How many disposable items do you use in your household?
Dusters, mops, furnace filters, paper towels, napkins, paper plates, plastic/styrofoam cups, plastic cutlery, water bottles, plastic shopping bags, plastic zip top storage bags, batteries, diapers, razors.
All these things I've either totally done away with by using washables, rechargeables or cut way back on. My downfall is cloth napkins. I LOVE THEM!
The hardest two for me has been straws and zip top freezer bags. Straws I still buy and will wash a straw to reuse once in a while. Zip top storage bags I will wash out and reuse once in a while.
Choose to reuse! Its not only responsible but economical as well!
I’m sure there are heaps of others that I’ve forgotten about. Which products have you switched over to a reusable option? Which ones do you find hard to give up?
I use a microfiber cloth on my Swiffer istead of buying the cloths. Just shake it out, reuse a couple times, wash it and start over. Works great.
ReplyDeleteI use ziploc containers, instead of bags. Plastic plates, water bottles. We also don't do the "brownbagging" thing. Lunches are packed in plastic containers & placed in mini cooler bags (that I found on clearance at CVS). where I come from, people don't spend much money on disposables. This was just a 'way of life' for us. paper towel is considered a luxury, not a necessity. You dry your hands with a towel.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, 8 yrs ago stores started charging for plastic bags. If you went grocery shopping, you either had to bring your own reusable bags or pay for plastic bags. They still do this today. I also reuse printer paper (both sides). I just draw a line through the used side & then print on the other side.
We use cloth napkins, old cloth diapers for cleaning the floors that don't have carpeting, microfiber cloths for dusting, reusable washable furnace filters, reusable insulated lunch bags or lunchboxes. It may be TMI, but I use a Diva cup instead of disposable feminine hygiene products (although that's not my only reason for using it...I just think it works better).
ReplyDeleteWe still use tissues, but sometimes when Shane has a cold and is in constant need of tissues while at work, he will use a hanky (old soft bandana). We still use some paper towels, but not many. We occasionally use paper plates for cookouts or camping, but I make sure they are paper and not styrofoam; no disposable cups or plastic cutlery; occasional bottles of water, but when we do, we reuse them for water, tea, etc.
I try to remember my reusable shopping bags, but when I forget and wind up with the plastic ones from the store, I save them and reuse them for scooping the cat box or other stinky garbage like raw meat packages or shrimp shells.
I use zip top bags quite a bit still. I buy the freezer quality for everything because they can be washed and reused many more times than the storage quality bags. I used cloth diapers back when it was an issue for us. Shane uses a refillable cartridge razor. I just use the cheapest disposables I can find and make sure to dry them. One cheap razor lasts me months. That could also be because I'm pretty lazy about shaving my legs...LOL!
We are not currently using rechargeable batteries. When our rechargeables finally wore out and wouldn't take a charge, for some reason we didn't replace them. We should, though.
I am considering making reusable sandwich wraps for lunches, and I've even considered using "family cloth" instead of bathroom tissue. I'm pretty sure if I make that leap, I'll be the only one in the household who does...LOL!
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ReplyDeleteI try to be frugal and "green" but I don't think I'll be using a "family" cloth. Not sure what it is but I think I'd draw the line there. However, I do get TP on sale with Q's. Hope it works for you though.
ReplyDeleteI use microfiber cloths and ziploc containers too. I will use Ziploc bags if I can find them for free. I have started reusing my softsoap bottle and making my own soap from bar soap.
ReplyDeleteI've used rechargable batteries for my camera and CD player (prior to Ipod). I still get plastic bags at grocery stores, but that's because they make better small trash bags than what you can purchase. My biggest disposable items are paper plates that I use to feed my cats on and paper towels to clean up after them. Several of my cats are sensitive to plastic so I can't use plastic bowls or plastic with them. I get the cheap paper platss from WAGs w/ RRs.
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