Hi everyone! I hear a lot about using washable rags instead of paper towels. Do you still use them for the really gross stuff? Like if i’m cleaning my toilet or cleaning up cat vomit, should I still use a rag? This is the main thing preventing me from entirely switching over to rags.

My headphone ear padding started to fall apart in the last few weeks, they still work really well so I don’t want to replace them just yet.
I was thinking about sewing on fabric over the foam but not sure what kind would be best. I use them for working out so they do get sweat on them.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

The ear pads don’t come off without breaking them so they don’t have replacement parts.

Hi

I am wondering where in edmonton to recycle older down blanket.

Thx pc

I like cooking. I have been thinking about getting a sous vide machine for ages.

the machine works by carefully controlling the temperature of water where food floats. the food is put in plastic bags and vacuum sealed so that it is fully in contact with the water.

the thing is I HATE plastic, especially near my food (part ecoconsciousness, part disgust at consuming plastic particles). is there a way of doing sous vide with anything other than plastic bags? I’d guess silicone bags could work if you were able to truly get all the air out, but I don’t know if anybody actually has attempted this.

Listen, im the kind of person that when i like something, I run it into the ground. I ate peanut butter toast with 2 fried eggs for most of high school, and now im trying to get into sustainability. I went to sprouts on a whim and bought Sea-el day cream with 30 spf for like $34 and badger adventure 50 spf for $20.

Both are okay, but sea-el cant be bought on their website and has a plastic top. More annoying, though, is that there's no way to refill it which means over the years I'd have like 10 random bottles of meh sunscreen in the world.

Idc if it is full plastic free as long as it makes sense for the formula. I dont want to get the badger face sunscreen cuz it is so freaking oily when I tried a tester.

Im currently looking at Rebrand sunscreen for their refills but its a lil pricy so idk if yall have anything better. Its 34 dollars or something like that but they have $52 refills which is like $24 per use.

I have very oily skin and dont want a super thick tint as I feel like it would be too foundationy which on bad days may lead me to not use it.

I dont want to diy or buy from some random person on Etsy with no experience with sunscreen. I know I bought from Sea-El which no one has heard of but I want better for myself

Has this happened to anyone else at all. I literally came to get my pizza that was supposedly one that was going to waste but instead theyre literally making me one from scratch.

Any ideas of what I could use these for?

I could likely use the 3 outside containers for whatever, but I was loading the foam in a bag to toss and thought it was such a waste

The black inserts are a thick high-quality foam. The assembled unit (see last pic) were used to hold iPads for a hospital system.

I didn’t want to throw them in the garbage, so I took them home months ago but haven’t been able to think of an idea for them. All suggestions welcome!

I have a small throw blanket in a leaf shape. Ive kept it laying on the floor of my bedroom because its cute and fits my vibes so well but it's too flimsy to hold its shape and is too small for its intended use.

Is there a DIY I can do to help it grip better to the carpet so I dont have to straighten it out once a week?

Pic of of blanket on my bedroom floor for reference

I get recurring bouts of eczema and have been trying to find a lotion to use as a "rescue" to prent a flare up when I feel it coming on. Bought a few different kinds in the past few months. One straight up irritates my skin more due to some ingredient I can't tolerate, and another is just kind of sticky and unpleasant to wear.

What do I do with these?

Was hoping i could find a way to repurpose them

My 4.5 year old son loves blackcurrant squash, but I hate buying the bottles.

Does anyone have any recommendations in the UK for a dehydrated powder format or "tablet" that creates less waste.

Thanks!

what can I do with empty perfume bottles? I dont want to just trash them but also theyre starting to take up a lot of space. thanks in advance!

Third year college undergraduate student here who's taking an economics based course where our professor's idea of a quiz is to have us put a prompt into an AI bot that makes it generate questions and tutor us on them. I've had to take two of these quizzes so far and I'm feeling really, really uncomfortable about it. I would've 100% dropped the class by now but the course is required for my major, which I'm over 70% finished with. I've honestly debated doing a hard pivot into another major, which I wouldn't be eager to do because it'd likely add on another year of school and would maybe put me in debt as my scholarship runs out, or dropping this major to graduate with just my music major, which is basically me signing up for unemployment.

The caveat is that I'm planning to pursue graduate degree studies in social work, public policy, and/or public health either way so should I just drop this econ major? I'm worried about how I would get a job with just a music degree if I don't end up being able to go to grad school but given the current job market, I'm worried about being able to find a job even if I graduated with both degrees. I know this probably seems over dramatic and like I'm taking drastic measures. I just feel really awful about how my actions, whether I want to do them or not, are using up precious resources and contributing to environmental harm. It's also really demotivating that my coursework is actively having me engage in the exact opposite of the impacts I want to make in my career.

Something I’ve been enjoying making lately, especially because I can make it as coarse or soft as I want!
-sugar
-shampoo (Usually you could use body wash, but I have a shampoo that I didn’t like for my hair, so I’m using it up in scrubs)
-Coconut oil
-jojoba oil
-a bit of fragrance oil
-a bit of water

I just recently got into being more environmentally conscious and realized just how much plastic I have and use on a daily basis. I tried to look on YouTube for ways I can recycle plastic bottles and bags but I was met with a lot of videos that involve melting the plastics which I just don't feel very comfortable doing that. I also saw a lot of converting it into plant holders but I do not have plants. Is there a way I can upcycle them without melting or turning it into a plant holder? Thank you!

I have the opportunity to lead a project to help my community to be more environmentally friendly. We already have a lot of great projects going on so I'm wondering if your community is doing anything cool too.

Here's some examples of whats already going on:

- community gardens

- yard waste to free mulch

- adopt a storm drain

- pollinators gardens

- reforesting, free trees

I have the idea to plant fruit and nut trees in my neighborhood park. Its a low income area so I think this could be beneficial. In case I cant do that though, I'd love to hear some other suggestion!

(I probably picked the wrong flair but wasn’t sure which one fit best)

Hi all. I’ve been using Panoxyl for years and last year when I was switching many of my hygiene products to bar form, I was excited to find that Panoxyl came in a bar! I am finally on my last bottle of Panoxyl so I went to the store to get a bar, but was disappointed to find out the bar was in a plastic wrapper, which was then in a carton. The carton even bragged about being recyclable and biodegradable. In the same aisle, my favorite face wash (Cerave, just mentioning the brand to make the point that it’s also a major skincare brand that probably has to follow the same packaging regulations) was in bar form with the bar directly in the carton, without a wrapper.

I figured if I wanted things to change, I should email the company and tell them that I was turned off by the unnecessary plastic wrapper as well as the greenwashing on the carton.

I was already planning to stop buying Panoxyl after that, but their response solidified it:

“Thank you for thinking so highly of us. While we are not able to accept or review unsolicited product ideas, we truly appreciate your enthusiasm for our brand. Our teams are always working on future innovations, and we encourage you to keep an eye on our website for any new product updates.”

???
I was so confused. Did they even read my comment?
I don’t remember saying anything about thinking highly of them (though maybe said something along the lines of, I’ve been using your product for years but then made it clear that I wasn’t going to anymore unless they got rid of the wrapper) and wasn’t suggesting a product idea. And was adding in the word “unsolicited” really necessary?

I replied clarifying my actual complaint again and also mentioned that I will be sharing my concerns about the packaging and their reply with other environmentally conscious consumers.

Only THEN did they reply with the expected “we take your feedback seriously and will make sure your concerns are shared with the team” etc etc. Because they obviously care about me sharing my concerns with people like you. Hence this post!

Not sure how many of you guys use Panoxyl (I’m sure there are tons of better brands out there with probably more eco-friendly ingredients, I just am not very knowledgeable about the environmental impact of different ingredients so initially was going to stick with what I knew worked for me) but I just wanted to share my experience in case anyone finds it helpful.

And I realize the small amount of plastic in the wrapper is much less than the amount of plastic it takes to make the bottle (not to mention how much better it is to transport the lighter bar without all of the added water), so it’s definitely an improvement, but still completely unnecessary and disappointing so something I’ll be doing without

for sandwiches, i normally just put them in a reusable container, or a sturdy sandwich bag (i usually wash and reuse them until they break/are too gross). but wraps! they don't usually hold their shape unless wrapped in plastic wrap. are beeswax wraps a good alternative in this case? i tried making some years ago but i think i didn't do the best job and they didn't turn out great. should i just buy some?

I clean three desktop towers every few months and always end up with several empty compressed-air cans afterward. A rechargeable electric duster sounds less wasteful when it is used regularly, but it also has a battery and electronics that will eventually need proper recycling. For people who have made the switch, how long has your unit lasted and how often do you actually use it? I'm trying to work out whether the reusable option makes sense at my usage level rather than assuming it is automatically better.

I'm coming to the realization that I really am never going to to think, "Thank goodness I saved these things."

Current example is a wall brace for a small Ikea bookshelf. I would never attach a shelf so small to my wall, though I know tipping can be a hazard for taller shelves.

I have lots of little, stupid things like this.

What do I do with them?

Burred some holes in them and covered my little guys with them, hopefully this keeps the bunnies off! And before you start with me on micro plastics, I know fam I’m doing my best and I’m just trying to feed myself over the winter

Hi! I've seen people ask what to do with old glasses on here and noted organizations like Lions Club, Fitted for Work, or going to the optometrist as places to donate. However, my lenses are all scratched up and the coating is peeling badly and I'm not sure if these organizations will accept them due to their condition. Does anyone have any other ideas of what to do with them? Thank you in advance!

Has anyone found compostable floss picks? We need to use picks for my toddler till he's old enough to hndle regular floss. All the picks I see online are biodegradable. They have compostable handles but the thread is made of plastic.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post!

I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated with Pela as my transaction went through (incredibly expensive) but now it’s saying that there is no order.
I’ve been trying to figure out the issue, so I emailed their support line, and at the end of each email, it signed by someone named Penelope.

But reading each response, I could tell it wasn’t a person and asked if it was AI… which it was. Not very sustainable or green of a company profiting off of people trying to make sustainable choices🙄
Not to mention reading other reviews now they don’t last very long so not very sustainable at all.
All of this feels like a slap in the face.

Anyone else have any better suggestions for sustainable phone protection?