I am on a mission to make my house as green as I can, not only for the earth, but for our health and budget as well.
Reducing waste is a big task on that mission, so I thought I would share some of my tips here, and see if anyone has some more they would like to add.
- I have 2 bags in my freezer: A stock bag and a soup bag. When chopping veggies, instead of throwing scraps in the trash or sink, they go in the bag and I use them to make stock. Everything from the ends of onions and bell peppers, to potato and carrot peels. Same goes for the stems of stripped herbs. The soup bag holds leftover bits of meat, pasta, rice, veggies, etc. that go uneaten from leftover dinners or lunch that wouldn't make enough for a leftover meal.
- Using reusable shopping bags creates a nice lack of plastic shopping bags, but with a cat box and cat litter to clean, we have a need to be a bit creative. Bread bags, tortilla bags, and the like, when empty, make nice little cat/dog clean up bags.
- Still on a journey to cut out paper towels in the house, I have found a number of nice options.
Skoy Sponge Cloths (http://www.reusablebags.com/store/skoy-paper-towel-replacement-colors-p-1903.html) come in packs of 4 for $6.95, are non-toxic, and dry quickly to inhibit the growth of bacteria. They are machine washable, but also can be cleaned in the dishwasher and even in the microwave. There are also cloths and sponges at the Dollar Tree, which are quite cheaper, but I do call their manufacture and chemical content into question.
- I am not a gardener, thus we really don't have any plants to water, but a long time ago I got this tip, and it can be taken to stretch anywhere if you have the need. Keep a bucket in your shower for catching the shower spray. Put it in a place where it will catch the spray, but not get any soap in it. Use the collected water to water plants. Using some thinking, it could also be used for rinsing dishes before placing them in the dishwasher, for rinsing down the sidewalk.... there must be many possibilities that I am missing.
More to come.... but until then.. any things you yourself have put into practice?
