How to Live a Low-Waste Lifestyle: Tips from Busy Corporette Readers
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Readers had a great threadjack a few weeks ago about how to live a low-waste lifestyle — so we thought we'd round up some of their suggestions in a single post! Readers who are trying to reduce and reuse, what are your best tips to live a low-waste lifestyle? (This seems particularly timely since there were so many recent stories about how recycling programs are far from perfect…)
Kat's Tips on How to Live a Low-Waste Lifestyle
I follow a lot of the tips the readers shared myself! Some of the stuff we do (which may also conflict with my goal of decluttering, ha) includes:
- Instead of discarding product packaging, I save a lot of the boxes for in-cabinet/in-drawer/in-closet organization. (Anything iPhone is great here, but I also just bought these pretty little mugs that came in the most gorgeous boxes… and I still have empty diaper boxes in my own closet even though we've been out of diapers for years, thank goodness.)
- We save a ton of old towels for rags — it takes us forever to go through a paper towel roll.
- We have soooo many reusable lunch containers.
- We try to use our Sodastream as often as possible instead of buying cans or bottles of seltzer. I'm also a big fan of my wide-mouthed water bottles instead of bottled water. (Summer tip: I like to put a bit of water in the bottom of a Nalgene bottle, then freeze it — it keeps your water cold for a looong time.)
- On the mom side of things, we've had a lot of great things that came to us pre-used, and we've passed along many things either for sale or donation — we're also big believers in hand-me-downs.
- If there's something I know we're going to use a lot of, I try to buy the biggest container possible to cut down on plastic waste — 33+ oz. soap container, bring it on.
- It may gross you out but alternative products for your period are really great right now — I highly recommend them, especially if your period is less than punctual and you spend a lot of time “waiting” for it.
- I'm intrigued by all of you who love bar soap, especially for hair — I feel like I'm missing the perfect in-shower holder for bar soap so that it doesn't all wash away? Do share, readers…
- For those of you who have outdoor space for gardening, I'm starting to get into overwintering annuals like begonias — you can also save money on soil by reusing aluminum cans to fill the bottom half of your containers!
Reader Suggestions on How to Live a Low-Waste Lifestyle
- Cut up old T-shirts and towels to make cleaning rags and replace paper towel use.
- Put a used lemon in the dishwasher before you run it so it smells nice (the reader puts one half in the top rack and one in the silverware tray).
- Repurpose empty milk jugs as garden cloches for plants (e.g., pepper and tomato) when there’s still a chill in the air at night.
- Keep glass jars to reuse in all sorts of ways.
- Cut-up boxer shorts/T-shirts make an awesome alternative to garden twine and are great for delicate plants. “We compost loads in our bin and make leaf mulch as well, and have a water butt attached to the guttering for watering the plants. We also buy the great big jugs of hand and dish soap and just refill it, reducing the plastic waste.”
- “I would use old pantyhose for garden twine, because they had a bit of flexibility for delicate plants.”
- “Microwaving diluted lemon juice for 5 minutes makes it super easy to wipe down the inside of your microwave. Any time we need half a lemon (or lemon rind) for a meal, we use the rest of the lemon this way!”
- “Broccoli rubber bands are the favorites in our house. I have a narrow shelf at the side of my craft table and my scissors tend to work their way to the end of the shelf and then onto the floor. I keep a fat pink broccoli rubber band around the end of the shelf and it adds just enough lip to the shelf to stop things from nosediving. I use rubber to stretch them around the lid of a bottle or jar that won’t open — the rubber band gives just enough traction for my hand to get it open!”
- “When I change the baking soda in the fridge (every 3–6 months), I pour the old baking soda down the drain to freshen up the pipes.”
- “I save old newspaper and use it in two ways: 1) stuff wet shoes after getting caught in the rain, jumping in a puddle, or machine washing (sneakers can be machine washed, it’s amazing!); 2) line my compost bin with newspaper rather than buying fancy compostable bags.”
- “When I wanted to start using less paper towels but DH wasn’t fully on board, I just stopped buying big packages of it. I now buy one roll at a time and keep it under the sink, and it lasts us quite a while.”
- “Clean tuna cans with no sharp edges are great for in-drawer organization. The boxes from Birchbox are also good for this, though a big larger.”
- Use shoe boxes to organize drawers.
- Use glass bottles from skin serums for bud vases.
- Wash and re-use Ziploc bags
- Use any bags for trash instead of buying trash bags.
- “We save cardboard egg cartons and use them to start annual flower seeds indoors each spring. They tear apart easily for planting, and the whole thing goes straight into the ground.”
- “Half gallon milk jugs get a cutout and some decoration and serve as medium sized planters.”
- “A bucket in the shower catches 0.5–1 gallon cold water before it runs warm. Since we also have a bit of a plant habit, this provides free refills for the watering can.”
- “Half of my freezer is filled with frozen water bottles and milk jugs full of water. Half of the original freezer space is the right size for me to keep the inventory of frozen foods manageable, without losing track of what’s in there completely. Less empty space in the freezer also means a more efficiently running freezer using less power(less warm air can get in when you open the door).”
- “For anyone wanting to avoid plastic waste for hair products, I’ve found a number of bar shampoos that worked well, but not conditioners. I swear I’ve tried every conditioner bar on the market. I now buy the conditioner that’s made by Bar None and comes in an aluminum (100% recyclable!) bottle.”
- Use shower gel instead of bar soap.
- “Another thing I use bar soap for is for dishes. I use a dish brush to scrub some soap on, and it works just as well as any other kind.”
- “If you have a baked on or burnt on mess on the bottom of any pan, including Le Creuset, pour in a bit of water and a generous shake of baking soda, heat to boiling on the stove, and rub off the gunk with a silicone spatula. It works so fast.”
Readers, do you do any of these things? What are some of your best tips on how to live a low-waste or no-waste lifestyle?
I prioritize my time/resources to give the most environmental bang and don’t try to optimize down to the last straw. Most importantly, I vote, work on GOTV, and give to candidates that support good policies addressing climate change. These choices are the most impactful ones I make.
On a personal level, I prioritize big stuff (fly as little as possible, bike as much as possible, make greener choices for my home and car as makes sense for me). I also do things like I’ve had the same set of reusable food storage containers forever and use them as much as possible, try to buy fewer, higher quality items, have a stocked freezer so I don’t overbuy fresh food that then goes bad, etc. However, with the big stuff in place, I don’t sweat using plastic wrap or disposable zip top bags sometimes.
I refuse to consider switching from tampons. Why don’t men get asked to switch from tissues to a reusable product?
I really agree with this. Yes, small changes make a difference collectively, but not nearly as much as big changes on a national or global scale. I’m not rewashing all my ziplocs so that mega companies can destroy the earth at warp speed. And I 100% agree re: tampons. I won’t be made to feel bad about my basic hygiene needs. That said, I did make the switch to organic tampons bc I don’t like the chemicals seeping into my body. (And I do try to minimize my waste, recycle, and compost, but I’m focusing more on the big picture than on every cardboard box I recycle.)
Agree so much. We can all make little differences at home, but voting and agitating for change on a bigger public policy scale seems to matter much more than switching to solid shampoo or whatever.
But . . . isn’t one of those mega companies Ziploc and the only reason they continue to destroy the earth is because we continue to buy their products?
Well as an example, soda companies used to sell soda in glass bottles which would get reused (much better than being recycled). Then they realized they could make a bigger profit by using plastic and then shaming consumers for not recycling, when the better choice for everyone is the glass bottles (even if they don’t get reused, glass is way better than plastic). I can’t make pepsi sell glass bottles that get returned after use even if I want to. There’s not that option any more. Individual consumers have little choice. Ziploc isn’t going to stop making plastic bags just because a handful of people stop. We need bigger legislation that impacts choices which could include things that would ultimately lead to less people buying their products such as including a plastic tax that makes disposable plastic more expensive and therefore less appealing.
Yes yes yes to this. The big stuff matters so much more than a bunch of little things. Taking one less flight a year has a much larger impact than everything on this list combined. And also please go vote everyone!
I’ve started using waxed paper bags where I once used ziplock bags. There are some times I need ziplock (traveling, camping, boating) but the wax paper is cheap, easy and can be composted.
I’ve been trying out various cleaners in tablet form (vs. liquid in plastic jugs/spray bottles). So far I’ve been happy with items from Blueland. I have their tablets for laundry detergent, all purpose cleaner, and bathroom cleaner. I also just bought some Hibar solid shampoo and conditioner, based on recommendations from a poster here, so I’ll see how those work out. And I try to reach for a kitchen towel instead of a paper towel for all but the most disgusting messes. (Although then I wonder, is the additional laundry worse than using the paper towel?) And I try to hang as much laundry as I can on my drying rack, instead of using the dryer.
I’ve been using Function of Beauty shampoo and I find it’s more concentrated than other shampoos. With my “wash once a week” routine, a bottle lasts me 12-15 months!
I’ve also just bought blueland cleaning supplies, I hope those work out.
When it comes to food, I care more about production method than packaging. I’d rather buy a great product that I’ll actually eat in plastic, than something I’ll just end up throwing away. As an example: where I live local strawberries often come in open cardboard punnets. I’ll bag those in single serve plastic in the store – because they’ll be protected all the way home and they won’t fall out or be squished and they’ll keep better in the fridge. Which all means got to eat local berries and not waste anything.
As opposed to posters above (and you do you!) I have ditched tampons. I really, really like my silicone menstrual cups and prefer them on all counts. Ease of use, smell, disposal, flow etc. I don’t really use them to avoid waste, but that’s a great bonus.
I’m late to this thread but given the tampon discussion I want to say I switched from disposable to reusable pantiliners and pads and am really happy. The place I got mine has an offer where you can get your first one free — it’s called Party in My Pants pads…embarrassing name but a solid product that has lasted for many years.
I switched from overnight pads to Thinx underwear and really like them. (https://www.nordstrom.com/s/thinx-hiphugger-period-underwear/5443780?origin=coordinating-5443780-0-3-PDP_1-recbot-best_seller_brand_category_v2&recs_placement=PDP_1&recs_strategy=best_seller_brand_category_v2&recs_source=recbot&recs_page_type=product&recs_seed=5476592&color=BLACK).
I also bought reusable paper towels off Etsy and crazy love them. (https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheTailoredHome)
Olive is a GREAT way to avoid packaging waste. (https://www.shopolive.com/about)
And, I use compostable K-cups. (https://www.amazon.com/Francisco-OneCup-French-Compatible-Brewers/dp/B007TGDXNO/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=Compostable+K+Cups&qid=1624588643&sr=8-5)
Love all these tips!! I definitely agree with all the above comments (and the macro vs. micro approach to lowering waste is definitely worth considering and maybe even doing a separate post about). I took a number of real estate development and legislative process classes in law school and work in real estate law, so the “macro” part about supporting pro-eco candidates that a commenter noted above really resonated with me. Elected officials who prioritize green/clean energy and other low waste policies make a huge difference (especially on the local level). A number of progressive-leaning large cities have passed a lot of smart legislation to limit paper and plastic waste, promote use of electric vehicles, provide incentives for clean energy alternatives (i.e. retrofitting roofs w/solar panels or other green improvements), require new real estate developments to meet energy efficiency and other green standards, promote use of green roofs, and the list goes on. There are so many benefits to smarter development/improvement of urban/suburban infrastructure and real estate because of the ripple effects (more job opportunities, cash flow from developers incentivized by certain green development tax credits, cleaner air, better health, more fresh produce from green roofs and community gardens, etc) – and most of this stuff is determined at the city and state level. Being informed about these types of policies and how they affect cities as a whole on a macro level and individuals on the micro level really helps to understand how all these puzzle pieces fit together.
And on the micro level – I am all about repurposing glass, paper and plastic packaging to the extent possible, and before recycling stuff, I try to verify that the item will actually be recycled again as opposed to discarded into a landfill because it cannot be re-recyled (John Oliver had a great – albeit upsetting – bit about recycling BS a couple of months ago that made me think about this stuff much more). I try to be mindful of how things are purchased and how they are packaged, but I don’t go overboard. I am an avid gardener and find that a TON of waste can be eliminated when repurposing stuff for indoor or outdoor gardening. Some stuff I do:
*use reusable shopping bags and limit use of paper/plastic bags while shopping
*using washable cleaning cloths and reusable storage containers as opposed to ziploc bags – BUT sometimes ziploc bags are just better/easier/sturdier. That said, I do reuse ziploc bags if storing dry goods, and for wet goods, I take used ziploc bags and save them for gardening (they make great germination bags and humidity domes!!!)
*repurposing stuff for organizing/coralling: as others mentioned, boxes are great for that purpose, especially small or sturdy ones, but I also like to use various lids (mason jars, candle toppers, sauce containers, etc) for small item/stationary organization – one lid for paper clips, another for small post-it flags, etc.
*buying big Mrs. Meyers tubs of cleaning product concentrate and using one reusable spray bottle to make cleaning solution.
*not using face/body wash with plastic “exfoliating” beads – gotta check that they are biodegradable and do not cause problems for the ecosystem
SPECIFICALLY FOR GARDENING:
*cleaning out and reusing glass candles for storage or vases/planters
*using plastic bottles, glass jars and glass bottles for hydroponic plant growing
*saving and reusing all plastic nursery pots, pods and containers for plants (Kat noted saving annuals – I 100% support that approach!)
–put plastic nursery pots in ceramic/metal/concrete planters so that plants grow better
–re-plant new seeds in those plastic nursery pod trays
–on annual plants – save flower heads after dead-heading them, pull out the seeds and re-plant them the following season
–bring annuals back indoors in the winter
–pull out perennial bulbs from the ground and save them over the winter (but ok to leave in the ground too)
*using discarded face masks for gardening: I cut the stretchy bands off and use them as ties for plants and have also used the actual masks to line planter bottoms for better drainage
*saving takeout containers for gardening
*using chopsticks, plastic flatware, and wooden skewers for plant stakes
*using old wire hangers for plant supports
*using coffee grounds for plant fertilizer