Tips on Maintaining, Cleaning & Reducing Consumption in Your Home
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If You Use Blue Bags for Recycling, You’re Doing it Wrong (& Other Bad Habits to Break)Recycling is complex and confusing. Without realizing it, many of us are doing it wrong, which ends up contaminating others' recycling so that a lot of what we intended for a second life has to be landfilled. Here are some tips I picked up on a recent MRF tour that could help you sift through the issue. Just remember: Recycling should be considered a last resort. Reuse what you've got, and reduce the stuff you consume first!
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New Rule: No More Screen Time Before Bed!Light emitted from digital devices can wreck your sleep, mess with brain development and cause all kindsa ailments. Check out this post to learn all the reasons you should stop staring at your phone before bed!
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Stop Sucking (Electricity, That Is)How many electronic devices do you own? Too many to count, probably.
And how many of those devices are plugged in right now but are not being used? That's what I thought. Appliances, even when they're "off," suck energy. That's why, as part of our November Monthly Challenge, we're unplugging our devices when they're not in use! Read more about energy savings here! |
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Energy Savings Humor: Nerd Out With Memes!Reducing our impact on the planet shouldn't suck allll the time.
We can still share a laugh, can't we? In honor of our November Monthly Challenge, here's a lightning round of super nerdy, almost-funny, energy savings tips you can incorporate all at once or a little at a time. Feel free to roll your eyes at them. Or share them widely on social media. Or both! |
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Composting Tips from an Unlikely Organic GardenerMy cousin Cheryl knows a lot about living green. You just wouldn't guess that by looking at her. Check out our recent video chat where she shared advice on how to start composting and also offered a really smart tip on how to save water if you don't have space for a rain barrel. [*Note: While these tips are totally f'realz, Cheryl the Eco Yinzer is a comedic character I made up, based on a mashup of the many Pittsburgh "Yinzers" I know and love, in an attempt to bring a little laughter to the drab topic of sustainability, which I debuted on April Fool's Day 2019. Time will tell if she ever appears again.]
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Drop it Like it's Hot (Just 1 Little Degree!)For each itty-bitty degree you dial your thermostat down, you could save 3% on your heating bill every month, says NYT Bestselling Author and psychology-tech wizard Ramit Sethi.
That’s awesome news. What’s even cooler (pun intended)? You’ll use up fewer fossil fuels. Which is the whole point of our November Challenge. So baby-step 2 for all you Reductionists out there who are challenging yourselves to consume less energy is to turn your heat down ONE degree below where you usually keep it. Click here for more details on how to rock this challenge! |
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Use this one simple trick to cut your water usage drastically and lower your water bill, and you'll be one flush closer to greatness!
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How to Make Easy-Peasy Cleansing Solution and DIY WipesSeriously non-toxic, earth-friendly cleansing solution using stuff you probably have around your house. Go!
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Are You Stretching Your Pennies As Far As They Can Go?My husband and I have bickered since 2007 over how to properly use Dr. Bronner’s castile soap.
I remember as a kid my mother teaching me to water it down before I washed my hands or scrubbed down the cupboards with a bucket of it. I thought she was just cheap. Turns out, it’s a thing. Learn more here! |
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4 Easy Fixes You Can Make Today: The Reductionist's Guide to Safer Household Products (Part 1)Taking the plunge to become a Reductionist can be overwhelming.
Trying to tackle 100 new, green things all in one week will make you revert right back to where you started, which was probably when you were saying to yourself, "Why bother? We're screwed." That's why I've launched my new series. I call it 4 Easy Fixes. Each installment contains a list of four household products--really common stuff we all have and use regularly. But it explains why each of these products is problematic, from a Reductionist health and environmental standpoint. And it gives you cleaner, safer, greener alternatives. And for all of you eco-warriors out there, there's a hardcore option just for you! Download your very own copy of 4 Easy Fixes over at the blog! |
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4 Easy Fixes, Part 2: Common Household Products & The Clean, Green Alternatives We Should Switch ToIt's easy to block out everything that's wrong with toxic fragrances when we're just making a Target run because we're outta soap.
But taking an inventory of the household goods we use (just a few at a time so they're easy to digest) and reconsidering why we're loyal to certain brands, is worth our time, effort and reflection. So, today, I bring you Part 2 of the 4 Easy Fixes series, which takes a closer look at
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