- Plastic food bags - I use reusable ones.
- Paper towels - I've successfully made the switch to dish towels, and I'll never go back!
- Microwave - the one at my house broke several weeks ago, and after the first week I stopped missing it. They always weirded me out anyway.
- Coffee maker - I've been a french press enthusiast for years. I use my electric kettle to heat water.
- Television - I've gone a year without owning one, and I can't say I miss it.
- Garbage disposal - Drain catchers are kind of a pain, but using water to dispose of waste is kind of silly.
Before I go congratulating myself, though, I stopped to think about what other luxuries I simply do not need. These are things I still use that are on the Re-Nest list:
- Plastic wrap - I know, I'm sorry, but sometimes I need to cover baked goods that don't fit in a container with a lid and I just have to. :( I wonder if tin foil is better...at least it can be reused.
- Trash bags - Seriously? The article says "Control your rubbish, no bags needed!" I compost my food waste and don't use disposables beyond the occasional piece of plastic wrap and I still have garbage. This one just isn't going to happen for me right now.
- Hair dryer - I use it a couple times a week during the winter, for a whopping total of about 30 times per year. I won't be using it again until November, so we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll ditch it!
- Dishwasher - Considering my dishwasher is only effective if the dishes that go in have NOTHING on them, I might as well not use it. Perhaps a bigger drying rack is in order...
There is one more item that I have been toying with going without for some time now, and this article might just be the inspiration I need to stop using it: the dryer. I just have to get a clothesline up in my backyard. More on this later!
What can/do you go without?
Kealy, ditto on the paper towels. I still use 'em for a couple of applications where cloth doesn't work, but two or three rolls a year is a pretty big improvement from two or three a month.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get reusable plastic food bags, and how do you keep them clean? I've tried reusing the ones from the store, but they always get all moldy or fall apart. What's the deal with the new Whole Foods bags too? They're "biodegradable," but then again, so is regular plastic, given enough time. I asked a couple employees yesterday and they couldn't tell me whether to recycle them, compost them, or throw them in the trash. It's a mystery...
Scott
Scott, try www.reusablebags.com, they have every kind of reusable bag you could imagine. As far as keeping them clean, I wash them with warm soapy water and hang them up to dry. You can hang them with clothes pins on a string hung in your window, or make a little bag drying stand (I put a wooden spoon in a jar and hang the bag on the spoon).
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what Whole Foods means by biodegradable...but most reusable shopping bags are machine washable, which will help keep them from molding. I hope that helps!
It's all in what you're used to. I haven't used plastic wrap for years, although I do have some zip lock bags around. And I haven't used anything but plastic grocery bags for garbage for over 20 years. Of course, since I always use cloth bags for groceries, I often run out and have to beg them from friends! Great web site! And I like my clothes tree but only use it May-October.
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