#savetmr
Paper towels can be composted if it is unbleached and not used with chemicals, which could be a great way to clean spills. Unfortunately if composting isn’t an option many of these single use items will add to the daily trash heap. Using cloths made …
Every plastic grocery bag you’ve used is still on earth today. Every single one hasn’t even begun to degrade and may have even killed marine life. Start using reusable bags today and start doing better for the environment. One plastic bag will take 400 to …
Line drying clothes, not just something you see in old films or way out on farmland. Ditching your dryer may require a little more work on your part but in the long run you’ll have longer lasting clothes that smell better, a lower carbon footprint and some more money in your pocket.
Clothes tumbling around in the dryer on high heat quickly destroys our fabrics. Research states after only twenty dries in high heat cotton fabric degraded by 50%, and without heat 24%. These figures combined with how some clothing is made does not give our fabrics a shot in a long life. Trying to be zero waste makes you mindful of how long things last so you don’t have to throw it away, using a dryer is counter intuitive to that. Buying clothes to wear for life is a great practice so putting in a little extra work to maintain them ensures the longevity.
The carbon footprint of line drying is three times less than drying in a dryer. Over a year this could be as much as a short flight. Switching to drying clothes on the line also reduces the footprint of your clothing. Using a piece of clothing for nine months longer decreases it’s environmental footprint by 20-30%. This wouldn’t be possible if the dryer was destroying your clothes each wash.
Switching to a clothes line does not make you a millionaire but you can save around $100 a year just on energy costs depending on how much laundry you do and the price of energy in your area. Your clothes will last longer, you’ll no longer need the replacement dryer, dryer sheets, or maintenance all of these factors could save a good bit of change. The only initial cost is a rope, which you may already have or a movable rack. In the long run quite a sum of money could be saved by line drying.
You don’t need to live in a sunny city to line dry clothes. Clothes will dry fine inside on hangers, a line or a rack, it might just take longer. Even though I live in a small space I dry my clothes on lines around the van. Sure, it’s hard to get around for a little bit but most of the clothes dry quickly even on freezing days. Having an outdoor and indoor line or a movable rack is a perfect idea if you live in a place with four seasons.
Dryer sheets, another piece of trash no one really needs to use. Dryer sheets leave a film on the outside of clothes making them softer but also more flammable. This film doesn’t only stick to clothes but also in the inside of the dryer. Ditch the dryer, ditch the dryer sheets and dry clothes outside or on a rack. Clothes will smell better dried outside and as they stay in direct sunlight they are sanitized protecting you from the potential germs you may have collected wandering around.
Like many home appliances a dryer eventually will need to be replaced. Living without one completely will keep hundreds to thousands of dollars in your pocket on replacement costs. I’m not a property owner but it seems like houses are a never ending replacement cycle and less of those appliances is much easier on your wallet, carbon footprint and the landfills.
Now that you’re ready to get rid of that dryer remember some people are just too busy to line dry clothes all the time. For some a dryer is a sort of necessity. Instead of calling a company to haul your dryer out consider putting it on an online marketplace for a family that might need one. Maybe you need some extra cash, selling it is a good option too. Throwing things away without checking if your community has a need for it is wasteful and a practice that doesn’t benefit anyone.
We made an app, Boycott That! Available for iOS and Android devices!
Boycott That is the app to start becoming a healthier consumer. For the wannabe zero waster, Boycott That has achievable sustainable switches for everyday items. The app is also perfect for helping to avoid companies that partake in animal cruelty and violate basic human rights.
I love shampoo bars! They’re perfect for traveling without worrying about spilling soap everywhere, they’re zero waste and they’re usually made by an ethical company without the threat of animal cruelty. My hair has reacted differently to different bars so trying a few and finding …
When heading out it’s simple to bring a couple little items for a zero waste day. Coffee Cup – If your outings usually start with a trip to a coffee shop try to bring a cup to make sure you wont have to throw one …
Plastic pollution is a crisis, it never biodegrades and is made from harmful chemicals. When this type of plastic ends up in a landfill or is incinerated it releases a toxic chemical, called dioxin. If it ends up in our oceans it is dangerous to wildlife that only see food. Luckily there are many alternatives to using unsustainable products.
Plastic feels almost unavoidable. My food is wrapped in plastic, my clothes have it woven into the fibers, my computer, my tea kettle, my phone, my dogs toys all have a bits of plastic. How can we avoid it if it’s everywhere. Sometimes avoiding it isn’t possible and for those times I use the plastic items until they’re completely unusable, try to fix it or re-purpose then recycle, donate or toss. When an item is fixed and used for another nine months it can reduce the related carbon, water and waste footprints 20-30%.
The average person uses 540 plastic bags every year, that’s one pound of plastic that never degrades and could be eaten by marine life.
Plastic sandwich bags are 100% avoidable. I have not bought plastic sandwich bags in years and never have felt like I needed one. The uses for these bags are usually storing dry or wet food. Storing dry food I use cloth napkins, I made scrap fabric cloth bags for sandwiches or use my mesh produce bags, they’re perfect for storing fresh popcorn. What happened to containers? Everyone got so obsessed with not doing dishes they just forgot containers and grab a plastic bag. I have so many ex peanut butter jars that I use to store everything. If I want to bring a sandwich out and about with me and don’t want to carry a container or napkins all day I use old bread bags or something like it. I can throw these away after without feeling guilty and my plastic waste is used more than what it’s purposed for.
To store wet things I use any container (those empty peanut butter, hummus or salsa containers) or I have one silicone bag for on the go. I got the silicone bag originally so I could bring salads up the ski mountain for a much cheaper lunch without a mess in my pocket or a bulky container but now I use it more often for tofu marinades. It’s perfect for marinades as the liquid is evenly distributed. I do use the silicone bag quite a bit but one is good for my two person household.
There is no need to buy fancy new things to achieve zero waste. Making cloth bags out of ripped clothes or unused material is super easy and gives purpose to things that might not have. Saving old containers might not look uniform or fancy but the more times an item is used the more healthy for the earth it becomes.
We made an app, Boycott That! Available for iOS and Android devices!
Boycott That is the app to start becoming a healthier consumer. For the wannabe zero waster, Boycott That has achievable sustainable switches for everyday items. The app is also perfect for helping to avoid companies that partake in animal cruelty and violate basic human rights.
1. Download AND USE Ecosia on your devices. Ecosia plants trees for every search made. It’s free all you have to do is move it to the spot you’d normally click for your browser. 2. Calculate your carbon footprint. There’s tons of free calculators out …
Oh to be on the road again. This quarantine is making my wanderlust grow every day. I live full time in a van with my husband, cat and our new puppy. We have been wandering the United States and Canada since August 2018, we have …