30 EASY WAYS TO BE SUSTAINABLE // effortless (or free!) tips for plastic-free July

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[lauravanimpe]

Regarding nummer 13: the paper towels. My friend once did a deep dive into this. If you buy a new, non-organic cotton towel you need to use it for 7 years before it uses less resources than paper towels. So don't run off to the store to just replace it all! Coton uses a ridicolous amount of water and cotton farmers are treated horribly. Thrift stores often have towels. If you are able, you can make small towels from old table cloths or bed sheets (also found second hand). I personally use a mix of old new bought towels, thrifted towels and recycled paper towels. If I need new towels and can't acces the thrift store, I hope to get some organic cotton ones.

[chrisc]

We live at a bus stop. People drop trash (and dog poop bags) in our yard all the time. We pick it up, but we also strapped a garbage bin to the bus stop sign. It greatly reduced the amount of trash we have to pick up or pull out of our bushes. Sometimes, people just need a convenient place to drop their garbage.

[marypiper]

2:36 Likewise, if you are given wrapped plastic utensils and don’t plan to use them, donate them to a food pantry! Folks experiencing homelessness often lack access to clean eating utensils

[helmickkm]

I found a good chunk of 100% cotton yarn at my second-hand craft store recently, so I’m making myself a TON of face scrubbies, wash cloths, and mesh bags for myself & to sell. I’ve been wanting to get some from my local zero-waste store, but having this yarn for so cheap & already in the waste stream makes it so much better & is helping me learn to crochet new items!

[ChristopherDraws]

This gives a boost as a reminder of small things people can incorporate into their routines, thanks Gittemary.
I've "rescued" rather a lot from my apartment block's waste area - I'm shocked at some of the unbroken, well-made furniture that people dump out there, but also the consequences of "Ikea-style" furniture is really obvious: new-seeming furniture gets dumped, but on closer inspection the particle board has swelled and blown out, or the laminate surface has peeled away, or weakly-soldered metal joints have snapped - all those are much harder to repair/bring back to a useable and secure condition than more traditionally-made furniture, meaning it is destined for landfill. So whilst the initial consumer cost of the Ikea-type product seems cheap, ultimately it loses value so quickly and rather than being resold or refurbished, it just gets thrown away.

I am one of these people who bring their home made lunch at the office (and my office provides stainless steel cuttlery/glass glasses). When i compare my no waste lunch compared to my colleagues who go ordre take out every single day it is mind blowing...

[Yeshi]

I love this! As a new mom, I don't have the time, energy, or extra income to do some of my regular sustainable habits, while also creating more waste (I'm sorry, but I don't have the mental, physical, or emotional capacity to do cloth diapers), so ideas to improve in other ways is much appreciated!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼

[alice_rabbit]

I always take the extra napkins off the table when eating out. I garden so compost all my veg waste, my plants love it!

[zanna]

Regarding #27, and speaking as someone whose husband is a dumpster diver, you might want to very thoroughly check any discarded home decor items or furniture for any insect infestations before bringing them into your home. And even if they seem okay, still give them a thorough cleaning as soon as you get home. Or, if you have a big chest freezer, you can freeze them for a week or more. Freezing also helps with #17. Any dry goods, whether you buy them from bulk or prepackaged, can be infested with flour weevils, but freezing them for at least a week can kill them.

[xerrias]

On "dishwashers save more water than handwashing" I know you said *it depends* but a good way to be sure lol.... We can't ahve a dishwasher the space is just far too small so we handwash. The sink has some kind of issue and we are waiting on a plumber but the clog is past the p trap so we just... removed it and put a bucket there so we can still wash the dishes. Now we know EXACTLY how much water we use, and its not much! It's a 10gal bucket but it takes the whole day and night to get to 3gal. We've always tried to be careful about how much water we use washing but we never knew how much. Extra bonus, that "grey water" uses a safe natural soap for washing so I just have watered my garden with it. I almost don't want to go back to proper plumbing....

[paigebethea]

I like up cycling objects to make art/home decor! I’ve upcycled a linen shirt and toilet paper holder into a lamp and an old fence board into an herb drying rack. Recently I made a mat for a framed portrait using an upcycled cardboard box! Next I’m hoping to paint some wall art onto old packaging.

[justynaaleksiejuk]

I'm trying to avoid plastic during the grocery shopping as much as possible (f.ex. in Poland broccolis are always covered in plastic, at least at big stores).
I air dry clothes all my life, earlier because we had a whole laundry room and we simply could install stripes, and now because I don't have space for a mechanical dryer.
And I at least try to repair my clothes, most often socks and panties.
I'm more and more reducing eating of meat. I don't like these store-bought meat alternatives, I prefer to do it by myself, the way I like and knowing what is inside. I just need to remember beans and lentils are my good friends now 😅
Last but not least, I collect all napkins from my takeouts, so now I have a lot of them xD

[juliamariesterling]

I REALLY love and use your videos. I learn new and reinforce and re-appreciate my regular practices. I was a vegetarian for 30 years and have recently found new info that has me experiencing with new radical ways of eating especially veggies. I love your videos and think people should eat what is best for themselves. I just thought I’d mention. I know the old info inside and out snd was very committed. I don’t regret or just. Just felt like mentioning

[KS-jfjf]

Love this video! So encouraging 💚 while we are an eco family, we still use toilet paper. But, recently the price of tp has increased so much I said that is it! The environmental impact of tp is super high. We use bidet and cloth now. Still have tp for guests 😄

[triinvalk]

Another huge plus is if you have or are planning to install solar panels. I can not explain how much this saves on energy during summer months. And you dont have to live in a tropical climate to achive that, I live in Estonia a northen european country that is usually pretty cold. This summer we did not pay basically anything because solar energy filled our energy needs compleately, but now as it is getting colder and closer to winter it stagnates and we get only a little bit of power. Overall this is an amazing way to save on energy, but it can be costly to install if your home doesn't have solar panels.

[GarouLady]

I tried the BYO takeout container but sadly due to FDA and food regulations in my area no takeout places will use my containers to put food into them. Really is quite irksome but I get tons of compliments when I bring my own container to take leftovers home. And I have taken to trading milk jugs that are erroneously returned to local health food stores with ones that I know they take. I just ask if they will swap out and they 9.5 out of 10 will unless its the display models. I use them in my pantry for dry goods like rice and small batches of flours. And I am typing this out on a 14 yr old laptop that is basically also my TV.

[taylabria]

do you have a video that shows how to have an herb garden in your apartment? I would love to watch it. I've gonna have an apartment at college and I would love to grow some herbs

[janeorson]

I am a relative newbie, learning something every day! I had no idea you could freeze food in glass!

[BriarCottage]

I like how you mentioned to pick up trash. I live on a highway and i complained so much to my town/the store because they would have all the trash blowing in my yard. The store built a wall to block the trash from blowing out the bins.

[gaines_gal]

I would absolutely love a list of more sustainable options geared toward the disabled community. I aim to be a more sustainable consumer but with my disabilities convience sometimes wins out and I would love something that could work for both.
My specific disabilities affect my legs in particular which inhibit my ability to cook meals every night and opt for quicker options (I am working on saving to get a mobility aid for the kitchen though), my energy levels where I often have to pace myself or I am unable to do any tasks by the end of the day, and I am extremely disregulated by the grocery stores so I go as little as I can (2* a month if able) and purchase online for items other than food.
Some of these overall tips absolutely work as well, but it would help if there was more information out there specific to conviences that the disabled community often have to make over more sustainable options.