15+ Easy Sustainable Habits to Make Part of Your Day

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Hi! My name is Verena but most people call me Erin (my middle name). I studied Fashion Design & Technology and through this became aware of and passionate about environmental and ethical issues in the fashion industry. On this channel I share my journey to live more consciously and create videos to help you build a wardrobe that reflects both your style and values. 🌎
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[@tracygellatly1267]

A note of encouragement to new mothers: I used cloth diapers 30 years ago and loved it! My children potty trained very quickly between 20 months and 24 months. This is something you CAN easily do with high quality cloth diapers and liners. I bought the best I could afford and then went on to save hundreds of dollars by not buying disposable diapers and even more importantly, saving the Earth from all that garbage over my many years of child rearing. I found it was also easier on my children's delicate baby skin, far less diaper rashes and irritation. Definitely worth your consideration and I'm sure the cloth diapers of this era have gotten even better!

[@cristinalainez]

Hi! I would like to know more about how you cloth diaper and also about elimination comunication. Maybe you can make a video about it in the future? I would like to know more about your experience but specially what books or guidelines did you follow with elimination comunication. Thank you!! Great video!!

[@SagaJohanna]

Thank you so much for mentioning fabric softener!!! The worst! And great tips, happy to realize I was doing all of them already 😍❤️

[@themostbeautifulface]

Re: dryer sheets, my gynecologist told me to stop using dryer sheets because they irritate skin! I have and my clothes feel much better

[@meh1738]

Every Sunday I have a "meal prep day". Then, I head for the refrigerator and fridge to find ingredients for lunches for school for the upcoming week. Today, I found half a smoked salmon in the fridge. In the refrigerator, I found some sour cream, cream, cheese, a single tomato, a boiled potato, some spring onions, etc. I made myself a pasta dish with salmon and a huge pizza with salmon of those ingredients.

[@fienl.6493]

If you don't have the luck to have your toilet connected to a rain water pump (but even then it's a great thing to do), placing a bucket in the shower to catch the water while it's getting to the right temperature can save the next flush :)

[@fienl.6493]

@@hubbibubbi1370 we also have the rain water pump connected to the laundry machine! I know unfortunately that is not an option for a lot of living situations, we have the luck having an underground rain water tank in the garden.

[@racheldossantos6148]

I appreciate this! I grew up doing all of these tips and I'm so grateful for my parents who passed this all on to me!

[@prettyladye15]

Thank you for this video! I've been line drying my clothes exclusively for about 4 years and it makes a huge difference. A couple of months ago I started planning out meals a month in advance and only buying what I need for a couple meals at a time. We have saved so much money and eliminated so much food waste by doing this.

[@MyGreenCloset]

That's fantastic!

[@ASMRBookclub]

I’d love to hear about your experience with EC! I’m 36 weeks pregnant and I’d like to try it, and I always find your advice practical and so clear. Some channels that talk about EC are a bit too focused on selling their book or products, and I’d love to hear your personal experience and tips with it!

[@MyGreenCloset]

I think I might try to do a video, I've been getting lots of questions about it! All the best wishes for your delivery 💕

[@ciaragracelewis]

Same! So curious about EC. I’m almost 30 weeks

[@zabm3502]

Stopping using dryer sheets, fabric softener and scented laundry soap helps make being out in the community more accessible for folks like me with MCS(multiple chemical sensitivity). Greatly appreciated!

[@anneshan34]

Thanks for sharing .

[@enhimmelskdr0g]

Another tips is to start showering your hair less often! During corona I’ve gone from every 2nd day to 2 times per week. This means I use 1/3 less water, less products down the drain and my hair feels way nicer! I’m so happy because I never thought I could do this, but working from home meant I didn’t need to show anyone my dirty hair before I got used to this schedule :)

[@111-w9d7y]

During corona time I experimented washing my hair with Palmolive Bath Gel, Purple coloured one in 745ml bottle. Well my hair now is much softer and stays cleaner longer. I use this bath gel also for washing clothes, dishes, my body, and a few other things. Never use hair conditioner or any other products. My hair is thick, straight, one length and more or less shoulder length. Have used this method on my hair now for nearly five months. It looks and feels so much better. No turning back to shampoo for me.

[@heidikuronen9491]

I've worked throughout the Corona issue, but since I do "Low poo" Curly girl, I only wash my hair 1 - 2 times a week anyway. Not using any/heavy products and making myself a night hairturban has saved me a lot of hairwashes.

[@anniep855]

I shut off the oven/stove 3 to 5 minutes before the dish is done cooking - saves energy!

[@adelest9500]

I do that too, I shut off oven even earlier because it holds up heat pretty well :)

[@shauni83]

I'm incorporating a lot of these tips. BUT be careful with running machines only in cold cycles. The waching machine and the dishwasher need a couple of hot/ full water cycles for killing germs and cleaning grease or else. Thank for the compilation, Erin!

[@lauren8627]

Yeah I agree. Miele sales rep recommended we run one wash in the hottest cycle a few times a month to clean out the washing machine (I do towels and sheets). But for most things cold is totally okay.

[@ashleystewart6326]

Yes agreed. I like to wash my bedsheets, towels, and underwear/socks in hot because they are the most soiled, especially since my partner has psoriasis, and it seems to help with allergies. Everything else cold works great.

[@jenniferstrength515]

Thank you for the boiling only as much water as you need tip!! I always try to estimate, but always overdo it. I saw this and said to myself, "Duh, why haven't I tried that yet?" So simple but so helpful!

[@veggiesandmore]

Loved the video and am super impressed at how you've managed to reduce your food waste! Meal planning ahead of time with a focus on plant-based meals and only buying what we need for the week has helped reduce my family's food waste a ton too. I find that, in some cases, opting for frozen veggies over fresh can also be super helpful. From firsthand experience, having frozen broccoli on hand has significantly decreased the amount of spoiled broccoli I've had to throw into the compost over the last few months. :)

[@mvacwentwild]

Could you do a video on cloth diapers? I’m currently pregnant and very interested in using reusable diapers so I’m curious to know what has worked for you!

[@mysameoldscenario]

Can you do a cloth diaper video please 😊

[@MyGreenCloset]

Maybe if there's enough interest... What do you want to know about?

[@SteampunkPrincess]

My friend cloth diapered her baby but had to stop because she had sensitive skin and apparently she couldn't use diaper cream with the cloth diaper inserts she bought. I was wondering if you experienced anything like that at all? (I don't have kids yet but plan to use cloth diapers.)

[@indalo1995]

You shouldn't use cream unless there is a problem, you just need to change the nappy regularly and make sure that you wash their bum well and it is dry before you put the clean nappy on.

[@indalo1995]

The initial out lay is expensive but if you add up the cost of disposables, bearing in mind that cloth babies are often potty trained earlier and you can use them for subsequent children or sell them on I don't think the actual cost is higher especially if you air dry rather than tumble dry

[@intentionaldes2654]

This was such a great list! I do some of these habits too I’m new to the sustainability community and recently started my channel ❤️

[@Nikki-fl6op]

Hi I was wondering if u know of a good brand that has a non toxic nail polish I could buy?? Thank you

[@nicoleisheretolearn]

Great video!! It’s always good to know where to get sustainable products when we need them, but I really love looking at sustainable habits because they’re free, usually easy, often save time and/or money, and anti-consumerist.

[@anoushkamudbidri2932]

Loved this video- So informative! I already do a couple of these too, but can't wait to incorporate the ones I haven't tried yet! Great tip about the micro fibres and pre-heating ovens while still prepping the food!

[@tracygellatly1267]

Simply use plastic hangers/pant hangers with clips to air dry your clothes if you are not accustomed to the idea of not using your dryer. I have a closet rod hung in my laundry area. You will be amazed at how nice they dry (no wrinkles-remember to shake/snap them first before hanging) and how much longer your clothes last. Also, no fancy drying racks or large space required.

[@lorraineturton4485]

Wonderful. Thank you for such a nice video. Your style and taste is beautiful. Good health to you :-)

[@biancas.6283]

Very good advice! Proud to say we're already applying some of it. :)

[@sandramaki7819]

Loved this video! Great suggestions ! Reminder that I need to get a guppy bag. Excellent and informative video! 💚💚💚

[@sarahpulver9978]

Thx you so much! Please a bath products vid!

[@Julie-ip3il]

Preheating the oven is necessary for baking but for roasting veg, meats etc it doesn’t make much of a difference. Another tip: put multiple things in the oven at the same time so you only need to turn it on once

[@littlereddragon]

So most recipes will put pre-heating the oven as the first step, regardless of how long it is between that and actually putting something in the oven. What I usually do is preheat the oven about 10 minutes before I'm about to bake so that my bakes are okay and I haven't had the oven on for maybe 30 minutes while I'm just mixing ingredients!

[@Julie-ip3il]

@@littlereddragon I mean for baking preheating fully is necessary but for roasting starting with a semi heated oven doesn’t make a difference so start roasting them veg without preheating is fine

[@Hairlove95]

Throwing in a dry towel with the dryer load also cuts down the time :)

[@notme7090]

I haven't owned a dryer in 10+ years. We've been convinced we need one but we don't.

[@caramelushca]

We have blackout curtains and I always pull them during the summer, more-so because it gets unbearably hot in our south-facing apartment than for sustainability, and although it makes a huge difference, we still have to turn on the AC from time to time, but less. However, I have an issue with that, I want to get more houseplants, and I'm worried they won't get enough light during the summer like that. Don't know what the solution would be :D

[@lauraelisee]

What about a filter that attaches to your washer discharge hose to catch micro fibers in the water?

[@MyGreenCloset]

Girlfriend Collective recently put out one! I haven't tried it though because with our machine set-up unfortunately I'm not sure it could actually be installed and would be a pain to empty. I wish they would just come with the machines :(

[@karinamunozgoudeau4732]

I would love to purchase from earthhero but they don't ship to Canada... I know you live in Canada and I was wondering how you can purchase from them?

[@MyGreenCloset]

I have family in the US which sends my packages that won't deliver to Canada, and I also collaborate with EarthHero so part of that involves them sending products so I can try and test them out. I believe they are working on international shipping though!

[@fancynancy2870]

Yes, I am in Canada too.

[@ThisIsKassia]

I've always been confused about composting if you don't have a garden. How does it help? Won't the compostable goods break down in the dump the same as they would anywhere else?

[@taniafilipafernandes6662]

A landfill has a limited lifetime that is calculated at the time of the planning stage based on the statistics available at that particular time namely kilos/pounds of waste per year per inhabitants. However it doesn't take into account variables such as migration fluxes, packaging development and consumption cycles. While a waste process plant should have an anaerobic composting system, not all of them do, so in order to increase the landfill lifetime (cause if you do, you don't need another landfill which translate into land that is basically dead for the time that is used as a dump plus another 30+ years after that with restrictions) , people should compost at home. If you don't have a garden or plants try to find out if your town has a composting program. You can freeze your scraps so they don't smell and later on put in the recollection points. Hope this helps. (Sorry by any mistakes, ESL)

[@MyGreenCloset]

When we lived in an apartment we would keep a container in the freezer for food scraps and then every week or two drop it off at a compost in the community garden. It's pretty easy to do and the freezer keeps everything from getting smelly or needing to worry about worms or other composting. You should see if there's a community compost near you! And hopefully one day we'll have green bins and municipal composting. 🤞

[@lauren8627]

Unless they are properly composted putting food waste in the rubbish is actually worse because it doesn't get aerated. So anaerobic bacteria try to break it down which realeases more gasses which contribute to climate change (fact check me, but 'war on waste' tv show in Australia had an episode on this, and boy does Australia have some serious issues with our rubbish/compost/recycling).

[@mvhLinda]

Could you do a video about elimination communication ?

[@MyGreenCloset]

I think I might make one, is there anything in particular you want to know more about?

[@tinaf7395]

love the video!!! #vegan 💕🌱💕

[@hanjindigo]

you can also use ecosia (it's a search engine), and for every 45 searches a tree is planted! look it up 🌱🤍

[@meilinchiang6951]

👍🏻I try to handwash my clothing most of the time by doing this My clothing last longer... x

[@sophisticatedwrat]

I wish I could hang dry my clothes but they always become stiff and uncomfortable. I can't live without my dryer. If anyone knows a solution for this, please tell me.

[@MyGreenCloset]

You can air dry them almost fully and then toss them in the dryer for a quick tumble to just soften them up.

[@sophisticatedwrat]

@@MyGreenCloset I think I will do that then

[@labyrinthwomb]

Don't put a brick on your toilet - it will degrade and mess up your plumbing. Instead of a brick, try filling a plastic bottle with small rocks or pebbles and screw the cap on - the concerns over using less water will still remain, but you'll at least avoid a disintegrating brick.

[@syddlinden8966]

Aaaaaaaall of this.

[@loub1733]

It’s a bit sad that you need to do a video like this. 90% is just good old fashioned homemaking and frugality. It is indicative of what a throw away society we have become. I have raised kids on cloth nappies, line dry 95% of the time, compost, reuse water etc etc etc, because I was raised to do this. If my grandmother was alive she would stare in aghast. How did it get to be like this and what do young people do when good old fashioned house habits are not being modelled to them. Thanks anyway.

[@katiethomas5889]

If you know what is in the fridge, you won't overbuy and waste food.

[@arwan258]

Can you talk more about elimination communication?