One thing I love doing is saving paper! As a school student I would hesitate to throw away notebooks that I didn't need anymore if they had a few fresh pages left, but I couldn't get myself to use them either so by the end of high school I was left with a huge pile of used notebooks from as early as middle school. I took the time to tear out fresh pages or even the ones that have something written but they are still mostly empty. Now I have so many pages stored in a clear bag that I could spiral bind them and make an entirely new notebook! Whenever I need to write something down like a phone number or a grocery list, or even for doodling or when my little niece wants to draw something I take a paper from there so I don't have to tear a fresh page from the existing notebooks that I use. I'm thinking of actually spiral binding it to make a new one.
I do the exact same thing!! I have acquired so much paper by doing that that it blows my mind how much would have been wasted. It'll take me years to get through it and before I have to buy new notebooks, and it also saved me so much psychological discomfort, as there's just something about throwing out unused paper that bothers me, like "this object didn't fulfill the purpose for which it has been created :( " 😂😂 I staple them together btw-one staple in the upper left corner. Those pages from big notebooks I leave them as they are, stapled by type (lined or not, math, colour, thickness, etc) if they're few enough to be staple-able, and when I want to use one I just rip one; if they're too many to staple them, I just keep them stacked. Anything smaller than a big-sized notebook I rip the pages in two or three parts usually, staple a bunch together, and use them as post-its basically, for grocery and to-do lists etc. and I just rip them out. Those nice big pages, if I need them more put together, like a notebook, I have this thing (can't remember the name now😅, but like a file with sturdy covers)-so I just punch some holes in the pages, attach them, and BAM!, a notebook with removable pages. 😁
@Shaira Sultana. I do that too! And recently I've been attempting to bind a notebook needle and thread... Still ongoing but such a good way to use old pages.
Me too. I cannot bear to throw out a notebook my son no longer uses for school. If it is in good shape, I will be sneaky and he can use it the following year. If it is too used up, I tear out the unused pieces and put in a 3 ring notebook. My son decided he would no longer use wide ruled, so I kept 2 notebooks and donated the loose pages to the local shelter.
Someone in my neighborhood throws leaves in huge piles near the creek. One of the piles was already in a great state of decomposition, so one day I took a feed bag down there and was collecting the leaves to use as mulch in my garden, when a friendly neighbor approached me and asked if I was picking up trash. We have been trash collecting buddies ever since! So awesome that one of my zero waste/cheapskate odd behaviors allowed me to meet such a great friend.
I make scrunchies with broken hair ties! I use scraps of fabric and make a tube, thread the hair tie through and tie them together inside the scrunchie and you can’t tell ☺️
We turned half of our yard into a garden last spring (need the other half for our pup to have a safe place to run around) and we have definitly stolen people's bags of leaves from their driveways to use as mulch to cover the garden for the winter 🤣
Some things I do to reduce my waste that might be considered weird: 1. I bring my own kitchen towel to work to dry my hands instead of using papertowels since my workplace does not have hand driers. 2. Whenever I pack food like an apple where I won't eat the core or if it has a pit like peaches and avocados I will wrap the core/pit in a compostable paper towel and take it home to composte for later!
Love this! I always water down my soap and I use old fabric to make hair-ties. I am seconding another person's comment on using broken hair ties to make homemade scrunchies! Just make a tube of fabric and thread the broken one through, tie the ends in a knot, and sew the fabric over the knot as best you can! Makes a really good zero-waste gift for people as well (and an opportunity to use up those saved fabric scraps we all have!)
Girl...I so feel you on the leaving water running. I have to go somewhere when my husband does dishes because he leaves the water running the entire time. Just typing this gives me chills thinking about it. Or when my kids are brushing their teeth, I am all over it if they leave water running for too long.
When i was a child I remember a sort of cartoon they showed us in school about water waste. It's a drawing from a house and a little pond. The tap in the house is connected to the pond where the fish live and if you leave the tap running when it's unnecessary the pond runs dry and the fish will die. It's kind of weird but always stayed with me and I've never again left the tap running while brushing my teeth. Maybe your kids will understand it better this way?
Oh my gosh! I recently started dating my roommate (yeah, yeah) and now that we're dating I started asking him to turn the water off. If we're having a conversation I cannot focus when he leaves the water running! And then I apologize a thousand times because it's still a new relationship and I don't want him to feel like I'm criticizing him.
"I don't know what time is in 2020 anymore" well that hit hard XD I empty any types of food containers to the last bits, it drives me crazy when people thorow away nearly a spoon of yougurt or something left
Just make sure it not synthetic, most are so plastic it getting into the soil. I know there sre s few plant based one a di think there is ones that are compostable.
I ran out of hair ties and didn't want to buy any. I ended up sewing wrist size circles out of an old bikini swimsuit tie, and I love them!! It's more gentle on hair and works great! ;)
It's actually a very common habit for many people . Usually it's done to save money, but who cares. ;) I've been doing it for over 35 years now & I also collect boxes from mail that can be re- used along with packaging like bubble wrap, etc. :)
Also always saved wrapping papers, not only to save money and be environmentally friendly, but because I love to have a variety of colours, oatterns and textures. And whenever I choose some paper from my stash, this gets me excited and I feel sorry for people who have to always use the same kind of paper to wrap their presents
I love this series and normalizing the "weird" things!! I made a part 1 for my own channel a while back and have been brainstorming for a part two. For example.......someone in my neighborhood threw out a 20lb pumpkin (NOT ROTTEN) so I took it home, roasted it, pureed it, and froze it all for good use!! I ALSO HATE WHEN PEOPLE THROW AWAY NATURAL MATERIALS AHHHHH when my neighbors dispose of lawn clippings I want to rip my hair out! Nice video :)
I think as long as what you do towards zero waste for yourself will be ok as obviously u can’t expect your parents to be if they don’t want to. But there’s still things u can do in your beauty regime, skin/ body care , clothing etc It will help for when u do get to move out on your own and u can fully do zero waste then. Don’t beat yourself up about something’s not in your control xx keep safe and well xx
Zero waste is a journey and there are things you can still incorporate even if you live at home. I live at home and I use up every last bit of my toiletries, buy my clothes and electronics secondhand, air dry clothes in my room, sew/mend damaged clothes, save electricity and water, bring a food container when I go out to eat with friends in case I acquire leftovers, give away stuff I don't need instead of trashing them, and reuse everything until they're not usable. If my parents are out and ask if I want them to pick up food for me, I'm the one that says we have leftovers at home and I'll eat that. Even if you do just a few things like that you are making a difference (:
I also live at home and have been known to take things out of the trash that can be donated or recycled. I'm asking for products that help with zero waste for Christmas (ie beeswax wrap) and its started conversations with my parents. They have gotten more conscious of buying things we already get in glass vs plastic and my mom has started asking me if things are recyclable.
This reminded me of being at a fancy restaurant for a very serious gathering and the decorations in that place were stunning - basically all edible plants. Like, on the table there were beet greens, basil, parsley etc. And I loved it so much I saw it as seasoning to my food and would take a bit. Other people and distant relatives were weirded out, but I honestly saw it as a great idea -what are they gonna say? Don't eat those edible plants that are food and I came there to eat anyway? :D
Your water saving pet peeve is so relatable!! I once literally jumped in between two strangers at the bathroom sink because they were having a chat while the water was running like how dare you 😁
Among many things i have learned from you so far the best was actually not to go too hard on myself about being zero waste. I do what i CAN do and I do not stress myself about things I can not change at the moment. I made some big changes in my life in terms of zero waste lifestyle but I am not perfect and I think it is ok not to be perfect. 💕
@@Briardie yeah 👌 OK I will do that. I get my shampoo from one of those refillable shops so I will just not fully fill the bottle next time and add water. Thanks for the tip
I also use broken hairties to tie food packets like chips or cookiers or whatever. Another thing I do with them is to tie the elastic so it stills work as a hairtie for when I wear braids.
I grew up on a cattle property in Australia and was taught to be very frugal with water. I have no understanding why people have the tap running when they clean their teeth. Its like they can't figure out when they will need to rinse so have the tap on just in case.
On others leaving the tap on - I always jump to do the dishes at friends' houses to control it haha. I also never throw boxes or any packaging away, like the bubble envelopes also!
this actually makes me feel better about not raking our backyard this year. I noticed recently that they started breaking down naturally at a pretty quick rate so I might convince my mom to leave the backyard alone this year ☺️
Hello Gittemary! 😊 You’re not alone! I also water down my dish soap, save gift wrappers and am also oddly conscious of how long it takes someone to turn off the tap. 😅
Everyone thinks I'm weird that I save gift wrap and gift tissue. Even my mother, who actually taught me to save gift bags. I'm just taking it to the next level ya know? 😅
And I wanna mention that I use the ashes of my waste that I burn like things I can't compost (we call it saambal) to wash my dishes with coconut fibre and for harder dirt I'll mix some lemon juice to it (rarely though) I'm from india. By the way I love your channel ❤️ I'm not sure if like burning waste to ashes is sustainable
Our elders would use the ash from burning wood as cleaning material for pots and pans! And I think they used coconut fiber for scrubbing too! This is back when I lived in Bangladesh.
I think a lot of consumers reward small e-commerce businesses for /not/ re-using packaging materials. people love to gush about how cute the packaging is for a thing that they bought with little fancy boxes and cute paper and a branded note or whatever. And sellers know that the Instagramability of a package = a bunch of free marketing when ppl are excited to show off an unboxing. Recycled and eco friendly packing materials are great, but we should make more effort to use all the packaging materials that already exist in abundance and encourage companies large and small to do the same
That's a very important observation. I'm guessing tho those businesses and consumers are already not in the loop of sustainability. So I wonder how do we make that a known issue within that echo chamber?
Its always nice when you realise you’re more “zero waste” than you thought 😅👌🏼 I keep packages and boxes too, water down my dish soap, never leave the water running for too long. I really want to start using reusable things to wrap gifts in but as a former hoarder of wrapping paper it’s gonna take me a while.... 🙄
I do the same with hairties, because as a swiminstructor the children often need one, and they don't think of giving it back. I would spend way to much money if I had to buy 10 new hairties each week!
I don't use salt in my pasta water because I'm on a low salt diet. I take my hair and put it in the compost bin outside our apartment complex. My hair ties get stench out or break so thanks for the info. Have a great day.....
Same here! From Christchurch as well, it's driving me crazy how long my partner leaved on the tap/shower to have hot water, but does something different in the meantime and the hot water is flowing and flowing 😭
I have partial dreadlocks and when I brush my loose hair I collect the hair from the brush and clean it and save it for future extensions for my own dreads. I’ve not used any of it yet but instead of buying synthetic extensions the plan is to make my own from my own hair. Kinda weird🤪
I dumpster dive at my neighborhood plant nursery. You wouldn't believe what they toss out. Some die but I've had good luck. I've retrieved pepper plants, flowers and some I have no idea what they are. Plus it's fun!
We have a big garden and a couple of fields, we've had tree people round today to take down dangerous boughs and such. The dead stuff is left for wildlife. We have a dead holly Bush in the middle of the garden that the birds seem to queue in for the bird feeders and that has to stay.
I‘m studying architecture and have to build lots of models. As all the craft supplies are crazy expensive and wasteful I started collecting my trash and even going through paper bins in my neighbourhood. Now even my friends collect their trash for me and they‘re always soo excited when they have something for me haha:)
We rescued one of our little swallows that had gotten its leg all tangled in some poly rope strands the parent birds collected for the nest. We were waiting for the bird to fledge from the nest and after 4 days after the last one that could fly away did I saw that the little bird was hanging sort of on the side of the nest trying to get out. I saw that it was tangled and we got the ladder and cut the little bird loose and sent the little bird to a rescue. The rescue called us this year and they were able to successfully release the bird after its leg healed. Long strands of strong string or hair or fiber is detrimental to birds and other animals. Natural things do break down but not always fast enough to allow the escape of animals caught in the tangles. Man made is worst. We were glad we were able to rescue the little bird. Good on you for composting your hair. :)
It’s possible to re-tie hairbands using a reef knot if it’s not at a metal join. Using two at a time makes them break less and means I can make use of the ones that aren’t the ideal thickness or stretchiness too. I loop them so each band is doubled up, rather than one after another (this is so hard to explain without a picture!).
I don’t know if this is a normal thing or not but with my family when we’re washing the dishes up etc it takes ages to get warm water so well boil the kettle up so then there’s not loads of water wasted. Sometimes do it with the bath as well.
Hi! Loved your idea of using snapped elastics for plant ties! Something I do is save eggshells to use as a palette for painting! Wish I could say I use eco-friendly paints but I don't know if they exist. If anyone here knows, please do tell! Another great use for cardboard boxes is making drawer dividers out of them. They are beautiful when covered in wrapping paper or fabric. Wish I could post a picture. We found a bar soap for dishes! So, no more plastic, not even in the shipment! What solution do you use to clean windows? Do you use cloth or biodegradable kitchen towels? One more hack, I use prescription bottles for storage of small screws, bobby pins, and am working on a diy makeup organizer with those and tin cans. Do you recommend a zero waste glue? Oh my! I've written a novel here hahaha. Sorry!
Hiii! Fairyland Cottage has a little tutorial on a natural glue that I'm giving a go this year. You might like her channel. She has all kinds of zero waste / slow living videos that kind of cover what you asked about! Edit: I had to look up the glue recipe incase other wanted to try it, haha. It's 2 tbsp flour, a bit of salt, and a little water!
Thank you Ash Ire! I appreciate you taking the time to research that for me. How kind of you. ☺️ I had thought of that, as I've used it for paper mache in the past. But since it is food, I'm thinking it could not be used for permanent things bc it would eventually get moldy. Hm, maybe rubber cement or something like that?
@@debigreen482 oh gotcha! Maybe a cellulose tape? I'm not sure what you're putting up but that was one of the more natural tapes I was looking at last night so maybe that would be a good solution?
@@Kindofalotooh never heard of that. So many things out there to discover!😁 So I'm using a glue gun and elmer's glue right now for upcycling cardboard boxes, tin cans, prescription bottles and leftover fabric into drawer organizers, makeup holders and the like. It needs to be strong enough to hold these things together for an extended time, and to stay mildew-free 😅. The cellulose tape could possibly work for that.
About the hair in the houseplants: I'm not sure it'll work out as you're expecting, since indoor plants' soil don't have the tiny bugs and microbes that outdoor soil has (maybe yours do, if you've taken the soil from the outside?), which means that there's no one there to decompose the hair 😕 If it actually works, please let me know! 😄
2:20 Gittemary, did you know that if you did the same thing with a foaming dispensing pump, you’d get actual foaming soap instead of regular liquid hand soap? The only difference between liquid and foaming hand soap formulas is WATER so you’re buying water if you’re buying foaming soap. I hope this helps someone out there (look it up if you don’t believe me)
I save seeds all the time. From produce scraps, but also at a restaurant if I like a tomato I put the needs on a little piece of napkin and take them home.
Ugh the tap thing, SAME. My former housemate would leave the water running for waaay too long imo! For example he'd wash vegetables or whatever and then he'd dry them off and lay them down on a cutting board one by one and then stir in the other pan and THEN turn off the tap. And the first few times I'd turn the tap off for him but like the 5th time in the same cooking session I'd just give him a death stare. Grinds my gears for real ugh! And he knows!!
You can also use those really large boxes and make smaller boxes. Make or get some templates for box sizes and some good wood glue and you can make all sizes of boxes you may need. Can make envelopes with waste paper too. Then the extra cardboard that can no longer be used can be given to someone who will compost it if you can't or sent to the recycler who will then send it back to the paper companies and use it for making more cardboard. Same with paper. Paper of course that can be recycled or composted.
I was so excited to hear you talk about water use! When anyone else is washing dishes the sound of the running water makes me crazy. I thought I was the only person in the world with this problem. We think a lot alike on your crazy weird things.
loved this list, i do most of those things as well and it's always funny to see people's weird reactions 😂 about re-using cardboard boxes and envelopes: when i buy vegetables from the store, these days there is an option to pick up your potatoes etc in paper bags instead of plastic bags, and since they're about din A4 size, i re-use these paper bags for my mail! sure, it says edeka on there and the guy at the post office always stares at me oddly but it feels good to re-use something like this and it's also cheaper than buying new envelopes 😇
For years when I clean out my hair brush I throw the hair outside. Birds use it to help bind their nest. When I'm really broke I will rinse off my used paper coffee filter & reuse it. I also craft so I will use them in crafts. And I have made a body scrub from used coffee grounds & olive oil....works great..just be careful tub will be very slippery
Love these! About the dish soap though, I've been using a normal, perfume-free soap bar for my dishes for the past year or so and it works perfectly. Obviously you should choose one that isn't re-hydrating, but other than that it's just hella practical and extremely cheap!
In my hometown. the way the trees were assembled in the yard area wasn't very practical and they grew very huge. There were always too many leaves that they would pile up past the ankles and if left over the winter, it would look really bad in the spring/summer. If I had a yard with leaves and snow (I moved south) then in the fall I'd rake the leaves but still leave a thin layer to nourish the yard during the winter and have the waste facility pick up the rest to use for compost.
I wish I could do the "keeping packages" thing but I just very rarely pack and mail things... and I also live in 28 sq meters apartment so I don't have a place for all those boxes, I do keep smaller packages in case I need them, but only a limited amount. I've heard some people leave their boxes next to recycling bins so people who are moving or just need a box can take them, but that's technically illegal, so I'm still that bad person throwing away my packages...
I feel you! I dedicated a small cupboard for packages... that’s not great. Maybe try and post it on a local Facebook group? Where I live (granted, it’s a big city), folks exchange a lot of things this way. There’s almost always someone interested!
I, too, only keep small boxes. Though I rarely send anything large, so those aren't very useful for me anyway. But, if you are into painting/DIY, those boxes opened up make great covers to have under your projects!
@@iwantobeapanda yeah, I use those groups and I've tried giving away boxes but it's hard since it's literally not worth it for people to come get those boxes unless they live a few blocks away, and even then most people won't come for just one or two boxes and I don't have space to collect more of them.
If it helps and you are a diy person, I have started using boxes to as drawer organizers, since I am also learning how to organize! Lol. There are lots of youtube videos on doing this. They are fun and useful and can even come out quite pretty!
Now that we’ve been doing more carry-out since our restaurants are back to being closed, they put their food into very sturdy plastic containers, and instead of throwing them out, I’m washing them and keeping them to re-use! There’s no use anymore in going and buying more new plastic containers.
I'm the same way when someone else attempts to wash dishes in my home. At this point anyone that would, knows to leave it to my dishwasher 😡. But in order to help, I have installed aerator on all my faucets, the ones I've installed range from 30-70% water saving, that helps because I swear I hear when water is being wasted even when I'm far away 🤣
My partner thinks its gross, but we have a communal recycling bin and if I see a gift bag in there, I'll take it out, give it a wipe and reuse it. I found a new baby one, last week, and they hadn't even written on the tag!!
Growing up my parents always watered down dish soap when there was less than half a bottle left and with shampoos and shower gels and stuff in the bathroom we are Indian and it’s common to do that and then with the pasta water are usually just save it to use in other things like sources or soups or in vegetable births but obviously you would use less because it’s extremely salty or if your pasta water is just a little bit salty then you can get away with just using that in soup. And I’m saving the broken elastics to make scrunchies from them because I do have some scrap fabric that I could easily turn into scrunchies I just have to do it still At home we don’t really need to rake any leaves and the leaves that fall are usually just on the paved path to the back , for those leaves I usually just sweep them onto the grass and then leave them on the grass. When I try saving boxes and envelopes some of my family just throw it away and I re use wrapping paper and tissue paper too , my sisters and friends just give me their used paper and I also hate the water wasting as well with that if you don’t like the tap running for too long you could put like a bowl or a big vessel in the sink and collect the water and use it for your plants or for flushing are number one if you think it’s big enough for that and the dishes big enough to be able to be filled with water and not overflow maybe?
Love this video! I do so many of these things. Even though the water is included in the rent, I still am very careful. Haven’t tried the plant thing...yet. Does bringing home a wild onion plant from the park count?😁
thank you so much that you are making videos, I've learned very much from you, your channel was so necessary for me at the beginig of my zero waste journey❤️
I also turn the tap off when people do dishes. I just can't stand it. Liters, liters! Of water get wasted. So, we should take care of it. Is such a valuable resource. Sometimes I wish it would be more expensive, but that would make it unavailable to many people. So, I just suffer inside.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
One thing I love doing is saving paper! As a school student I would hesitate to throw away notebooks that I didn't need anymore if they had a few fresh pages left, but I couldn't get myself to use them either so by the end of high school I was left with a huge pile of used notebooks from as early as middle school. I took the time to tear out fresh pages or even the ones that have something written but they are still mostly empty. Now I have so many pages stored in a clear bag that I could spiral bind them and make an entirely new notebook! Whenever I need to write something down like a phone number or a grocery list, or even for doodling or when my little niece wants to draw something I take a paper from there so I don't have to tear a fresh page from the existing notebooks that I use. I'm thinking of actually spiral binding it to make a new one.
I do the exact same thing!! I have acquired so much paper by doing that that it blows my mind how much would have been wasted. It'll take me years to get through it and before I have to buy new notebooks, and it also saved me so much psychological discomfort, as there's just something about throwing out unused paper that bothers me, like "this object didn't fulfill the purpose for which it has been created :( " 😂😂
I staple them together btw-one staple in the upper left corner. Those pages from big notebooks I leave them as they are, stapled by type (lined or not, math, colour, thickness, etc) if they're few enough to be staple-able, and when I want to use one I just rip one; if they're too many to staple them, I just keep them stacked.
Anything smaller than a big-sized notebook I rip the pages in two or three parts usually, staple a bunch together, and use them as post-its basically, for grocery and to-do lists etc. and I just rip them out.
Those nice big pages, if I need them more put together, like a notebook, I have this thing (can't remember the name now😅, but like a file with sturdy covers)-so I just punch some holes in the pages, attach them, and BAM!, a notebook with removable pages. 😁
I do the same thing 😊
@Shaira Sultana. I do that too! And recently I've been attempting to bind a notebook needle and thread... Still ongoing but such a good way to use old pages.
i do that too! I even organize it by tipe(lines, grid, blank)
Me too. I cannot bear to throw out a notebook my son no longer uses for school. If it is in good shape, I will be sneaky and he can use it the following year. If it is too used up, I tear out the unused pieces and put in a 3 ring notebook. My son decided he would no longer use wide ruled, so I kept 2 notebooks and donated the loose pages to the local shelter.
Someone in my neighborhood throws leaves in huge piles near the creek. One of the piles was already in a great state of decomposition, so one day I took a feed bag down there and was collecting the leaves to use as mulch in my garden, when a friendly neighbor approached me and asked if I was picking up trash. We have been trash collecting buddies ever since! So awesome that one of my zero waste/cheapskate odd behaviors allowed me to meet such a great friend.
I make scrunchies with broken hair ties! I use scraps of fabric and make a tube, thread the hair tie through and tie them together inside the scrunchie and you can’t tell ☺️
What a great idea! Thanks
I’m doing that too I’ve not made any at the moment but I’ve just collected the broken elastic bands and I have organised my fabric scraps
In the Philippines, its a totally normal thing to water down dish soap. Dish soap commercials even tell u to do so.
I'm just here to say that I'm Italian and I don't put salt in the pasta water either, cause I reuse the water too 😅
Girl. I could never!! Italian too here
I never put salt in my pasta water the only reason for that is to make the water boil faster. Anna In Ohio
My grandma usually cuts old nylon stockings to use as elastic band or hair band
These are the best hair bands
That is so smart! I still have some nylon stockings that I know once I use them will break extremely fast, so this tip is great!
I do that too :) theyre so soft and nice on your hair
Mine used them to store onions over winter :)
@@EmilythePowerfull ^_^
We turned half of our yard into a garden last spring (need the other half for our pup to have a safe place to run around) and we have definitly stolen people's bags of leaves from their driveways to use as mulch to cover the garden for the winter 🤣
What a good idea!
Some things I do to reduce my waste that might be considered weird: 1. I bring my own kitchen towel to work to dry my hands instead of using papertowels since my workplace does not have hand driers. 2. Whenever I pack food like an apple where I won't eat the core or if it has a pit like peaches and avocados I will wrap the core/pit in a compostable paper towel and take it home to composte for later!
Same!!! I even have a rag I keep in my car for messes (because I am a heathen and spill everything) so I do not have to use papertowels!
Thank you for sharing these tips. I will definitely try to start putting these into practise! 💕
i have a hand towel and a tea towel (for drying up my mugs) at work! glad to hear i'm not the only one :)
Love this! I always water down my soap and I use old fabric to make hair-ties. I am seconding another person's comment on using broken hair ties to make homemade scrunchies! Just make a tube of fabric and thread the broken one through, tie the ends in a knot, and sew the fabric over the knot as best you can! Makes a really good zero-waste gift for people as well (and an opportunity to use up those saved fabric scraps we all have!)
These "i am a reused box" notes are such a cute Idea!
Girl...I so feel you on the leaving water running. I have to go somewhere when my husband does dishes because he leaves the water running the entire time. Just typing this gives me chills thinking about it. Or when my kids are brushing their teeth, I am all over it if they leave water running for too long.
When i was a child I remember a sort of cartoon they showed us in school about water waste.
It's a drawing from a house and a little pond. The tap in the house is connected to the pond where the fish live and if you leave the tap running when it's unnecessary the pond runs dry and the fish will die.
It's kind of weird but always stayed with me and I've never again left the tap running while brushing my teeth.
Maybe your kids will understand it better this way?
It’s the same with my boyfriend and dish washing 🙈😅 it’s getting better though 👍🏼
Oh my gosh, that’s sounds awesome. I will have to try it because they are for sure more visual and still need a visual reference. Thanks a bunch!
Oh my gosh! I recently started dating my roommate (yeah, yeah) and now that we're dating I started asking him to turn the water off. If we're having a conversation I cannot focus when he leaves the water running!
And then I apologize a thousand times because it's still a new relationship and I don't want him to feel like I'm criticizing him.
i have a video suggestion: debunking zero waste lifestyle myths hehe i'm new to zero waste lifestyle
I actually have that one in drafts already, hold tight 🙌🌿
@@Gittemary yayyyyyyy!! ☺️ will be waitingggg
"I don't know what time is in 2020 anymore" well that hit hard XD I empty any types of food containers to the last bits, it drives me crazy when people thorow away nearly a spoon of yougurt or something left
I use old newspapers for wrapping paper. The comics especially is a really cute section for gifts.
Also paper grocery store bags.
@@debigreen482 yea I use those too. They are great!
I do this too!!
An old friend of mine does that, too
I just compost my hair, it's easy and provides extra nutrients. But not too much as it can clump
Just make sure it not synthetic, most are so plastic it getting into the soil. I know there sre s few plant based one a di think there is ones that are compostable.
I think she meant the actual hair, not the hairties lol
@@gwynneio that makes more Sense, i read it as hair ties.🤣 Thanks! Have a great day/night
You too!
Is it no longer compostable if it’s clumped?
I ran out of hair ties and didn't want to buy any. I ended up sewing wrist size circles out of an old bikini swimsuit tie, and I love them!! It's more gentle on hair and works great! ;)
That's perfect!
What a great idea, thanks
I feel so known now, hearing that someone else saves their wrapping paper after gently unwrapping it!!! ❤
It's actually a very common habit for many people . Usually it's done to save money, but who cares. ;) I've been doing it for over 35 years now & I also collect boxes from mail that can be re- used along with packaging like bubble wrap, etc. :)
Also always saved wrapping papers, not only to save money and be environmentally friendly, but because I love to have a variety of colours, oatterns and textures. And whenever I choose some paper from my stash, this gets me excited and I feel sorry for people who have to always use the same kind of paper to wrap their presents
I love this series and normalizing the "weird" things!! I made a part 1 for my own channel a while back and have been brainstorming for a part two. For example.......someone in my neighborhood threw out a 20lb pumpkin (NOT ROTTEN) so I took it home, roasted it, pureed it, and froze it all for good use!!
I ALSO HATE WHEN PEOPLE THROW AWAY NATURAL MATERIALS AHHHHH when my neighbors dispose of lawn clippings I want to rip my hair out!
Nice video :)
Definitely remove your leaves from sidewalks (slippery when wet) and from streets (clog drains), but do compost after removing them.
I need a video on how to start zero waste when you still live with your parents. I am trying to start but it’s hard when I still live at home.
I think as long as what you do towards zero waste for yourself will be ok as obviously u can’t expect your parents to be if they don’t want to. But there’s still things u can do in your beauty regime, skin/ body care , clothing etc It will help for when u do get to move out on your own and u can fully do zero waste then. Don’t beat yourself up about something’s not in your control xx keep safe and well xx
Try searching my channel, I actually already have content about that AND there is also a new video coming out next week about it 😊
Zero waste is a journey and there are things you can still incorporate even if you live at home. I live at home and I use up every last bit of my toiletries, buy my clothes and electronics secondhand, air dry clothes in my room, sew/mend damaged clothes, save electricity and water, bring a food container when I go out to eat with friends in case I acquire leftovers, give away stuff I don't need instead of trashing them, and reuse everything until they're not usable. If my parents are out and ask if I want them to pick up food for me, I'm the one that says we have leftovers at home and I'll eat that. Even if you do just a few things like that you are making a difference (:
I also live at home and have been known to take things out of the trash that can be donated or recycled. I'm asking for products that help with zero waste for Christmas (ie beeswax wrap) and its started conversations with my parents. They have gotten more conscious of buying things we already get in glass vs plastic and my mom has started asking me if things are recyclable.
@@dgoz97 leading by example is quite effective. Good on you for doing that!
I pick hairties from the streets as well.... I just wash them with my clothes and use it. Last summer i found sooooo many of them on the beach
This reminded me of being at a fancy restaurant for a very serious gathering and the decorations in that place were stunning - basically all edible plants. Like, on the table there were beet greens, basil, parsley etc. And I loved it so much I saw it as seasoning to my food and would take a bit. Other people and distant relatives were weirded out, but I honestly saw it as a great idea -what are they gonna say? Don't eat those edible plants that are food and I came there to eat anyway? :D
Your water saving pet peeve is so relatable!! I once literally jumped in between two strangers at the bathroom sink because they were having a chat while the water was running like how dare you 😁
When you first said "yard" I understood "yacht" and I was so confused! 😂
HAHAHAH sameee! I was like she has a yacht???
Same! I thought to myself "wow, she's really gone from one end to the other with this sustainability journey" 😂
That would have been such an aggresive turn to take 😂😂😂
@@Gittemary 😂😂😂😂
I am a yacht bish now 😂 #hecktheplanet
Among many things i have learned from you so far the best was actually not to go too hard on myself about being zero waste. I do what i CAN do and I do not stress myself about things I can not change at the moment. I made some big changes in my life in terms of zero waste lifestyle but I am not perfect and I think it is ok not to be perfect. 💕
I immediately went and added water to my dish soap after this video. Honestly really makes sense
Do same with shampoo, etc
@@Briardie yeah 👌 OK I will do that. I get my shampoo from one of those refillable shops so I will just not fully fill the bottle next time and add water. Thanks for the tip
It does. I bought glass soap foam dispensers. They use 1/5 of normal soap.
I also use broken hairties to tie food packets like chips or cookiers or whatever. Another thing I do with them is to tie the elastic so it stills work as a hairtie for when I wear braids.
Watching this with automatic subtitles gave me this beauty: 'There are benefits to not completely cultivating your yacht'
😅
Saving water is just a part of ordinary life in Australia where we often have awful droughts! Not weird at all 😉
I grew up on a cattle property in Australia and was taught to be very frugal with water. I have no understanding why people have the tap running when they clean their teeth. Its like they can't figure out when they will need to rinse so have the tap on just in case.
I cant let the kettle boil until it clicks off, I must turn it off as soon as I see bubbles 👀
Omg this one drives me nuts! 😂😂 I swear my kettle goes on boiling for ages and I'm like, you're done, stop!!
On others leaving the tap on - I always jump to do the dishes at friends' houses to control it haha. I also never throw boxes or any packaging away, like the bubble envelopes also!
this actually makes me feel better about not raking our backyard this year. I noticed recently that they started breaking down naturally at a pretty quick rate so I might convince my mom to leave the backyard alone this year ☺️
Can you please make a vid about all your plants and how you take care of them.
Hello Gittemary! 😊 You’re not alone! I also water down my dish soap, save gift wrappers and am also oddly conscious of how long it takes someone to turn off the tap. 😅
Everyone thinks I'm weird that I save gift wrap and gift tissue. Even my mother, who actually taught me to save gift bags. I'm just taking it to the next level ya know? 😅
same x
I also water down my foaming hand soap. It works just as well & lasts longer. :)
And I wanna mention that I use the ashes of my waste that I burn like things I can't compost (we call it saambal) to wash my dishes with coconut fibre and for harder dirt I'll mix some lemon juice to it (rarely though) I'm from india. By the way I love your channel ❤️ I'm not sure if like burning waste to ashes is sustainable
Yes we call it ash I do that tooo
Very smart but when you burn stuff it releases CO2, I could be wrong though
Our elders would use the ash from burning wood as cleaning material for pots and pans! And I think they used coconut fiber for scrubbing too! This is back when I lived in Bangladesh.
I reused glass sauce containers for left overs. I also cut up old tshirts for cleaning clothes and home made napkins.
I reuse shipping items as well. It saves so much in dollars and waste.
Love your honesty! Makes me so happy to know how you trying to find solution to each problem and yet- be sustainable 🌿
I think a lot of consumers reward small e-commerce businesses for /not/ re-using packaging materials. people love to gush about how cute the packaging is for a thing that they bought with little fancy boxes and cute paper and a branded note or whatever. And sellers know that the Instagramability of a package = a bunch of free marketing when ppl are excited to show off an unboxing. Recycled and eco friendly packing materials are great, but we should make more effort to use all the packaging materials that already exist in abundance and encourage companies large and small to do the same
That's a very important observation. I'm guessing tho those businesses and consumers are already not in the loop of sustainability. So I wonder how do we make that a known issue within that echo chamber?
Its always nice when you realise you’re more “zero waste” than you thought 😅👌🏼 I keep packages and boxes too, water down my dish soap, never leave the water running for too long. I really want to start using reusable things to wrap gifts in but as a former hoarder of wrapping paper it’s gonna take me a while.... 🙄
The most sustainable way is using what we already have 💖 youre doing great!
Hi! I recently started moving towards a zero waste lifestyle and you’re my favorite zero waste channel!
I buy a lot of books from a local bookstore and they put them in cute paper bags. I store them all and use them to wrap gifts.
I do the same with hairties, because as a swiminstructor the children often need one, and they don't think of giving it back. I would spend way to much money if I had to buy 10 new hairties each week!
running water annoy me so much too! one of my habit is throw my clipped nails into my plants instead of trash, so they can provide some calcium :)
I don't use salt in my pasta water because I'm on a low salt diet. I take my hair and put it in the compost bin outside our apartment complex. My hair ties get stench out or break so thanks for the info. Have a great day.....
Yep. Water from the tap. Grew up in Australia. Water is gold. TURN OFF THE BLOODY TAP! 🚰
Yes!!! I used to live in South Australia and water was so precious. Now I live in far north Queensland and people are a lot more wasteful with water.
@@simonelees8328 I lived in Adelaide!! Small world. Now in Christchurch New Zealand and yes so much more is down the drain 🤦🏻♀️
Same here! From Christchurch as well, it's driving me crazy how long my partner leaved on the tap/shower to have hot water, but does something different in the meantime and the hot water is flowing and flowing 😭
@@ankaro4719 Wow ther world is a small place. And our fresh water supply
I have partial dreadlocks and when I brush my loose hair I collect the hair from the brush and clean it and save it for future extensions for my own dreads.
I’ve not used any of it yet but instead of buying synthetic extensions the plan is to make my own from my own hair. Kinda weird🤪
I dumpster dive at my neighborhood plant nursery. You wouldn't believe what they toss out. Some die but I've had good luck. I've retrieved pepper plants, flowers and some I have no idea what they are. Plus it's fun!
We have a big garden and a couple of fields, we've had tree people round today to take down dangerous boughs and such. The dead stuff is left for wildlife. We have a dead holly Bush in the middle of the garden that the birds seem to queue in for the bird feeders and that has to stay.
Yes letting water run while a person leaves the sink,leaving a light on when you leave the room,definite pet peeves.
I also use my pasta & veggie water my plants. With the veggie water the plants enjoy the nutrients. I also put used coffee grounds into the soil.
I‘m studying architecture and have to build lots of models. As all the craft supplies are crazy expensive and wasteful I started collecting my trash and even going through paper bins in my neighbourhood. Now even my friends collect their trash for me and they‘re always soo excited when they have something for me haha:)
That running tap. I felt that. I have the same impulse.
We rescued one of our little swallows that had gotten its leg all tangled in some poly rope strands the parent birds collected for the nest. We were waiting for the bird to fledge from the nest and after 4 days after the last one that could fly away did I saw that the little bird was hanging sort of on the side of the nest trying to get out. I saw that it was tangled and we got the ladder and cut the little bird loose and sent the little bird to a rescue. The rescue called us this year and they were able to successfully release the bird after its leg healed. Long strands of strong string or hair or fiber is detrimental to birds and other animals. Natural things do break down but not always fast enough to allow the escape of animals caught in the tangles. Man made is worst. We were glad we were able to rescue the little bird. Good on you for composting your hair. :)
It’s possible to re-tie hairbands using a reef knot if it’s not at a metal join. Using two at a time makes them break less and means I can make use of the ones that aren’t the ideal thickness or stretchiness too. I loop them so each band is doubled up, rather than one after another (this is so hard to explain without a picture!).
from a disabled point of view, cut lawn provide access and it can be difficult to get round if leaves are everywhere
What a cute idea about the little box. Beautiful.
Thanks for the video I really enjoyed it. I never rake my yard and I’m glad I don’t because I didn’t think about the microorganisms.
I have never salted my pasta water... And I make a LOT of pasta. :)
The water one I do all the time! Wasting water is my biggest pet peeve!
I don’t know if this is a normal thing or not but with my family when we’re washing the dishes up etc it takes ages to get warm water so well boil the kettle up so then there’s not loads of water wasted. Sometimes do it with the bath as well.
Same here. Or use the water from the bathroom faucet. It's closer to the water heater and heats up much faster.
@@debigreen482 ooo never thought of that thank you ☺️
Happy it was helpful ☺️
I do the exact same thing regarding running water & I usually get surprised looks when I turn off the tap.
Hi! Loved your idea of using snapped elastics for plant ties! Something I do is save eggshells to use as a palette for painting! Wish I could say I use eco-friendly paints but I don't know if they exist. If anyone here knows, please do tell!
Another great use for cardboard boxes is making drawer dividers out of them. They are beautiful when covered in wrapping paper or fabric. Wish I could post a picture.
We found a bar soap for dishes! So, no more plastic, not even in the shipment!
What solution do you use to clean windows? Do you use cloth or biodegradable kitchen towels?
One more hack, I use prescription bottles for storage of small screws, bobby pins, and am working on a diy makeup organizer with those and tin cans. Do you recommend a zero waste glue? Oh my! I've written a novel here hahaha. Sorry!
Hiii! Fairyland Cottage has a little tutorial on a natural glue that I'm giving a go this year. You might like her channel. She has all kinds of zero waste / slow living videos that kind of cover what you asked about!
Edit: I had to look up the glue recipe incase other wanted to try it, haha. It's 2 tbsp flour, a bit of salt, and a little water!
Thank you Ash Ire! I appreciate you taking the time to research that for me. How kind of you. ☺️
I had thought of that, as I've used it for paper mache in the past. But since it is food, I'm thinking it could not be used for permanent things bc it would eventually get moldy. Hm, maybe rubber cement or something like that?
@@debigreen482 oh gotcha! Maybe a cellulose tape? I'm not sure what you're putting up but that was one of the more natural tapes I was looking at last night so maybe that would be a good solution?
@@Kindofalotooh never heard of that. So many things out there to discover!😁 So I'm using a glue gun and elmer's glue right now for upcycling cardboard boxes, tin cans, prescription bottles and leftover fabric into drawer organizers, makeup holders and the like. It needs to be strong enough to hold these things together for an extended time, and to stay mildew-free 😅. The cellulose tape could possibly work for that.
oh yessss, i feel the same about the running water!!
About the hair in the houseplants: I'm not sure it'll work out as you're expecting, since indoor plants' soil don't have the tiny bugs and microbes that outdoor soil has (maybe yours do, if you've taken the soil from the outside?), which means that there's no one there to decompose the hair 😕 If it actually works, please let me know! 😄
2:20 Gittemary, did you know that if you did the same thing with a foaming dispensing pump, you’d get actual foaming soap instead of regular liquid hand soap? The only difference between liquid and foaming hand soap formulas is WATER so you’re buying water if you’re buying foaming soap. I hope this helps someone out there (look it up if you don’t believe me)
I save seeds all the time. From produce scraps, but also at a restaurant if I like a tomato I put the needs on a little piece of napkin and take them home.
My mind is blown with that pasta water trick 🤯
You are just so awesome ❤️ I love your smile 😁
Ugh the tap thing, SAME. My former housemate would leave the water running for waaay too long imo! For example he'd wash vegetables or whatever and then he'd dry them off and lay them down on a cutting board one by one and then stir in the other pan and THEN turn off the tap. And the first few times I'd turn the tap off for him but like the 5th time in the same cooking session I'd just give him a death stare. Grinds my gears for real ugh! And he knows!!
LOVE this girl!
You can also use those really large boxes and make smaller boxes. Make or get some templates for box sizes and some good wood glue and you can make all sizes of boxes you may need. Can make envelopes with waste paper too. Then the extra cardboard that can no longer be used can be given to someone who will compost it if you can't or sent to the recycler who will then send it back to the paper companies and use it for making more cardboard. Same with paper. Paper of course that can be recycled or composted.
I was so excited to hear you talk about water use! When anyone else is washing dishes the sound of the running water makes me crazy. I thought I was the only person in the world with this problem. We think a lot alike on your crazy weird things.
loved this list, i do most of those things as well and it's always funny to see people's weird reactions 😂 about re-using cardboard boxes and envelopes: when i buy vegetables from the store, these days there is an option to pick up your potatoes etc in paper bags instead of plastic bags, and since they're about din A4 size, i re-use these paper bags for my mail! sure, it says edeka on there and the guy at the post office always stares at me oddly but it feels good to re-use something like this and it's also cheaper than buying new envelopes 😇
Literally me closing and turning off the lights and water when my little sisters over washing or even my parents. It's now unintentionally 😂💪🏻
For years when I clean out my hair brush I throw the hair outside. Birds use it to help bind their nest. When I'm really broke I will rinse off my used paper coffee filter & reuse it. I also craft so I will use them in crafts. And I have made a body scrub from used coffee grounds & olive oil....works great..just be careful tub will be very slippery
I am always unsure what to do with my hair, thanks for the tip 🔥
I keep a bucket in my kitchen sink to catch extra water, then I use that water to soak dishes/pots!
I use my hair as a fertilizer too. Its the same like horn shavings. But I cut it in pieces. Its not weird.🙂
Sorry what do you mean by horn shavings.... Are you a unicorn? 🦄
Love these! About the dish soap though, I've been using a normal, perfume-free soap bar for my dishes for the past year or so and it works perfectly. Obviously you should choose one that isn't re-hydrating, but other than that it's just hella practical and extremely cheap!
So glad to hear you changed your loose hair habit!
In my hometown. the way the trees were assembled in the yard area wasn't very practical and they grew very huge. There were always too many leaves that they would pile up past the ankles and if left over the winter, it would look really bad in the spring/summer. If I had a yard with leaves and snow (I moved south) then in the fall I'd rake the leaves but still leave a thin layer to nourish the yard during the winter and have the waste facility pick up the rest to use for compost.
I wish I could do the "keeping packages" thing but I just very rarely pack and mail things... and I also live in 28 sq meters apartment so I don't have a place for all those boxes, I do keep smaller packages in case I need them, but only a limited amount. I've heard some people leave their boxes next to recycling bins so people who are moving or just need a box can take them, but that's technically illegal, so I'm still that bad person throwing away my packages...
I feel you!
I dedicated a small cupboard for packages... that’s not great. Maybe try and post it on a local Facebook group? Where I live (granted, it’s a big city), folks exchange a lot of things this way. There’s almost always someone interested!
I, too, only keep small boxes. Though I rarely send anything large, so those aren't very useful for me anyway.
But, if you are into painting/DIY, those boxes opened up make great covers to have under your projects!
@@iwantobeapanda yeah, I use those groups and I've tried giving away boxes but it's hard since it's literally not worth it for people to come get those boxes unless they live a few blocks away, and even then most people won't come for just one or two boxes and I don't have space to collect more of them.
If it helps and you are a diy person, I have started using boxes to as drawer organizers, since I am also learning how to organize! Lol. There are lots of youtube videos on doing this. They are fun and useful and can even come out quite pretty!
Now that we’ve been doing more carry-out since our restaurants are back to being closed, they put their food into very sturdy plastic containers, and instead of throwing them out, I’m washing them and keeping them to re-use! There’s no use anymore in going and buying more new plastic containers.
I'm the same way when someone else attempts to wash dishes in my home. At this point anyone that would, knows to leave it to my dishwasher 😡. But in order to help, I have installed aerator on all my faucets, the ones I've installed range from 30-70% water saving, that helps because I swear I hear when water is being wasted even when I'm far away 🤣
I save the rubber band from green onions, etc it always comes handy around the house :) for hair ties i often cut old /single socks's ends 😁
I just found you last week so. I found a hair tie on the ground today and it is now mine. I thought of you as I picked it up lol
My partner thinks its gross, but we have a communal recycling bin and if I see a gift bag in there, I'll take it out, give it a wipe and reuse it. I found a new baby one, last week, and they hadn't even written on the tag!!
She's a whole other vibe😍
Use peels of fruits like mangos, mandarines, oranges, lemons to make herbal tea! Less food waste + less waste from the tea bags and boxes :)
I compost the hair of my and my boyfriend's hairbrushes as well as the fur from brushing the cats in our worm compost :)
Growing up my parents always watered down dish soap when there was less than half a bottle left and with shampoos and shower gels and stuff in the bathroom we are Indian and it’s common to do that and then with the pasta water are usually just save it to use in other things like sources or soups or in vegetable births but obviously you would use less because it’s extremely salty or if your pasta water is just a little bit salty then you can get away with just using that in soup.
And I’m saving the broken elastics to make scrunchies from them because I do have some scrap fabric that I could easily turn into scrunchies I just have to do it still
At home we don’t really need to rake any leaves and the leaves that fall are usually just on the paved path to the back , for those leaves I usually just sweep them onto the grass and then leave them on the grass.
When I try saving boxes and envelopes some of my family just throw it away and I re use wrapping paper and tissue paper too , my sisters and friends just give me their used paper and I also hate the water wasting as well with that if you don’t like the tap running for too long you could put like a bowl or a big vessel in the sink and collect the water and use it for your plants or for flushing are number one if you think it’s big enough for that and the dishes big enough to be able to be filled with water and not overflow maybe?
Love this video! I do so many of these things. Even though the water is included in the rent, I still am very careful. Haven’t tried the plant thing...yet. Does bringing home a wild onion plant from the park count?😁
thank you so much that you are making videos, I've learned very much from you, your channel was so necessary for me at the beginig of my zero waste journey❤️
hahahahhaha I do the same with water!🤣 it bothers me so much! omg especially when they leave the tap running waiting for hot water. AAAHHHHH!!
I also turn the tap off when people do dishes. I just can't stand it. Liters, liters! Of water get wasted. So, we should take care of it. Is such a valuable resource. Sometimes I wish it would be more expensive, but that would make it unavailable to many people. So, I just suffer inside.
Great vídeo!!!!🥰
#6 is me! I am the exact same with other people and their tap water time, I get so anxious when I hear the water running
I don't put salt in veggies either as I use that water for houseplants and in the garden x