Revisiting Earth Day

Earth Day was celebrated once again in April and the 2024 campaign, Planet vs. Plastics, advocates reducing plastic dependence which most everyone agrees is a very good thing.

My post for this date focused on ways to personally reduce the use of consumable plastics. At the time, I listed some alternatives, a few of which we were already doing plus several others that were being considered. 

I asked fellow bloggers for their suggestions and the comments were informative especially on the topic of dryer balls. The majority had never used them, some had never heard of them, others said they did nothing for static, a couple of folks said they'd been using them for years.

At the time, we were still using dryer sheets and planning to switch to dryer balls which was done shortly after that post. That decision included avoiding any that were manufactured in China, which took some doing, as so many things come from that country. It's a personal decision to avoid China-made products when possible, knowing it's not always possible 

This brand, Smart Sheep, was purchased online (Amazon). According to the website, the company is the result of a partnership between two women, Kalpena in Nepal and Christine in the U.S. Kalpana manages the felting process of the dryer balls in Nepal. Christine imports, inspects, and packages them in the U.S. These dryer balls use New Zealand wool.

According to online information this product is manufactured through ethical fair-trade practices and provides good job opportunities for women in Kathamandu, Nepal. I sincerely hope that is the case. Just in case, you're considering a switch to dryer balls, Smart Sheep offers these fun options, which cost from $5 to $10 more than white wool ones. Guess which ones I'm buying the next time.

Staying on laundry, a couple of months ago we were using bottled liquid detergent; while considering a switch to detergent laundry sheets as there were a lot of pluses including the fact of no liquid measuring, so no chance of spillage. Also, less space needed to store plastic containers as detergent sheets usually come in cardboard packaging, less storage space is a plus for apartment dwellers like us. Plus, several bloggers recommended them.

For those not familiar with detergent sheets, these come in pre-measured, dissolvable sheets. Some cons were that they might not dissolve in all water temps or not remove stains and odors. I've used them in cold and warm water temps with no issues. Of course, our laundry doesn't get heavily soiled since we're not working outdoors and there's no children in our home. Others may have different results.

Once again, there was a decision on which product to buy. Again, I wanted a U.S. made product and, on a friend's recommendation, tried a brand made in Canada (close enough). In the future, I may search out other brands, but so far these have been working well for us.

Just so you know, detergent sheets definitely are more costly than liquid detergents. While for us, the extra expense is worth the expense, this may not be true for everyone.

Last, but not least, is that we've stopped using plastic grocery shopping bags, unlike in 12 other states, NH has not banned these in grocery stores. (If you plan to travel, know that single use plastic bags are banned in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington.)

Yes, we were a bit late in returning to using tote bags which oddly enough we were using all the time, pre-pandemic. When we couldn't use them we lazily fell into the practice of using grocery store plastic bags. An upside is that these were then used for trash disposal and that, in turn, meant we didn't buy plastic trash bags. Once the supply runs out, we'll look for alternatives.

Staying on the subject of grocery shopping, we stopped using single-use plastic bags for vegetables and fruit. Instead, this set of mesh bags, also bought online, is brought to the supermarket along with the tote bags, better late than never. 

These are easily washed, air tried, and ready for reuse unlike plastic bags which were always discarded. 

According to the product information, the contents will easily scan at the register; however, that doesn't seem to be true. In the time we've been using them, the cashier has always had to open the bag to scan the item(s).

Finally, this last item has nothing to do with laundry or grocery shopping — it's a change in a bathroom item, switching to a fabric shower curtain liner instead of a plastic one. The plastic one was able to be laundered regularly, but it was still plastic. 

This polyester fabric (non-plastic) one can also be laundered and it dries quickly, also it's more attractive, so I bought it in two different colors, blue and cream

These are some measures we've been taking to lessen our use of plastics and other items harmful to the environment. There are, of course, many others. 

Once again, I invite your comments and/or suggestions on things that work for you.