Lead by Example. Live Green When You're Out & About.
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Peppers Minus Plastic Equals You, WinningWhy do onions, cabbage and cucumbers get wrapped in cellophane when they already come cloaked in their own, natural packaging?
Too often, I see grocery store shelves filled with peppers that are snuggling inside plastic wrap on a bed of Styrofoam. They do this with broccoli and cauliflower, too. It drives me bananas! Read more on the blog about why to skip the extra packaging and learn what to use instead! |
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How to Exercise Restraint to Break the Impulse-Buy HabitWe have a clutter problem.
We can't seem to resist adorable trinkets. But we have to start exercising our Restraint Muscle by asking ourselves 8 essential questions before we buy. Learn more about what happens to our brains when we're inundated with flashy new products, how stores manipulate our psyches to get us to buy, and ways you can halt the buying impulse in its tracks. |
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5 Eco-Conscious Ways to Save, Spend & Invest Your MoneyCapitalism got you down? Corporate America harshing the mellow of your well-meaning sustainability crusade?
Fear not, fellow Reductionist. You don’t need to live off-grid, check out of society, or use twigs and berries in lieu of cold, hard cash. There are loads of ways to save, spend, and invest real money that won’t compromise your green lifestyle. In fact, you could even help the environment just by being a savvy consumer. In this post, I share five ways to do so. |
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The DIY Doggie BagNext time you go out to eat, try bringing your own containers to the restaurant to pack up your leftovers in. Then watch your server's jaw hit the floor. It's called pulling the ol' DIY Doggie Bag.
In this blog post, I tell the story of the first time I watched it go down, why I was so stupidly embarrassed about it, and how, over time, I grew to understand why reusing old plastic containers is actually freakin' awesome. |
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I may have a tilted cervix, but I'm happy with my reproductive organs just the way they are, thank you very much.
And yet, BPA--that pesky, scientifically-proven endocrine disruptor that potentially messes with our nether regions and has been banned from many products--seems to keep cropping up everywhere I turn. It's even in that special paper so many stores print their receipts on. It can get absorbed into our skin from one touch, threatening to give my husband a mysterious third nipple growing out of his forehead. Or something...? What's being done to keep us safer? Industry has pretended to do us a solid by replacing some BPA with another chemical that's not any better: BPS. |
We're on to you, Industry.
Thankfully, some companies like Trader Joe's are switching to safer paper that's free of both harmful toxins because they're finally getting woke to the idea that their consumers would rather not get sick from shopping in their stores.
In the meantime, to stay on the perfectly safe side while you're shopping, we've got a Reductionist Bonus Tip for you: Just say no at the cash register. Don't take the thing with you. Set yourself free! After all, you'll survive without that little chit cluttering up your wallet.
To my cashier friends who have no other choice but to handle the stuff? I hate to say it, but you're in a bind, folks. A) May I suggest you write to corporate and explain why this issue is important to you? Try to start a conversation with your employer's higher-ups about going paperless. Suggest that they, too, ought to get on the BPA/BPS-free train and switch papers to keep their employees safe. B) I hesitate to recommend you wear gloves to protect your fingers, because vinyl and latex come with their own set of problems. More on that debate in a future post...
Bottom line, we live in a world that's teeming with toxins. Let's do what we can to minimize our exposure and keep ourselves and our families as safe as possible. If that means going one receipt at a time, so be it!
Thankfully, some companies like Trader Joe's are switching to safer paper that's free of both harmful toxins because they're finally getting woke to the idea that their consumers would rather not get sick from shopping in their stores.
In the meantime, to stay on the perfectly safe side while you're shopping, we've got a Reductionist Bonus Tip for you: Just say no at the cash register. Don't take the thing with you. Set yourself free! After all, you'll survive without that little chit cluttering up your wallet.
To my cashier friends who have no other choice but to handle the stuff? I hate to say it, but you're in a bind, folks. A) May I suggest you write to corporate and explain why this issue is important to you? Try to start a conversation with your employer's higher-ups about going paperless. Suggest that they, too, ought to get on the BPA/BPS-free train and switch papers to keep their employees safe. B) I hesitate to recommend you wear gloves to protect your fingers, because vinyl and latex come with their own set of problems. More on that debate in a future post...
Bottom line, we live in a world that's teeming with toxins. Let's do what we can to minimize our exposure and keep ourselves and our families as safe as possible. If that means going one receipt at a time, so be it!