Moving? Use clean sheets, pillowcases, and towels to pack breakable items like dishes and framed artwork. The soft material will help cushion your breakables, reducing or eliminating the need for bubble wrap. As an added bonus, linens and kitchen items are usually among the first things you’ll need to unpack at your new place, so using one to help pack the other means you’ll find everything you need in one box. Clever, eh?
Solar ovens are inexpensive and easy to use, and you’ll cook for free every time you use one. Since it doesn’t require electricity, fossil fuels, or propane, a solar oven is perfect for your emergency supply kit. They also pasteurize water for drinking. Check out solarovens.org to see the great work this nonprofit is doing with solar ovens in developing countries. Go solar and really worship the sun.
Bring reusable shopping bags when heading to the store. Whether you are grocery shopping or heading out with friends to splurge on clothes, take your own bags with you. Many stores have totes and reusable bags for a few dollars by the checkout lines that are more durable, hold more objects, and last much longer than those flimsy paper and non-biodegradable plastic bags. Reusable shopping bags help the environment by using less plastic and cutting down fewer trees.
Diaper with a conscience. By the time a child is potty trained, a parent will have changed between 5,000 and 8,000 diapers, adding up to approximately 3.5 million tons of waste in US landfills each year. Whether you use cloth or a more environmentally friendly disposable alternative, you’re making a choice that has a gentler impact on the planet.
