BY HANNAH BAKER
PROBLEM: You go through paper towels like it’s your job.
SOLUTION: According to the EPA, Americans generate about 3.8 million tons of paper towel and facial tissue trash a year (whoa). Not only can paper towels be wasteful, but they’re often bleached with chemicals, says Heather White, founder of OneGreen- Thing, a nonprofit focused on the mental health impacts of the climate crisis. “Switching to cloth towels reduces landfill mass and toxic chemicals in our environment,” she says. White suggests reusable towels from The Useless Brand ($20 for 12; amazon .com) or ZeroWastely ($36 for 24; amazon.com). The trick is to make them convenient to use, she says. “If your washing machine is far from the kitchen, put the dirty towels in a bowl or bin and drop them off in the laundry room each night.” Keep a stack of clean ones at the ready, and tuck the paper towels, which you’ll want for certain jobs, in a harder-to-reach spot.
PROBLEM: Your reusable water bottle gets kinda gross.
SOLUTION: To prevent yuckiness, White says you’ve gotta wash it out every other day. If it’s already nasty, Danny Seo, a sustainability expert, author, and TV personality, has a suggestion: “Load it up with ice and add equal parts white vinegar and water— enough so the bottle is half full—and a tiny squeeze of dish soap.” Put the lid on and shake away. “The vinegar acts as a disinfectant, the ice helps break up the grime, and the soap does the rest.” Finish with a rinse. You can also try the cleaning tablets from Bottle Bright ($8 for 12; bottlebright.com). They dissolve in water to create a nice soaking bath for bottles and all those smaller pieces.
PROBLEM: You have a thing for dryer sheets.
SOLUTION: Across the board, our experts suggest wool dryer balls, like Lamby Wool Dryerballs ($38 for 4; nelliesclean.com). They’re reusable, they cut down on static, they help keep clothes from balling up, and they reduce drying time, saving energy. You can also add a dryer sachet to give your laundry a light scent. We like the Le Blanc Dryer Sachet ($28; linenwash .com). It comes in a few scents and can be used for at least 25 cycles.
PROBLEM: Countertop composting gives you the ick.
SOLUTION: “The best thing you can do is empty the bin routinely and rinse it with warm water,” White says. “And you can limit your composting to plant-based food scraps, avoiding meat and dairy, to keep bugs at bay.” Alternatively, skip the counter and stash your scraps in an airtight container in the freezer, which will prevent bad smells and mold.
The scraps eventually have to go somewhere, of course. If you don’t have a compost pile in your yard or access to a community program, Seo recommends the FoodCycler ($400; vitamix.com), a countertop appliance that turns your scraps into fertilizer in just hours. Or check out the larger option on page 92.
PROBLEM: You can’t seem to quit plastic in the kitchen.
SOLUTION: Let’s start with trash bags. Compostable ones will only break down if you actually compost them. If your trash is headed to a landfill, Seo has a surprising suggestion: “Use durable bags that won’t rip or be torn open by animals. At the very least, this keeps litter from being scattered on the streets.”
Next up: plastic wrap and zip-top storage bags. Mary Meade, editor and digital content manager at the non- profit Green America, jokes that she could marry her Bee’s Wrap ($25 for 5; beeswrap.com)—organic cotton sheets coated with beeswax, plant oil, and tree resin. “I use them for wrapping produce and covering plates and bowls.” The compostable Parchment Baking Paper from If You Care ($8; ifyoucare.com) is another great alternative to plastic wrap. And instead of plastic baggies, our experts recommend reusable, food-grade silicone bags, like the ones made by Stasher (from $8; stasherbag.com).
PROBLEM: You aren’t convinced cleaning concentrates work.
SOLUTION: Just because you’re adding water doesn’t make concentrates less powerful! “Most cleaning products are nearly all water anyway,” Seo says. Because of this, nonconcentrates are much heavier to transport, which can waste energy. With concentrates, you refill a bottle you already have, cutting down on plastic too. Tip: Use filtered water, or boil tap water and let it cool. Seo says the minerals in unfiltered water can get stinky if the solution sits around between scrubbing sessions.
When choosing new concentrates, do a little research, White says. “Check the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning to make sure the products are sustainable and nontoxic.” She likes Sal Suds Biodegradeable Cleaner ($10 for 16 oz.; drbronner.com) and Multi-Purpose Cleaner Concentrate ($8 for 2 oz.; grove.co), both of which are gentle and incredibly effective.
PROBLEM: You feel compelled to wash your laundry in hot water.
SOLUTION: “Hot water should only be used to disinfect things like bedding and towels when people are sick,” Seo says. Aside from hogging more energy, he explains, hot water can fade colors and shrink fabrics. Instead, he suggests choosing cold water as your default, noting that most detergents are designed to work best in cold water. If you’ve got stinky items, like workout clothes, he says to soak them in a cup of white vinegar to neutralize odor-causing bacteria before you wash them. Easy peasy, right?!
GALLERY STOCK
Photographs by Jens Mortensen