Do you feel overwhelmed by your stuff? Stressed? Anxious? Does the sight of plastic strewn about the streets send you into convulsions or bouts of swearing? It’s time to try Zero Waste™.
Zero-Waste Basics
Easy tips for a Low-Waste Cold and Flu Season
Reduce your waste during the cold and flu season with the following tips.
Lower-Waste Goodie Bags, Prizes and Stocking Stuffers
The goodie bag dilemma Earlier this week, a reader asked me if I had any good ideas for kids’ goodie bags. She and her family throw a big Christmas party every year. She cooks all sorts of delicious food, organizes games for the kids and dresses up as Santa. She had been stressing out over […]
How to Make Natural Homemade Wood Stain with Vinegar
Combine vinegar and steel wool in a jar to make homemade wood stain. No fumes! No VOCs! Spruce up bare wood with a rich, dark color.
How to Equip a Kitchen When You Start Out or Start Over
When you choose kitchen tools, look for multi-purpose items. Yesterday on Instagram, two people sent me messages asking how to equip a kitchen from scratch. One was moving to a new apartment. The second? The Camp Fire had razed her home in Paradise, California. I can’t imagine losing my home in one of these mega-fires—the […]
Kitchen Gadgets You Didn’t Know You Already Own
A flimsy plastic kitchen gadget that should not exist inspired this post: the Evriholder Avo Saver Avocado Holder. Shaped like one half of an avocado, with a round indentation for the seed and an adjustable rubber strap, this gadget buckles in the half avocado you didn’t eat so you can store it in the refrigerator and […]
A Use-It-Up Challenge (or What We Ate Last Week)
Forgetting to bring your money before you head out shopping can provide a great opportunity to re-examine your shopping list—and in the case of grocery shopping, prevent food waste. The Sunday before last, I arrived at the farmers’ market late. Once there, before even opening my purse, I realized I had neither money nor my […]
But When You Do Shop, Shop Small
Shop small could mean shop less. And I do suggest we all do that. But in this post, by shop small, I mean shop at small independent businesses—the local bookstore, bike shop and bakery. Why? 1. Less packaging waste Which came first, our addiction to convenience or the convenience of online shopping? Either way, this […]
Why Cook Two Things at Once When You Can Cook Six?
I strive to run my kitchen as efficiently as possible—I use up absolutely every bit of food, do my best to dirty only one bowl instead of two or three or four and on an ideal day, cram as much as possible into my oven and cook a pile of food all at once. After working […]