In the Kitchen
Stop with the disposal! Don't run the motor, use strainer basket instead. Add all food scraps to your compost or yard waste bin. -- Bob Ohly, CFO - Caffe Ladro
We love coffee in Seattle…use a permanent cloth or mesh coffee filter instead of disposable paper filters. -- Ryan Fitzgerald, Retail Sales Manager - Seattle Weekly
The Mighty Lemon! 1 part lemon, 2 parts olive oil makes a great furniture polish. For a counter scrub, dip half a lemon into baking soda. The juice is also great on soap scum and hard water deposits! -- Kenny Stocker, Publisher - Seattle Weekly
Eliminate paper towels by cutting up your old clothes and using them as rags. -- Brian Barr, Music Editor – Seattle Weekly
Wash your produce as soon as you get it home so it's ready to grab and use. Use kitchen shears to cut vegetables right into the cooking container, eliminating the need to wash a cutting board/knife/bowl. -- Amy Niedrich, Purchasing – Seattle Weekly
Drink from the tap! Those water bottles, though recyclable, aren't green. Plastic production is pretty toxic. Buy an attachable filter or filtered water pitcher if you're worried about water quality. -- Kevin Patnik, Marketing Director – Seattle Weekly
Use a small yogurt container with a lid to pack a single serving of yogurt from larger yogurt containers. They are great for packing any small amount of food or snack like crackers too. Re-use large yogurt containers for leftover food storage in the fridge. -- Sarah Barrick, Photographer
Start Simple: "Use one less paper towel each day. Use one less napkin each day." Nola Coston – Toyota of Seattle
Around the House
Whether antiques or contemporary, handcrafted furniture nearly eliminates all the pollution and waste generated by pre-manufactured furniture. And each piece carries a little touch of the artist with it, creating a warmth not found in pre-fab furniture." - Erik Hulslander, Dragonfire Imports
Buy furniture from second-hand stores, which have great antiques and mid-century finds. -- Julann Hill, Retail Account Executive - Seattle Weekly
Put a barrel under your rain gutter downspout to catch water. Water indoor plants, your garden or wash your car. -- Ryan Fitzgerald, Retail Sales Manager – Seattle Weekly
Unplug unnecessary appliances when they aren't in use to save energy. -- Jennifer S. Miller, Retail Account Executive – Seattle Weekly
Can't bear to part with your favorite sneakers even though they are ratty, smelly, and full of holes? Can't stand to think of them ending up in a landfill? Let them live on and give joy to others by taking them to Nike Town (6th & Pike) to be ground up and turned into sports and playground surfaces. They accept any brand of athletic shoes without metal or cleats!
Haven't switched to CFLs yet? Buy an energy-saving CFL bulb for as little as $.99! Your regular light bulbs can be disposed of in the trash and you can take your old fluorescent bulbs to places like Five Corners Hardware to be properly disposed of for around 80 cents each. You've been meaning to do it for a while, I know... and now it's so easy, you've got no excuse. -- Drea Berthold, Owner – The Sneakery
When you've taken the bottles out of that 6-pack holder, keep it for your old CFL bulbs. It’s a great carrying case! And I’ve found that Ikea recycles CFLs for free. They have handy bins right outside their front door for light bulbs and shopping bags. - Debbie Porter, Seattle Weekly
I built a bench for my back yard out of a wooden grocery pallet. -- Ryan Fitzgerald, Retail Sales Manager – Seattle Weekly
Cleaning out your closet? Instead of throwing away your stuff, have a yard sale or better yet, donate to a thrift store. Donations are tax deductible and won't leave a mess in your front yard. -- Debbie Porter, Promotions Manager – Seattle Weekly
Why get yourself into hot water? Use cold for laundry. Not only will you lower your footprint, you'll lower your bill, too! -- Debbie Porter, Promotions Manager – Seattle Weekly
Be creative about reducing paper consumption. Just a few ways to cut back on using newly purchased paper products: Paper bags, newspapers, and magazines make great wrapping paper with a little ingenuity. Kevin Patnik, Marketing Director – Seattle Weekly
When considering a kitchen update or remodel consider using stainless steel counter tops, as they are 100% recyclable. If worried about scratches there are patterned options that can be used on counters that will hide scratches or prevent them.
When shopping ask if they know if the item has any "green" content or how it is made. A lot of the time manufacturers do use "green" practices or recycle and don't advertise that they do. If they don't it may get to them that customers are asking and then provoke thought on their part to do their part!
Consider faux wood blinds as opposed to real wood because most of the faux wood are environmentally sound as compared to the real wood.
If you want to get rid of furniture and can't consign your item please take it to donation as opposed to the dump! -- Tana Mattson, Altstadt Interiors
Skip the artificial laundry sheets and scents. Make your own cloth pouches or grab some orphan socks. Fill them with aromatic plant material: aromatic teas, potpourri, whatever you like. Tie off the socks with a simple knot but not too tight (you'll want to refill later!). Throw 2 socks in the dryer with the laundry. They'll pleasantly scent the laundry for loads to come! -- Alison @ On-Site MassageWorks
If you can't replace your non-organic conventional mattress yet, you can reduce tossing and turning by up to 80% and sleep greener by placing a natural or organic wool mattress pad on you conventional bed. -- Lillian Fisher, The Sleep Store
Around Town
Keep canvas bags in your car for trips to the store. Some grocers even offer a bag refund! -- Debbie Porter, Promotions Manager - Seattle Weekly
When waiting for the drawbridge to lower, turn off your engine. Why waste all that gas when you know you're not going anywhere. Save your lungs and save on gas! -- Debbie Porter, Promotions Manager – Seattle Weekly
Take the bus, ride your bike, walk... I've lived 20 of 23 years as a licensed driver — intentionally — without a car. I've rarely felt at a disadvantage. It's one of the ultimate advantages of living in a city. -- Kevin Patnik, Marketing Director – Seattle Weekly
Don't use foam cups or to-go containers! HCFCs are as bad as CFCs. Bring reusable containers, or ask for foil if they don't have paper containers. -- Kara Ceriello, Not a Number Cards & Gifts
Supporting local farmers and producers not only insures freshness, it reduces the carbon footprint in the supply chain. -- Greenfresh Market
The Toyota Prius Hybrid ranks not only a 9.5 (out of 10) on the EPA's emissions test, but also gets a perfect 10 on the greenhouse gas score”, reports About My Planet. The 2007 Toyota Prius Hybrid gets up to 55 mpg, and you don't have to plug it in at night. When slowing, the gas engine shuts off and the electric motor converts momentum into electricity, storing it in the battery. -- Nola Coston, Toyota of Seattle Downtown
NO MORE PLASTIC BAGS !!!!!!!!! I have loads of reusable bags in my car. I lived in Germany for many years and you never see stores using their own store bags. It usually was loaded straight into your cart, then you loaded it in your trunk, usually into boxes you could carry into your house. - Cindy Robinson
Plastic bags are history!!!!!!! When I moved to Seattle 2 years ago, I drove everywhere. It seemed easier to just use plastic bags and throw them in the trunk. Then, in December, my car was destroyed by a storm and I haven't looked back! I take the bus or walk to the store now and use a combination of my backpack and reusable bags for everything! I don't even have that stash of plastic bags that usually seems to be growing under everyone's kitchen sink! It actually makes it easier to carry AND clean up at the end of the day! Who has 2 thumbs and doesn't use plastic bags anymore?....This Guy! - Nick Kampman
Hold the ice, please: In the U.S. we seem obsessed with ice. Ice water, iced tea, drinks on the rocks, sno-cones, slushies. The list goes on. I started thinking about the energy used to make (and sometimes transport) the ice. Not to mention the water used to make the icy sculptures.
In a restaurant, everything seems to automatically come with ice that just gets left on the table and eventually goes down the drain. At home you might have two choices – open the freezer door and cause the refrigeration system to bring the temperature back down OR use the handy dispenser with the nightlight. All of which use up energy that we seem to be running short on these days. So with temperatures rarely going over 80 degrees here in Seattle, do I really need ice in my water? I’ve decided not. – Debbie Porter
Holidays
Recycle your leftover Halloween food, including pumpkins and candy. According to a research associate for the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth, “About 25 percent of the nation's waste that goes into landfills is actually food products that could be composted…Landfills create methane, which is a major greenhouse gas and about 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide." Food scraps can be included in your compost bin, buried in your yard or, in many places in the Puget Sound, recycled in your yard waste bin. See www.RecycleFood.com for details.
Reduce the treats. No matter what you are handing out to your trick-or-treaters, consider how you can reduce waste while modeling the art of moderation for young children by handing out one item instead of handfuls. Whether you're giving treats or treasures, you'll save money, reduce your eco-footprint and help kids by limiting the excess.
Reuse. Halloween offers many opportunities to reduce the waste and save money by reusing; costumes may be made from reused or recycled materials, purchased from consignment stores, rented, or borrowed from friends. Trick-or-treating flashlights can be shakable or crank-operated or powered by rechargeable batteries. Party goods such as plates, cups and utensils don't have to be disposable or can be made from recycled plastic that can be recycled or reused. Using reusable cloth napkins also adds a touch of class and saves trees. Speaking of trees, the production of paper bags requires more than 14 million trees annually and plastic bags are created from an unsustainable source that pollutes the planet and kills marine animals. Trick-or-treat containers such as plastic pumpkins can be reused each year or made from pillowcases or scraps of fabric. -- Corey Colwell-Lipson, Founder - Green Halloween
We receive boxes of all shapes and sizes at our office. We’ve started a collection, so everyone can use them to package up presents this gift-giving season. Debbie Porter, Seattle Weekly
Use only 100% recyclable wrapping paper - no mixed material, plastic, foil or mylar wraps. Shred (long strand) used wrapping paper into colorful gift basket stuffing for next year. Save holiday cards, detach the front cover and use as gift package decorations and to-from labels. Save long ribbons to make into smaller bows. Turn over used wrapping paper and make your own ink-stamped papers. Commission kids and teens to handle these artsy projects. Alison @ On-Site MassageWorks
After opening holiday presents, use your colorful wrapping papers, catalogs, or junk mail to make paper chains. Janine Michelsons, Seattle
Before you recycle those holiday cards, see if any of them would make great gift tags. A simple * snip snip * of the scissors and voila! If you’re up to adding some glue, you can make a little box for that special little present — here are the instructions. - Debbie Porter
Seed Paper: Make your own wrapping paper/card, etc. There are a lot of how-to directions on line. Add seeds to the mix when setting. After use, paper can be added to flower beds and gardens. – Michael Duey
Winter Tips
Save cold air from coming in the windows (and heat escaping) by hanging heavy curtains or blinds. Make sure they completely cover the window on all sides.
When you have a space heater and no doors between rooms, hang curtains (or decorative sheets) in the doorway to heat that one room.
When the weather gets cold—Layer! Wear many layers of clothes to keep warm and dry. Top a warm coat with a light rain jacket to keep the rain away.
Eating fresh fruits and vegetables can boost your immune system and help fight off colds!