We keep the Sabbath. On Sunday we don’t do anything that makes others have to work, i.e. go shopping, eat at a restaurant, take a drive (in case we have a car problem), go to the movies. Instead we plan ahead for the items needed to cook and bake for Sunday. We go for walks.
This post was submitted by Karen.
I am experimenting to see how little garbage leaves my house. I photographed my empty garbage bin (140L, this is standard size for households in South Australia) in February, and I have not put my garbage out since then. It is now about two thirds full, in September, eight months later.
How do I do this?
I minimize greatly (obsessively?) buying anything new, and anything with packaging, especially food. Buy mostly fresh loose produce, all leftovers go to worms. Any plastic, paper, glass, metal, etc that does enter the house, goes into recycling piles, for future composting, mulching, kid’s craft projects, storage containers, etc. I don’t put my “recyclables” out for kerbside recycling either, because I don’t have confidence that they will be recycled, and commercial recycling is generally DOWNcycling - and I feel that I should take responsibility for what I consume, and how its usefulness gets extended!
I love knowing that I probably won’t even contribute a binload of garbage to landfill by the end of the year!
This post was submitted by Sophia MacRae.
We use two compost toilets. We also have a regular flush toilet. We had it removed, but then replaced it when we realized that some of our guests would leave early to avoid using our humanure toilet, which is admittedly a fancy name for a bucket with sawdust. They just don’t know what they are missing!
Maybe it’s just a whacky fascination on my part, but I think the sawdust toilet is actually quite fun to use. Here are some advantages: it will never overflow when your child uses too much toilet paper, no noise when you tinkle (no tinkle) or “flush”, no water used except the small amount to rinse the bucket. It was extremely easy to make and it returns nutrients to the soil and relieves our septic tank of excessive burden. In fact, we’ll probably never need the septic pumped again as it is essentially a large underground greywater tank now. The biggest disadvantage? Convincing your guests that you aren’t crazy and they really should give it a try. We’ve posted a sign and instructions near our toilets so that people can understand the reasoning behind it and how to use it properly.
C’mon, don’t be squeamish, composting can be enlightening and there really is no issues with smell at all! Try it!
This post was submitted by Gaia .
So many ways… of course I’ve been bringing a bag to the store for decades, glad to see others in the “mainstream” catching on!
How about bringing a to-go container of your own to the restaurant?!
Wear a sweater, slippers, shade the windows when the sun is pouring in in summer and open the curtains to the sun in winter.
One thing we as consumers can do is demand, by way of our $$$, better response from vendors, is to not buy “it” if it isn’t created, packaged and shipped sustainably.
Buy used, reduce…reuse….recycle, it’s tragic how many people still refuse to do these simple things…
This post was submitted by Deban.
Though I live in a busy metro area, I built a greenhouse last August and grow as much as I can for my family so that during the summer at least one meal a day is supplemented by food from the garden. I, also, am canning jams and tomatoes, as well as freezing vegetables and drying herbs for use when my garden is producing less in the colder months.
This post was submitted by Susan.
Join your local Free-cycle or Re-Use-It Network group and gift things you are no longer needing. Search Yahoo Groups for one in your area. The great thing about these groups is that you get to personally thank someone that gifts you their unwanted goods, and you get thanks back when you give as well. And they don’t end up in a landfill!
This post was submitted by Carmin.
Our church, schools, and clubs always have food pantry donation requests. Whenever we sent in food we try to send in meals that are made meat free and organic. We send in marinara sauce, meatless chili, peanut butter, etc. This way we feel like we are helping the people who need help purchasing food in many ways-they are getting healthier food and helping the environment without any effort and hopefully we are introducing them to a food or product that they may not normally purchase.
This post was submitted by Sher.
Put a rain barrel underneath your eaves trough and capture the water for your outdoor and indoor plants. I also use my rain barrel for cleaning off dirty shoes,garden tools, or even my hands. I keep an eco-friendly soap outside so no one has any excuse to go inside and use the water from the tap. You are not only saving money on water, you are teaching your children, friends and neighbours that rain water is a good resource.
This post was submitted by Michelle Harris.
I built a low cost tobacco baler to effortlessly crush and bale plastics (such as milk jugs, juice bottles, soft drink bottles, windshield washer fluid bottles, and any other plastic recyclables). Baling reduces the space required for recycling and makes transport to the recycling center much easier. The baler takes up 3′x 2′. They don’t pay anything for recycled plastic at our recycling center, but the money saved on trash bags and the environmental benefit makes it all worthwhile.
This post was submitted by Ken Brandle.
After seeing the human footprint, I became more aware of what I threw in the garbage. I started recycling at home. My husband rolled his eyes but does it to make me happy. I saw how little was ending up in my trash so I brought the simple idea to my work. I have successfully started a going green project with the help of my co-workers! It is only recycling, but we are making a start. I hope to do more personally and hopefully that will reflect by making more changes at work.
This post was submitted by amie.