4th Step towards Sustainability: Dryer Balls

Today's step starts a section on healthier, more sustainable cleaning. I'll continue to focus on small changes that most can make with little effort. If you really want to go all out, you could make all your own cleaning supplies! There are a ton of great recipes online. However, if you're not quite ready to take that step, let's start with something small.

Dryer Balls

Here you see my first attempt at making dryer balls. So far, I haven't been particularly successful. You can buy dryer balls (which I might if I can't figure it out). You can find them at conventional home goods stores as well as eco-stores and of course, Etsy.com.  You toss one, two, or more in the dryer with your clothes and it works to fluff your clothes, speed up drying time, and keep your clothes soft. Choose dryer balls made with natural materials like wool. Wicker is okay, but try to avoid plastic.

Here's How It Helps: This helps out in a lot of different ways. First, there aren't any chemicals. Some of them have essential oils for scent, but otherwise, they're chem-free. Secondly, you use them more than once. Sure, there are ways to reuse used dryer sheets, but generally speaking they get used once then they get tossed in the trash, and where does it go from there? That's right- landfills.  Dryer balls last for months before they start to break down. Even then you can reuse them by adding a new layer of wool or use them as pet toys!

Here's How To Do It: Buy or make a few dryer balls. Then use them in your laundry. It's really about that simple. It might take some time to get used to using them, but once you get into the habit, you can just stop buying dryer sheets.

Cost: Dryer balls cost about $4-10 each depending upon size, material, and whether or not it has any scented oils. You can make about three the size of the one above for one bundle of wool that runs about $6. 

So there you have it. One very simple step towards a more sustainable lifestyle. If dryer balls aren't for you,  stay tuned for tomorrow's sustainable laundry tip.

3rd Step towards Sustainability: Reusable Grocery Bags

Today's step will round out our talk on reusable bags.

Reusable Grocery Bags

Reusable grocery bags are becoming more and more popular and in some states/counties you can now be charged for using plastic grocery bags. These reusable grocery bags replace the need for plastic grocery bags during your next shopping trip. They now come in a variety of colors, prints, and styles. You can get them insulated, with wine bottle pockets, with zippers, tons of bells and whistles! Some stores now give you a discount for using these bags as it saves them money on plastic bags.

Here's How It Helps: You guessed it! Using your own bags reduces the demand and use of plastic bags. It really is that simple. When you don't use as much plastic, less gets thrown away and less needs to be made. This saves landfills and factory waste. Even if you recycle your plastic bags, there's still an energy demand for recycling. If we simply require less plastic to be made, it won't be made. Your one little grocery trip might not seem like much, but each trip adds up. Then each year adds up. Then maybe your neighbor starts, then your kid's Sunday School teacher, and it snowballs from there.

Here's How To Do It: Buy a few bags to start. It's hard to tell how many you'll need. The reusable bags usually can hold quite a bit more than plastic bags. My Wal-mart black ones are pretty old and easily hold 6 two liters. You'll have to figure out how many you need based on how full you like your bags and how many you need for your typical grocery trips.  I also like to keep one in the car for those quick trips to the grocery store after work.

Cost: Bags will usually run about $1-5 each. I got a bunch of basic black ones from Wal-mart a few years ago for $1 that are still holding up well. My United green ones cost maybe $1.5 and the insulated one costed a little bit more, maybe $3. You'd be surprised how many you pick up for free too. The last few conferences I've been to have given them away for their goodie bags and my school gave you ones if you pre-ordered your textbooks. As I mentioned before, these bags will sometimes save you money as well. United gives a five cent discount per bag that's filled. It's not much, but it adds up.

That finishes off the reusable bags portion of the 22 steps towards sustainability. These first three are very easy adjustments to make, and you may have already made some of them. Next we're going to look at some common cleaning issues and ways we can make some greener changes without having to make major lifestyle changes!

Review: Reusable Produce Bags from Eco-Friendly 4 U

Continuing along with today's sustainability tip, I thought I would review my own produce bags. I bought my produce bags from an Etsy shop, Eco-Friendly 4 U. This is a Canadian shop and the owner makes all sorts of produce bags, tech cases, and snack bags. I  got a set of four large produce bags, plus a bonus purple bag for $6 plus shipping. I found this to be a great price comparatively to other shops and have been very happy with the bags.

Pros: The bags are lightweight and easy to clean. If they get dirty, I just rinse them with hot water and set them to dry on my dish rack. I've not noticed any additional weight to be added by the bags, if any is added, it's a tiny fraction of an ounce. These bags have held up well. I use them for any produce that you'd but in a bag, including onions and potatoes like you see above. I even use them to store some produce in the party.

Cons: Really the only negative that I recall from the entire transaction, (and I really hesitate to call it a negative) is that it took a long time to get my order. Now this wasn't the shop owner's fault. Anyone who has ever purchased anything internationally knows that delivery time for international shipments is a guessing game. The owner did ship the item quickly, so once again, I hesitate to even call it a downfall.

Overall, I love these bags. I use them every time we go shopping and plan to buy more in the future.

2nd Step towards Sustainability: Reusable Produce Bags

In keeping with the reuse theme for the first few steps. Today's step is another simple replacement:

Use Reusable Produce Bags when shopping

This is another potential sewing project if you're handy with thread. They're also available in eco-friendly shops and handmade stores like Etsy.com, if you don't wish to make your own. These bags are often made with mesh or mesh-like materials and drawstrings. This helps to keep the bags light. I use mine at every shopping trip and haven't noticed them adding any weight. 

Here's How It Helps: When you buy your produce at the store, you put it in one of those little plastic bags. Then you get home and put up your apples and oranges and what have you. What then do you do with those little plastic bags? You might reuse them once but then they end up in the trash. If you recycle, you might add these little bags to your recycling, which is better than the trash, but still not ideal. The ideal would be to use less plastic in the first place, helping to reduce the demand for this earth un-healthy product. By using reusable bags, you're saving three or four, maybe even six or seven little plastic bags each shopping trip!

Here's How To Do It: Buy or make a few bags to start. Think of how many you usually use in your regular shopping and try to get that many. Then as you get ready for your grocery trip, take them with you. I've found that many farmers at the farmer's market also use plastic grocery bags, you can take your own bags with you there as well. They're see through so I've never had a problem at any traditional store, even Wal-mart. If your bags get dirty or need to be washed, some are machine washable, but I've found that I just need to rinse mine with hot water and lay them to dry.

Cost: I bought a set of four for $6 plus shipping. You could probably make a good number for about that much in materials. While this doesn't save you money, it's a minimal investment for quite a good environmental impact.

There's today's simple step. Make a small purchase and save some plastic!

Review: Reusable Sandwich Bags from My Outdoor Mom

Here's another option for reusable snack and sandwich bags from Etsy.com. My Outdoor Mom is a new shop to Etsy, but is already having a ton of success, and it's easy to see why! I bought my bags when I was first starting to work towards more reusable products. I got a pair of reusable bags, one snack bag and one sandwich bag, for $10 plus shipping. While this is a little expensive, I think it was worth it. You choose the pattern for each bag, and they come with a solid inside and zipper.

Here is the snack size with blueberry print. Easily holds a chopped apple.

Here is the sandwich side bag with strawberry print. This easily holds a regular sandwich, but a really hefty one might not fit too easily.

Pros: I love the zipper! The zipper keeps everything in, even peanuts and popcorn, and doesn't take up hardly any bag space. I also love the prints. Not only are they fun, but they're more "adult" than a lot of the reusable bags out there. These bags are also machine washable. I've washed them once or twice in the machine, but usually just rinse them out with dishes.

Cons: These aren't exactly airtight. The other day I brought cheese and crackers to work. I cut the cheese the night before, put it in the blue bag, and put in the fridge. Well, by the time I ate the cheese the next day, it was starting to get a wee bit hard. It was still fine, but is a downfall to those who are used to the airtight plastic bags.

Overall, I really love these bags. Budget-willing, I'll be adding more in the future.

Review: Reusable Sandwich Bags from The Green Haven

To go along with today's sustainability tip, I thought I would review some of my own reusable snack bags.

I got this pair of bags through a trade on Etsy. (Trading on Etsy is a great, "green" way to get products.) The Green Haven is a shop on Etsy.com that's been open since 2009. The shop offers a ton of great reusable bags, lunch bags, and drink cozies. I got a pair of cute snack bags in a jungle print. Had I paid for the bags, they would have been $7.00 plus shipping.

Pros: They are adorable! They have also been very easy to flip inside out and clean. At $7 for two, they were also very reasonably priced.

Cons: Probably the biggest con is the velcro. It limits the volume of the bag slightly but the bigger problem is that it doesn't seal it completely. It's great for larger items like chips or apples slices, but if you were to put something smaller, like Cheerios, they would slip out the ends.

Overall, I'm happy with the bags and they definitely serve a great purpose! These can be a great option to fill out your collection of reusable snack and sandwich bags.

1st Simple Step to Sustainability: Reusable Sandwich Bags

Our first simple step to a more sustainable life is very easy, and over time saves you money.

Buy Reusable Sandwich Bags

If you're handy with a sewing machine or needle, you could easily make some of these yourself. I prefer the zippered ones, but velcro is also an option. You can buy them off various "green" product websites, or etsy. And as you see above, they can be kind of cute.

Here's How It Helps: When you send your kid to school with apples or take a sandwich for your lunch, what do you do with the plastic bag? You throw it out. That plastic bag was made to be disposable. It will serve it's purpose once (maybe twice if you reuse it), and then it will sit in a landfill. Plastic doesn't seem to biodegrade, or at least, none of it has yet. By using cloth sandwich and snack bags, you eliminate the need to buy and throw away plastic. This saves you money and saves the landfills, not to mention the added benefit of reduced factory waste in the production of plastic.

Here's How To Do It: Buy a bag or two to start. If you tend to take snacks to work, buy a bag that would fit the size of what you need. Buy a few bags for your kid's lunch boxes. You can get plenty that are big and roomy for a nice sandwich and others that are smaller for grapes or chips. After you use the bag, you wash it and use it again. Many of these bags are machine washable, but I find that for most of the time, mine just need a quick rinse in hot water then I lay them on the dish rack to dry.

Cost: The bags vary in cost, usually about $2-3 per bag and then go up for larger bags, zippers, different patterns, etc. Unless you buy these at a craft fair or a local store, you will also need to pay shipping. However, keep in mind that once you buy these, you will only need to buy more when they wear out. I've had some of mine for months now and they look practically new. When you buy disposable plastic bags, you have to buy new ones every couple of weeks and you're throwing that money away.

So friends, that's today's simply step. Whether you live by yourself, with a family of ten, or in your mom's basement, anyone take this simple step to a more sustainable life!