So, let's talk about consumption

[dirtyred]

Jan 31, 2019 9:33:50 GMT -5 raangoli said:

I saw the same article about KonMari being a privilege and it really is when you step back and think about it.

I try to reuse a lot of the plastics that we use or get - like saran wrap/ziplocks/etc. At the grocery store, I am am only buying one produce item, I won't bag it. I save the bagging for multiple items like oranges and apples, etc.

The only produce items I bag are potatoes (dirty), items that get misted and are wet, and apples because they bruise. Everything else, even if multiples, just stays loose.

[heliocentric]

Feb 1, 2019 7:55:24 GMT -5 dirtyred said:

Jan 31, 2019 9:33:50 GMT -5 raangoli said:

I saw the same article about KonMari being a privilege and it really is when you step back and think about it.

I try to reuse a lot of the plastics that we use or get - like saran wrap/ziplocks/etc. At the grocery store, I am am only buying one produce item, I won't bag it. I save the bagging for multiple items like oranges and apples, etc.

The only produce items I bag are potatoes (dirty), items that get misted and are wet, and apples because they bruise. Everything else, even if multiples, just stays loose.

I keep most produce loose, also. But I did buy some reusable mesh bags that work great if you do want to bag stuff. I'm sure you could easily make them, too.

[dcn]

I really want to reduce the amount of plastic we go through. I’ll look into the shampoo and soap Recs. We eat a lot of yogurt too - I’ve been thinking of trying to make it instead since we just eat the bigger containers of plain. But man, EVERYTHING comes in plastic. It’s really crazy. We recycle everything we can - even though the pick up service only takes plastics 1&2 - we drop the others at a recycling station in town.

We use reusable grocery bags, mesh produce bags, have a soda stream instead of buying seltzer, installed a filter instead of buying water. We just moved and only had one or two extra bags of garbage which I was impressed with - we donated or sold or recycled everything else. We forgot to pull out our reusable bags though and the number of plastic bags we accumulated in the two weeks we waited for our stuff just buying groceries was astounding.

Sometimes I feel like it’s such an uphill battle. People are really resistant to change and roll their eyes and bury their head in the sand. I frequently go into stores with my bags and the cashier looks for a tag like I’m trying to buy them.

This older man in the grocery line was telling me how he was in Seattle and they had to pay for a bag everytime they bought something. TEN CENTS EACH!! He was just flabbergasted. I was thinking “why didn’t you just reuse the first bag you had to buy?” Maybe I’m just cheap lol but no way would I be regularly paying for bags.

[picaflora]

What we already do:

- we have an electric car - this replaced H's truck as a daily driver (truck is old and paid off, so we're keeping it for now for errands/hauling/camping). The electric car is our errand-running car, and I now only fill mine up once every 3-4 weeks. H also bikes to work when the weather cooperates.

- We compost, and H grows a huge garden each summer. We rotate through crops and pick ones that we can process (can/freeze/store dry) to use all year

- We hardly eat any beef (maybe one or two times a month?), and now that H is on high blood pressure meds our pork consumption is dropping drastically. We do eat a lot of chicken/turkey/eggs

- no kids - but this isn't really an environmental choice - just the cards we've been dealt

- using cloth napkins, and microfiber towels to clean up messes (even puppy pee puddles! They get washed in a water/vinegar solution in a smaller bucket right after use, then thrown in with our bleach laundry load). I bought I big pack of paper towels over a year ago, and I think we still have half the pack left.

What we want to do better:

- more plant-based meals. Even if it's just one extra a week, it's a start

- Our house could use some better insulation/windows. When it gets really cold I can feel drafts in some places

- I will be replacing my car with an electric car - most likely in 2020.

- Ultimate goal is to build and/or modify an existing house into a passive solar house - then add solar panels as well. H grew up living in one his dad built, and we've been trying to get it to work for a few years now. We finally live in a place where we can have the space to do this without being so far out of town that we spend a ton of time driving in to town.

[lightbulbsun]

Jan 31, 2019 14:06:55 GMT -5 dochas said:

Jan 31, 2019 11:06:51 GMT -5 melmaria said:

I think it was mentioned in another thread that having pump bottles for shampoo/conditioner/body wash helps make your stuff last longer vs. a pour out bottle because you're likely to use less. It just hit me that this is why my current bottle of body wash seems to be lasting forever. All of our stuff is in pump bottles, so I guess that helps!

I absolutely love this thread and will add mine later, but I wanted to add this here. For hand soap, the foaming wash bottles save even more especially with kids in the house. I bought one at one of the bath shops and when it was empty I just refilled it with liquid soap. You do about 1/4 soap to 3/4 water. I've been reusing the bottle forever, it's nicer and it saves so much soap. 

k3am where do you find the shampoo in bars? My husband already uses bar soap. I use Aveeno and have a big pump container to get through, but them I am switching to bar. I've heard about the shampoo, but haven't seen it. Thanks!

I buy shampoo and conditioner bars from Lush.  

[followyourarrow]

Any suggestions for pets? I feel guilty about the cat litter, pop bags for the dog, and that their food bags aren't recyclable.

[jamaicam]

Feb 1, 2019 10:58:09 GMT -5 followyourarrow said:

Any suggestions for pets? I feel guilty about the cat litter, pop bags for the dog, and that their food bags aren't recyclable.

When we had dogs, I would buy their food in the largest possible bags. I used these bags as garbage bags. CAn you reuse any plastic bags that you get as poop bags - like the bags that bread comes in? 

We have a cat, but she roams the community (that's standard here) so no poop bag issues or litter needs. 

[kadams767]

Feb 1, 2019 10:58:09 GMT -5 followyourarrow said:

Any suggestions for pets? I feel guilty about the cat litter, pop bags for the dog, and that their food bags aren't recyclable.

We reuse any plastic bags that we do have, from grocery store or target, random food bags we end up with, etc.  We also bought the biodegradable poop bags for our daily walks.  They come in rolls and were very cheap for a large quantity.  


www.amazon.com/Earth-Rated-Lavender-Scented-Completely/dp/B00BSYR7K8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549043398&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=biodegradable+poop+bags&psc=1

[lolalolalola]

Feb 1, 2019 10:58:09 GMT -5 followyourarrow said:

Any suggestions for pets? I feel guilty about the cat litter, pop bags for the dog, and that their food bags aren't recyclable.

Cat litter goes into compost where we live which is nice.

[minzy]

I just watched this today... check out the ~10 minute Greta Thunberg TedXStockholm talk.

[niemand88f]

-I switched to shampoo bars last year. I suggest checking your local craft/farmer's markets for a local soapmaker, their bars will be a lot cheaper than Lush! Also expect an unpleasant result the first time you use it, it takes some time for your hair to adjust. I rinse with apple cider vinegar sometimes.
-I use a lot fewer produce bags- I generally go by the guideline if you're going to peel it you don't need to bag it (citrus, potatoes, bananas, etc)
-Started taking public transportation to work 3 days/week last summer
-Gardening & composting
-Work in progress- using rags instead of paper towels
-Vegetarian for just over 2 years. It has been much easier than I thought it would be, there are so many great substitutes out there
-Trying to make some product choices based on packaging. But when you're on the lookout for wasteful packaging, it can be so depressing to realize just how bad it is

[ellipses84]

I love that a lot of these things are also very MM! Consumerism is not good for the environment. When I studied abroad in college I remember feeling so depressed that the country I was in didn’t recycle like the US, although there were things about that lifestyle that were way more eco-friendly like shopping at outdoor markets for fresh food with no disposable packaging, walking everywhere, etc. Despite how it may feel like it’s hard to make an individual difference, a lot of individuals together can make a huge impact. Buildings use an enormous amount of energy and there’s been major strides in the construction industry for more eco friendly practices and net-zero buildings are becoming more common. I recently heard a local ecologist speak and he talked about the recycling problems (other countries don’t want our trash).

Probably the most impactful thing I do is live in small, multi-family housing, which cuts down on the energy we use, and also makes me not want to buy things because we don’t have space. I would like to live in a slightly larger place but I would never want a huge house because I would hate spending money and energy on it.

Plastic bags are banned where I live (or they charge for a different kid of plastic). I got more reusable shopping bags and straws for Christmas. With the spending freeze, I noticed how much we saved on trash/recycling and packaging, in addition to the $$ savings so I want to keep that up.

I posted about it in the other group, but my local Buy Nothing group is amazing and really promotes re-use.

[sunnysally]

What do you use for garbage bags? I take reusable bags to the grocery store, but sometimes I get the plastic bags to use for garbage.

[Poppy]

I have found your posts so inspiring.

We do a lot of this stuff but I have gotten complacent lately so need to refocus.

Last summer we started getting compost pickup (after failing at home composting) and it was really illuminating about how much food we waste, so that has helped me think harder about how to reduce food waste. Would probably be useful to try the weighing of garbage, too.

I am also setting a goal to eat less meat, which will be good for our health and the environment.

[Poeticxpassion]

This post is so inspiring. I’m definitely talking to DH to implement some of these ideas.

Question- does anyone know if I can recycle the plastic baby food pouches? DS goes through those like crazy and I hate they are individual pouches.

[caramia]

Feb 2, 2019 17:08:06 GMT -5 Poeticxpassion said:

This post is so inspiring. I’m definitely talking to DH to implement some of these ideas.

Question- does anyone know if I can recycle the plastic baby food pouches? DS goes through those like crazy and I hate they are individual pouches.

We have these reusable ones: smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TXBSHBQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1549147392&sr=8-5&keywords=reusable+pouches+baby+food&dpPl=1&dpID=51XOc513YcL&ref=plSrch

[sadlebred]

Feb 2, 2019 11:16:16 GMT -5 sunnysally said:

What do you use for garbage bags? I take reusable bags to the grocery store, but sometimes I get the plastic bags to use for garbage.

I use regular plastic garbage bags for the kitchen and recycle trash cans. I haven't found a good substitute. Paper bags will break if they gets wet. I seemingly live on an ant hill in the warmer months, so what little food waste there is (or even crumbs from wiping down the counter w/a sponge) have to be contained in something that is "ant proof" or at least somewhere hopefully the ants can't find it.

Like RockNVoll, I reuse plastic grocery bags to line the small garbage cans around the house. Other than the bathroom, they get reused for at least several weeks. It's easy to do since only paper/dry items get put in them. I dump them in the larger trash bag before it is taken out to the trash. If I get too many grocery bags I take them to the grocery store to recycle.

[sunnysally]

RockNVoll,sadlebred That is basically what I do as well. We have done pretty well reducing our plastic use, but garbage is one area I can't cut out.

[pumpkin]

Jan 31, 2019 11:06:51 GMT -5 melmaria said:

I think it was mentioned in another thread that having pump bottles for shampoo/conditioner/body wash helps make your stuff last longer vs. a pour out bottle because you're likely to use less. It just hit me that this is why my current bottle of body wash seems to be lasting forever. All of our stuff is in pump bottles, so I guess that helps!

This is good to know especially since I've found that I prefer most products in a pump for my ease.

[Gato]

My friends and I talk about this a lot. I was lucky to have spent my 20s in Berkeley, where awareness of this issue was high even in the 90s, so I’ve practiced minimal consumption all my adult life. For our family, this means:

- buy most clothes used. We’ve found our favorite go-to consignment stores that always seem to have good stuff. We also re-sell to these stores when the girls outgrow their clothes. I also use ThredUP and have been very happy with them.

- same goes for furniture; most of it’s used. In addition to saving money and not bringing more crap into the world, older furniture is much better made, and more stylish if you know what to look for.

- we’ve got our beef consumption down to once or twice a month, and we eat vegetarian about 1/3 of our meals. We try to buy as locally as we can in all cases. Luckily Maine has a huge local farm scene. Where I really struggle is cutting back on milk products. We all love cheese, yogurt, and ice cream so much. But I hope all cow stuff will be out of our lives in the next ten years.

- Reduce air travel, drive a bio-diesel car using a company that recycles plant-based oil.

- We live in a 1200 sf house for 4 people. That has reduced consumption in and of itself because it’s full up and we don’t need any more “stuff.” The girls get experiences instead of a lot of crap for presents. It takes less to heat (and nothing to cool, because Maine). We do need to replace ALL the appliances, as the ones that came with the house are pre-energy star.

- almost all our household waste comes from grocery packaging, so our five-year goal is to reduce that as much as possible.

[melmel48]

Feb 1, 2019 10:58:09 GMT -5 followyourarrow said:

Any suggestions for pets? I feel guilty about the cat litter, pop bags for the dog, and that their food bags aren't recyclable.

I bought cat litter bags that are biodegradable on Amazon. 


www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077PHM88J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[dcn]

Feb 2, 2019 17:08:06 GMT -5 Poeticxpassion said:

This post is so inspiring. I’m definitely talking to DH to implement some of these ideas.

Question- does anyone know if I can recycle the plastic baby food pouches? DS goes through those like crazy and I hate they are individual pouches.

If you google terracycle pouch recycling you may find something. They say they recycle all the odd stuff that you can’t throw in your recycling bin.

Does anyone know if they really do? Or only if they have a buyer?

[gt7301b]

I know it is a small thing, but how hard is it to refuse a plastic bag? I was at CVS yesterday and I had to tell the associate three times I don't need a bag.

I was planning on making a vegan dish for lunch this week, but I realized that I have lunches to make it through at least Wednesday if I pay attention to leftovers and what I have in the freezer. In the past I probably would have just made lunch and then realized at the end of the week I had enough for one or two lunches in the back of the fridge.

[onomatopoeia]

Feb 3, 2019 10:49:40 GMT -5 Gato said:

- We live in a 1200 sf house for 4 people. That has reduced consumption in and of itself because it’s full up and we don’t need any more “stuff.” The girls get experiences instead of a lot of crap for presents. It takes less to heat (and nothing to cool, because Maine). 

We are in a similar situation, and I think it's been the number one contributor for us in terms of saving money, energy and waste and reducing consumption.  Our house is very small for our area (lots of big McMansions) and it amazes me how much space people think they need (and the feel they have to fix with stuff).  Our next project is to investigate solar panels for our roof.

Our area has gone mostly plastic-bag free so I've been a lot better lately about using reusable tote bags. I use any paper bags I get to collect recycling.  I also started a recycling collection bin at work last year for plastics which I then bring home (they only do paper).  We save a lot of paper stuff to burn in the fire pit in our yard, and I re-use grocery produce bags for the small trash cans around the house.  We also recently started composting.  We drink breakfast shakes every day but have been using re-usable straws for a while now.  We're really trying to get better at reducing food waste.

There's some great ideas in this thread!

[aprilsails]

I feel like I am being terrible this year since we are building a new home. I know the environmental cost of construction so that is unfortunate. That being said, we are building custom to our needs and also with a plan for the future:
- We specifically chose the lot for the Southwestern rear exposure so that we can cover the entire flat back of the roof with solar panels.
- We are paying additional to achieve a very high insulation value (R30) throughout the entire house envelope. This will minimize heating and cooling costs and related emissions.
- We’ve upgraded the electrical service to account for charging future electric cars.
- All HVAC equipment and appliances exceed energy star requirements and include heat recovery.
- The backyard will be large enough and have good sun exposure for gardening. We will set up a compost as well (we do currently compost through a City program year round).

While the house is large (2200 sq ft + garage) we have made it as efficient as possible. Building this home now also prevents us from ‘inheriting’ my ILs home, which they have talked about selling to us for about 5 years. It is 3600 sq ft on one acre and is just far too large for our needs or wants and will cost a fortune for anyone to maintain and update. They have done very minimal work to it over the past thirty years.

I do wonder in my region what will happen to all the McMansions. There are so many and so many going up and they horrify me in their waste and scale.

[onomatopoeia]

Feb 7, 2019 10:56:14 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

I do wonder in my region what will happen to all the McMansions. There are so many and so many going up and they horrify me in their waste and scale.

I wonder this as well.  I live in a small UMC town and there's a shortage of smaller, affordable homes.  But there's lots of new construction! Every new build is 3000+ SF and starts at $600K, and from what I've seen and heard the quality isn't even great.  The lots are tiny and the houses are not situated well.  We have an older 1200 sf house even if we wanted to upgrade we couldn't/don't want to.  I do wonder if in 10-20 years there will be all these big houses sitting vacant as people start to shift priorities.  

[aprilsails]

Feb 7, 2019 12:58:49 GMT -5 onomatopoeia said:

Feb 7, 2019 10:56:14 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

I do wonder in my region what will happen to all the McMansions. There are so many and so many going up and they horrify me in their waste and scale.

I wonder this as well.  I live in a small UMC town and there's a shortage of smaller, affordable homes.  But there's lots of new construction! Every new build is 3000+ SF and starts at $600K, and from what I've seen and heard the quality isn't even great.  The lots are tiny and the houses are not situated well.  We have an older 1200 sf house even if we wanted to upgrade we couldn't/don't want to.  I do wonder if in 10-20 years there will be all these big houses sitting vacant as people start to shift priorities.  

My parents and ILs live in an area that has vyed for the highest average income per capita in Canada over the years. All the lots are 1acre+, all the homes are big. DH and I have high salaries for our age (200k) and could technically easily afford to live there now. I just can’t stand the thought of maintaining and cleaning those houses. I’ve watched our parents do it for years and it has zero appeal. Where will the baby boomers offload these houses? We’re expecting a massive market crash in our area in about 10 years when this entire market turns over.

[broadsheet]

I am late to this thread but wanted to put in a plug for a toilet paper subscription service called Who Gives A Crap. We’ve been using it a few months and love it - the materials are all eco friendly and the company donates 50 percent of profit to help build toilets in areas of need. Really cool company!

[sillygoosegirl]

Jan 30, 2019 22:21:21 GMT -5 k3am said:

The Kon Mari thing is kind of love/hate for me. I read a great article on how it’s basically the ultimate form of privilege.

My friend sent me a post of 15 bags full off stuff for donation from her KM purge. One year after her original KM purge of about the same amount.

It's so true! It would be nice to give away a bunch of stuff I rarely use and have less clutter, but realistically speaking, that just means I would have to buy that same shit again in a few years when I actually do need/want it again. If it weren't for the waste involved, I'd absolutely do this. Who doesn't love new things and less clutter? But ultimately is very wasteful from both an environmental and financial sense. If I was actually gonna move into a different home with less storage space and a smaller energy footprint, this might make sense, but realistically speaking, I'm not moving.

I think people don't realize it, but a lot of things we donate don't even make it onto the shelves of a thrift shop or into the hands of someone who needs it. The world is awash with donated clothing and other crap, and a ton of it just ends up going straight to the landfill.