This article originally appears in the Mueller Front Porch Flyer April 2021 edition. Bulk Buying Buying in bulk can help you save money and resources. Buying in bulk can mean two different things: 1) buying loose items from bulk bins in stores and 2) buying larger quantity packages. With COVID, some stores have either closed…
We had our first ice cream cone of the year today. I recommend when you are getting ice cream or gelato to order it in a cone if you can so you can eat your “container,” and compost the hand wrapper and/or napkins. Most ice cream cups are plastic-lined paper and go in the trash.…
I purchased the items in these pictures myself and these opinions are my own. Grove Co. is a company that ships healthier home and beauty options to your door. It sells a lot of the “green” names you recognize or hear about in zero waste articles and blogs. The company seems defaulted to the subscription…
I was craving brownies Friday so I bought a mix while I was out. Not all baking mixes come in the opaque bag that you can rinse, dry and recycle with plastic bags. Some mixes come in the silvery bag that goes in the trash. You get a feel for the possibility or you learn…
I talk about the Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center a lot (RRDC if you see the abbreviation). It’s where you can drop off recyclables and HHW in Austin if you live in an apartment that doesn’t take much, and for those items that can be recycled in Austin, but not in the blue curbside collection…
Bubble wrap is recyclable in plastic bag drop-off stations. You don’t have to pop the bubbles. See https://how2recycle.info/sdo for more plastic bag and plastic film acceptable items and recycling locations. Most grocery stores have bag recycling stations located near the store entrance, sometimes the exit, where you can put bags and film in. If you live in…
April is Earth Month. As an extension of Earth Day, it gives us a bigger window to think about and make changes that will impact our Earth, today and in the future. The theme of Earth Day 2021 is Restore Our Earth™. There are a lot of areas we can focus on this month, not…
My neighborhood collects plastic eggs to reuse each year. Each year we hold a neighborhood egg hunt. See if there is a neighborhood organization, church group or craft organization that would be interested near you. Submit eggs closed to help the volunteers. Recycle broken plastic eggs in your curbside recycling if your provider will allow,…
This is a loose leaf ring from Buy Nothing. I just wanted one, not 10-50 which is what the packages online were running. I wanted to make prayer cards to take with me wherever I go. Prayer journals, boards and prayer bowls were not working for me. I got this idea from seeing all the…
Coconut scrubbers are super easy to use, gentle but effective on all my pans and dishes (no scratches), and can be composted when they’re past usefulness. You don’t have to recycle a metal scrubber at a special location like a scrap metal collector or recycling center, or in a special program, and it’s not like…