5 Easy Sustainability Tips to Try this Week

1. Buy secondhand:

If you’re like me and the thought of going into a used clothing store isn’t especially appealing right now, I have good news for you: there are plenty of apps like @poshmark & @thredup where you can buy secondhand and re-sell your own clothes. This is a really easy way to limit the amount of clothing that ends up wasted

If you’re looking for other ideas to minimize your clothing purchases, check out our alteration ideas and tips on creating a capsule wardrobe

2. Freeze leftovers:

Does anyone else get anxiety when they see food going bad in the fridge? I started moving it directly to the freezer and using it for smoothies! I mostly do this with fruit, but I have friends who do it with vegetables, too. Not only does it save food waste, it’s also an easy way to get extra servings of veggies in for the day

3. DIY dryer sheets:

You can get the full directions (HERE), but to sum it up: these only take a few ingredients and are extremely good at reducing waste!

4. Upcycle crayons:

Recycling crayons isn’t an option right now (at least where we are), but there are plenty of projects you can do with smaller pieces of crayons you have laying around. For this project, all I needed was contact paper, crayon shavings (grated), an iron, and a towel. Here is the info:

1. peel the crayons and use a cheese grater to get finer pieces

2. place the shavings onto contact paper (or clear packing tape will work, too!)

3. Add another layer of the clear paper with the sticky side facing the shavings, making a sandwich between the two pieces of contact paper or tape

4. Place this between two pieces of towel (I used one that I had already used for painting—it’s going to get messy).

5. Iron over the towel where the project is held, just for a few seconds

6. Once it has cooled down, cut it into the shape that you want

5. Regrow your food:

This is going to be my first attempt at regrowing food from food scraps, so I’m in this with you! I am going to start with peppers, but there is information on pinterest on how to re-grow almost any fruit or vegetables from their seeds. If you’re trying to regrow a pepper specifically, here are the steps:

1. Take the seeds out of the pepper and clean them

2. Lay the seeds between the folds of a paper towel (trying to keep it dark).

3. Place the towel on the fridge, or somewhere where the warmth will help dry the seeds out.

4. Plant them in a seed starter. You can get these at Target or make your own. For easy ways to make your own check out this article from the Preparedness Mama https://preparednessmama.com/homemade-seed-starter-pots/