S/O Greener products rant/raves

[nospaekae]

Jan 7, 2020 8:25:58 GMT -5 aspentosh said:

Jan 7, 2020 8:21:49 GMT -5 nospaekae said:

This is really helpful, thanks. Just looked up the ingredients of the one I bought and it doesn't include sodium hydroxide so fingers crossed it works. 

Your explanation is exactly why I've put it off... but no longer!

Let us know how it works! I'm always looking for new ones to try.

[namasteak]

Has anyone found a silicone “ziplock” in a gallon size?

[namasteak]

I can’t rave on it yet but I am waiting for my cargo bike to arrive! I have borrowed a friends one day and loved it so I’m hopeful I will love owning one too. My goal is to only fill my car up once a month.

[mrspez07]

Jan 7, 2020 19:56:42 GMT -5 namasteak said:

Has anyone found a silicone “ziplock” in a gallon size?

I’ve found blue avocado brand to be good, and had gotten a set with 1 large bag included. Not sure if they have a whole package with the larger bags tho.

[wawa]

Jan 7, 2020 20:00:22 GMT -5 namasteak said:

I can’t rave on it yet but I am waiting for my cargo bike to arrive! I have borrowed a friends one day and loved it so I’m hopeful I will love owning one too. My goal is to only fill my car up once a month.

I want one! What did you get?

[namasteak]

Jan 8, 2020 7:54:31 GMT -5 wawa said:

Jan 7, 2020 20:00:22 GMT -5 namasteak said:

I can’t rave on it yet but I am waiting for my cargo bike to arrive! I have borrowed a friends one day and loved it so I’m hopeful I will love owning one too. My goal is to only fill my car up once a month.

I want one! What did you get?

A bunch bike! I like that the bench seats have storage and it’s semi electric (great as kids get bigger/longer distances). I added the toddler seat for my 7 month old and the front door (so it’s easier for the 4 year old to get in).


Bonus - they are only an hour north!

[womet]

Jan 5, 2020 21:52:35 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I really wanted to switch to powdered dish detergent but we tried and all silverware started to get a rust colored coating on it..when I went back to liquid it went away. Anyone know why this is? How to fix?

I haven't gotten through this post to see if anyone responded, but I've heard that the lemon scented dish washer detergent can cause your flatware to rust. 

[brandy0331]

Jan 5, 2020 22:44:42 GMT -5 nessness said:

I tried bar shampoo and it didn't work for me - I gave my hair a month to "transition" before deciding enough was enough. Switching to bar soap in place of liquid hand soap and body wash has been pretty painless though, and I found out that my preferred grocery store, WinCo, sells good packaging-free bar soap.

I just bought the laundry strips that onomatopoeia recommended. I haven't gotten them yet, but they have good reviews and I'm excited to try them!

@@@
I use a ton of products on my biracial daughters' hair, all of which are packaged in plastic of course. I'm thinking about trying to make my own flax gel - I've never bought it because it's pricey, but it seems pretty straightforward to make, and people seem to love it for curly hair. Has anyone tried this before?

I have naturally curly hair and have made my own flax seed gel. I loved it but it does seem to go bad after about a week or so. I stored it in the fridge too. So it is kind of a pain to make it every week. Much cheaper though and works really well.

[picksthemusic]

Has anyone tried or looked into that cleaning product they've been advertising on Instagram and FB? It's apparently a reusable spray bottle that you put water and then a packet of salt/baking soda/vinegar into and then this device electrifies it or whatever and then it becomes this industrial strength cleaner that is also super safe for kids/pets/whatever but kills everything?

I'm slightly interested because I hate buying several different cleaners for different parts of my house and if one thing can get the job done that would be great.

[nessness]

Jan 8, 2020 10:08:04 GMT -5 brandy0331 said:

Jan 5, 2020 22:44:42 GMT -5 nessness said:

I tried bar shampoo and it didn't work for me - I gave my hair a month to "transition" before deciding enough was enough. Switching to bar soap in place of liquid hand soap and body wash has been pretty painless though, and I found out that my preferred grocery store, WinCo, sells good packaging-free bar soap.

I just bought the laundry strips that onomatopoeia recommended. I haven't gotten them yet, but they have good reviews and I'm excited to try them!

@@@
I use a ton of products on my biracial daughters' hair, all of which are packaged in plastic of course. I'm thinking about trying to make my own flax gel - I've never bought it because it's pricey, but it seems pretty straightforward to make, and people seem to love it for curly hair. Has anyone tried this before?

I have naturally curly hair and have made my own flax seed gel. I loved it but it does seem to go bad after about a week or so. I stored it in the fridge too. So it is kind of a pain to make it every week. Much cheaper though and works really well.

Thanks! I can't really see myself making it every week, but it's worth a shot.

[karinothing]

Jan 8, 2020 9:40:37 GMT -5 womet said:

Jan 5, 2020 21:52:35 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I really wanted to switch to powdered dish detergent but we tried and all silverware started to get a rust colored coating on it..when I went back to liquid it went away. Anyone know why this is? How to fix?

I haven't gotten through this post to see if anyone responded, but I've heard that the lemon scented dish washer detergent can cause your flatware to rust. 

No one responded! Interesting. I don't remember if its scented. I will have to check.

[blue]

Jan 5, 2020 21:52:35 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I really wanted to switch to powdered dish detergent but we tried and all silverware started to get a rust colored coating on it..when I went back to liquid it went away. Anyone know why this is? How to fix?

We’ve been using ecover powder for years and don’t have any problems. We use vinegar as rinse aid.

[muffin0]

Jan 5, 2020 13:42:14 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

I’m not thrilled with my dryer balls in the winter- they’re pretty useless against static.

We had quite a light show with our sheets when we used dryer balls. It was crazy. I keep the balls in the dryer, but use sheets as well. The static electricity was insane.

[muffin0]

Jan 5, 2020 21:52:35 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I really wanted to switch to powdered dish detergent but we tried and all silverware started to get a rust colored coating on it..when I went back to liquid it went away. Anyone know why this is? How to fix?

Lemon shine?

[mbcdefg]

Bed frames for the Athletes Village at the Tokyo Olympics will be made from cardboard so they can be recycled afterward: apnews.com/226b432362e6056d0d0807afa76f9433?utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow

(Which begs the question, in prior Olympics did they just throw the beds out afterward? The rooms didn’t come furnished for post-Olympics buyers?)

[sometimesrunner]

Jan 6, 2020 10:05:25 GMT -5 aspentosh said:

Jan 5, 2020 22:44:42 GMT -5 nessness said:

I tried bar shampoo and it didn't work for me - I gave my hair a month to "transition" before deciding enough was enough. Switching to bar soap in place of liquid hand soap and body wash has been pretty painless though, and I found out that my preferred grocery store, WinCo, sells good packaging-free bar soap.

Which kind?

I just bought HiBar to try based on reviews and doing lots of reading. A lot of people said it was better than Lush, which I hadn't tried. Wondering if I should avoid what didn't work for you (in case HiBar doesn't work).

I've been eyeing those bars! I tried a Lush bar and started using it on DD while I used up my "regular" shampoo, and it made her hair dull and tangle-y. DD loved the Lush bar because it was pink, so she'd love if we swapped for bars again. Will you keep us updated on how these work for you? 

[aspentosh]

sometimesrunner, of course. Unfortunately they are backordered from where I bought them... hopefully they'll come in the next couple weeks. Will definitely update!

[aspentosh]

For anyone looking to buy some Stasher bags, they are Amazon's deal of the day.

[lovelovelove]

Looking for some pet product recommendations, please

For cats- wet food in gravy or broth in either larger containers or greener containers

For dogs- green plush toys for dogs that quickly destroy toys. And/or what to do with destroyed toys.

I'm feeling like my pets are very bad for the environment.

Thanks!!

[pixy0stix]

Jan 9, 2020 15:32:37 GMT -5 lovelovelove said:

For dogs- green plush toys for dogs that quickly destroy toys. And/or what to do with destroyed toys.

Get plush toys from second hand stores. There's not much you can do once they're destroyed, but this way you're not buying new products.

[lovelovelove]

Jan 9, 2020 15:35:57 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jan 9, 2020 15:32:37 GMT -5 lovelovelove said:

For dogs- green plush toys for dogs that quickly destroy toys. And/or what to do with destroyed toys.

Get plush toys from second hand stores. There's not much you can do once they're destroyed, but this way you're not buying new products.

Oh thanks! I'll keep an eye out.

[icedcoffee]

Jan 9, 2020 15:32:37 GMT -5 lovelovelove said:

For dogs- green plush toys for dogs that quickly destroy toys. And/or what to do with destroyed toys.

Make your own dog toys by cutting up old t-shirts and braiding them?

[aspentosh]

Jan 9, 2020 15:32:37 GMT -5 lovelovelove said:

For dogs- green plush toys for dogs that quickly destroy toys. And/or what to do with destroyed toys.

We do stuff less to reduce how much waste there is, and then she plays with it until it's in tiny pieces. I replace 2-3x a year. For tougher chewing we also have marrow bones and nylabones (last years for our pitbull).

[carmenere]

I would love some recs for lotion for dry winter skin. Specifically I’m looking for less hard-to-recycle packaging and also sustainable ingredients.

[icedcoffee]

Jan 5, 2020 18:59:49 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

Jan 5, 2020 18:29:54 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

This is probably a stupid question, but what do people use instead of 500 MILLION COTTON ROUNDS to clean their face and remove makeup, put on toner etc.? I'm not good at this sort of skin care to begin with but in my first few weeks of starting a real routine it feels like I'm constantly using and disposing of cotton. I could probably use some sort of microfiber cloth, but man I'd need a LOT of them because we don't typically do laundry more than once every two weeks and I feel like reusing the same cloths over and over in between washings probably defeats the purpose somewhat (and any opinions on whether increasing laundry frequency is better or worse than using disposable cotton rounds?)

A friend of mine just ordered these reusable cotton rounds. Maybe they could work for you?

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J6B6BL6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks!  I just ordered these to use with my toner!  I hope I like them!  Not only is it better for the environment, but it will be cheaper long term and I don't need to remember to buy more cotton balls!  My leftover cotton balls should be enough for any time I don't do laundry quick enough for a few years!

[picksthemusic]

Jan 10, 2020 6:27:55 GMT -5 carmenere said:

I would love some recs for lotion for dry winter skin. Specifically I’m looking for less hard-to-recycle packaging and also sustainable ingredients.

Lush Dream Cream is great, as is Helping Hands. They take back their containers and reuse them, and when you bring them back they give you a free face mask!

[oswin]

Jan 8, 2020 10:14:06 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

Has anyone tried or looked into that cleaning product they've been advertising on Instagram and FB? It's apparently a reusable spray bottle that you put water and then a packet of salt/baking soda/vinegar into and then this device electrifies it or whatever and then it becomes this industrial strength cleaner that is also super safe for kids/pets/whatever but kills everything?

I'm slightly interested because I hate buying several different cleaners for different parts of my house and if one thing can get the job done that would be great.

Never heard of that, but allow me to recommend the cleaner we use: www.amazon.com/Steramine-Quaternary-Sanitizing-Tablets-Sanitizer/dp/B000W09SF6 Yes, it comes in a plastic bottle, but we bought one bottle several years ago and still haven't gone through it. Mix one tablet into a gallon of water (we re-use a milk jug for this). Then use that to fill a spray bottle. Sometimes we add vinegar in, but we usually also have a separate spray bottle of just vinegar. We call it "blue spray" (the liquid is blue), and we use it to clean most things in our house. Because it's primarily a sanitizer, it's an alternative to bleach. Since it's explicitly for cleaning food surfaces, it's pretty safe (I mean, don't drink it or anything). Doesn't smell like anything, which we love.

[secretlyevil]

I just ordered a sample pack of the WGAC TP, we are getting low. I’m excited to try it out.

H still hasn’t said anything about the lack of paper plates in the house. Here’s hoping if I introduce things incrementally he’ll go with it. The one thing I’ve given up on is paper towels, we are way better than we used to be but if there wasn’t a paper towel in the house I think H would lose it.

ETA: I’m monitoring paper towel and kleenex stash and will order WGAC when we are low.

[turboteal]

Anyone tried the Leaf razor or similar? Also looking for suggestions for a bar/low packaging face wash to replace my cosrx low ph wash.

We have always used bar soap in the shower, recently have tried Lush shampoo bars and pretty happy with them (Godiva first, liked it but it had some different sized lumps and the big ones were left at the end once the small pieces melted, now using Jason and the Argan Oil and liking it better). They lather way more than I would have expected, which is great. It does feel a little wierd when when you rinse, instead of my fingers gliding through my hair easily, it feels like my hair is a little grippy? But once I dry my hair it feels totally normal and definitely clean. I got some face cleanser from there (Let the Good Times Roll) but it feels like I'm rubbing cookie dough on my face (very "grippy" and not lathery). Also didn't realize it expires within a month or two.

I have been buying Pact organic cotton shirts/jackets for a while and am really happy with them, very soft and comfy. Also just bought wooden/horsehair dish brushes from Wild Minimalist to replace my plastic Oxo ones, seem good so far. We also have been using WGAC toilet paper, first the recycled, now trying the bamboo (it's definitely softer). Love how long the rolls last!

[AAM2012]

Not sure if someone here recommended these bamboo toothbrushes or not but wanted to share. They’re very comfortable to hold and they breakdown naturally (or can be composted) after use.


Kimz bamboo natural toothbrush charcoal black soft bristles biodegradable environmental ecofriendly compostable family pack case-pack of 4 www.amazon.com/dp/B07GWQT8WK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_8NZgEbCKHJ2AB