Ep. 12: Reduce, Reuse

We replaced our plastic shower curtain liner with this polyester version, which can go in the laundry. It’s a simple swap that prevents us from throwing out a lot of plastic.

After reading about Swedish dishcloths, we ran into some at the Grand Bazaar and decided to give them a try. We use them to wash our dishes, but they’re also recommended for cleaning any surface. It can be thrown in the laundry up to two hundred times and can be composted once it’s ready to be retired.

Even though we didn’t use dryer sheets, we got these dryer balls to make our laundry softer and reduce drying time. We save a quarter every load, and they’re also just fun.

Next time we run out of laundry detergent, we’re going to try soap nuts, which are a natural alternative. No idea how it will go yet, so we’ll be doing a follow-up episode.

We’ve been making our own cleaning products for a while now. Our go-to cleaner is this all-purpose spray. It’s cheap and easy to keep refilling the same spray bottle, and it’s nice to avoid bringing chemicals into the house.

These bamboo paper towels really surprised us with how nice they are to use. We clean with them and use them as napkins and in food prep, and they can either be hand-washed or thrown in the laundry up to one hundred times, then composted when they’re too dirty. They’ve really held up so far, and the twenty that come in one roll are more than enough for us.

This beeswax wrap has replaced cling wrap in our kitchen and reduced our use of plastic bags. It can start to look a little worn with repeated use, but we’ve been happy with the freshness of our food.

We’ve been using these water bottles for years. The S’well bottle is great to have at work to keep water cold all day. The Nalgene is super portable and lightweight, and has a leak-proof guarantee.