coursework, with a few books borrowed from the libary and many digital files downloaded from the online library. I have not printed a single thing and I won't even have to print this essay once it's finished. Back when I first went to uni, I remember I looked up physical magazines quite a lot and copied articles. Everyone did that even though many publications were already available online: we simply didn't have a device to bring with us to class to store it on and internet connections at home were slow. I'm not even 30 yet but when I first went to uni laptops weren't common and I don't think smartphones actually existed. Everyone used pens and paper. Writing essays has become a lot more convenient now I have a fast laptop on my kitchen table and almost every publication you need available online.

I did two loads of laundry and line dried them. Will hopefully do some mending tonight. I've ripped the only pair of jeans I have left and even though the fabric is getting really thin, hopefully mending them will allow me to wear them for another month or so. I ride my bike a lot so jeans wear out quite fast. I get all my jeans secondhand and generally wear them out in about 6 months. I haven't had time to go thrift shopping for new-to-me jeans yet. It always amazes me how many women get rid of barely worn jeans from expensive brands.

Hirondelle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1598
Oh Imma it's actually really good that you avoid printing stuff. I'm still really bad at that. I just prefer paper so much compared to reading from a screen. I also can't get myself to getting an e-reader no matter in how many ways it is more convenient than regular books. And reading academic papers on my laptop is horror due to my endless ways to distract myself online. Just having it printed out in front of me while all electronics are off ensures that I'll actually read it.

frooglepoodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1309
Meal planned and batch cooked to reduce food waste. Shopped at our farmer's market to reduce food miles. Picked up our weekly milk delivery (in glass!) and chatted with the dairy farmer about how to make homemade cottage cheese with the milk leftover from last week. I love living in an area with a robust agricultural community!

Checked out two ebooks from the library to read on my Kindle.

DH is cutting the grass with our reel mower.

This afternoon I'm going to do shorten the sleeves on a long-sleeved maternity dress so I can continue wearing it for the remainder of my pregnancy. More wardrobe options (and less laundry) with zero extra resource use. The cut-off sleeves will go into my scrap bin for kid sewing.

Imma

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3193
  • Location: Europe
Oh Imma it's actually really good that you avoid printing stuff. I'm still really bad at that. I just prefer paper so much compared to reading from a screen. I also can't get myself to getting an e-reader no matter in how many ways it is more convenient than regular books. And reading academic papers on my laptop is horror due to my endless ways to distract myself online. Just having it printed out in front of me while all electronics are off ensures that I'll actually read it.

It took some training for me as well, but there are clear advantages too, like using ctrl-f to search for the exact piece of information you need. I don't have an e-reader, I read articles on my laptop (I download the pdf, I get distracted when I read it straight from the browser). I have a free app on my phone that I use to read novels on the train.

AnnaGrowsAMustache

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1941
  • Location: Noo Zilind
My chickens bed down in paper shredding from my office, which then goes on the compost and finally the garden. The chickens clean up the food the cat leaves, and any other leftovers, and turn it into eggs.

I reuse jars, plastic bags etc etc.

Most of my environmental impact stuff is because I'm cheap, not because I'm environmentally aware!

jengod

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1219
  • Location: Near LAX
* Old-fashioned all-metal safety razor

* Cloth diapers, working on potty-training the baby

* Cooked at home

* Bamboo toothbrush instead of plastic handle

* Bar soap instead of plastic-bottled "body wash"

Anatidae V

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7626
  • Age: 34
  • Location: Fourecks
  • Nullus Anxietas
Today I:
- line dried a load of washing
- used some cloth nappies
- fed toddler "big people" food, mostly leftovers including rice, lentils, banana, hummus and crackers... Actually, I think today we were vegetarian!
- Enjoyed the pleasant weather!

Poundwise

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2076
These comments are so enjoyable to read. I walk 5-6 days per week, taking various routes through my town. The last couple weeks I've starting picking up the misc garbage and recycling that tends to get blown out of cans on windy days.

Confirmed that my new office mate knows where the recycling cans are and emphasized that we are big in recycling (he throws his recycling in his trash can daily). The majority of us use reusable water bottles and coffee/tea mugs but he is a 10 cup of coffee, take a new paper cup each time, plus 3 plastic water bottles a day kind of a guy so I likely wasted my breath. Oh well.

How about getting him a beautiful new mug of his own at some point? Or a reusable water bottle with his name on it? I wouldn't give it as a pointed hint, but at some point when it seems reasonable to celebrate (like his birthday, minor promotion, or anniversary of his arrival)? Or give out free mugs/water bottles to a group of people and he gets one too?

In other words, you can't force him to reuse, but maybe if using a mug/bottle makes him feel good he will start.

jengod

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1219
  • Location: Near LAX
Cargo bike 4 miles round trip to pick up the kids from school. I think I found the route I can do without the elevation rise killing me while pushing three kids. (The big one should be able to ride by himself. Working on it.)

Hirondelle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1598
Refused a straw today

Phryne

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 79
- not so small but including cause it makes me ridiculously happy: Paid the deposit on our Solar Panels!

- small: continuing to pick every tomato with a hint of ripening and bringing them inside to ripen by the window (this is impressive as in the Central Victorian Highlands we’re reaching max temps of about 12°C now, how are these plants still growing?!)

- small: about to walk to the farmers market for ethical pork.

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
- not so small but including cause it makes me ridiculously happy: Paid the deposit on our Solar Panels!

Woo hoo!

Abe

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2647
Decided I'm just not going to use disposable plastic stuff anymore. No soda bottles, no straws, no disposable utensils. Read the latest National Geographic to see why.


Anatidae V

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7626
  • Age: 34
  • Location: Fourecks
  • Nullus Anxietas
I had an old friend over for lunch, no cafe outing, I made delicious food and amazing brownie for us to share.

My partner has been taking our toddler to the toy library with Nana, so instead of buying toys he's getting a constant mix of cool new stuff that we don't have to store!

Hung washing to dry on the line.

jengod

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1219
  • Location: Near LAX
Decided I'm just not going to use disposable plastic stuff anymore. No soda bottles, no straws, no disposable utensils. Read the latest National Geographic to see why.

Book recommendations, in case you're interested: Zero-Waste Home by Bea Johnson, and Plastic-Free by Beth Terry

Ecological things:
* We had a royal-wedding viewing party at a friend's house. I made scones and coffee at home and brought them in reusable containers that I had purchased at a thrift shop.
* This afternoon walked to a coffee shop to work and got my coffee in a non-disposable ceramic mug.
* Cloth diapered the baby. She took herself to the potty two or three times today which saves on laundry!

Hirondelle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1598
Paid 24 cents extra for my business ride to compensate CO2