We just took our pantry clean out over to a partner of the Central Texas Food Bank. We stock up on pantry items for winter storms and then donate those items to the food bank after winter. After my colonoscopy and endoscopy in January there was still some food left that I am no longer…
Donating or recycling shoes? Zip tie, rubber band, or use the laces to keep the pair together. In sorting large bales of shoes, the partner shoe may not always be found if separated and it’s more likely the shoe will recycled at that stage rather than reused/resold and then later recycled. There are markets for…
“Don’t store old phones long-term in your home or office. Unused cell phones and batteries can become dangerous if exposed to temperature extremes or moisture, potentially exposing you and others to harmful substances. Be safe and take your old phone directly to a local recycler” or trade it in as soon as you are able.…
I think a reusable water bottle/cup is the first and easiest greener and zero waste tip to implement. As long as you live somewhere where there is good water quality, or water fountains and water bottle refill stations, this is easy to do. If you don’t have good water quality, and you can check reports…
Batteries power our lives every day. They also become dangerous when they’re not recycled right. If something lights up, moves on its own or makes a sound, it has a battery and should not go in your carts. Batteries can catch fire or explode in your cart, dumpster or the back of trash and recycling…
I just made a donation dropoff to Recycled Reads. “Recycled Reads receives all of Austin Public Library’s weeded material, as well as donations from the public. They sell, recycle or repurpose this material, and all our proceeds benefit the Austin Public Library.” I cultivate what gets put in the Little Free Library program or the Recycled…
More and more companies are working with TerraCycle to recycle their pet food packaging bags and pouches. These bags and pouches are not normally recyclable locally because they are a mix of materials (a composite) or a mix of plastics and single-stream recycling only processes single source items. If there are choices you make for…
Freezer burn green beans, not for dinner, thank you. Tip #1: lock your freezer controls so the preschooler does not change the freezer temperature getting his own ice and water. So cute though. Tip #2: eat your freezer food in a reasonable timeframe to avoid freezer burn. I’m actually not sure how old these were anyway. Tip…
As we get ready for a new year, I would like to encourage you to reflect on what we have in our possession and on how we can help others. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margaret Magnusson (borrowed from the Austin Public Library so you can see the library tape/sticker in the…
I have a stack of artwork from the first half of the school year. I also have some older pieces stacked up since I’ve been sorting and organizing during the break. I thought it would be a great opportunity to share with you how to recycle/process the pieces especially if you are doing year end…