Save money AND the planet?! Zero waste on a budget part 13!!

[@melissam4954]

My tip: taking apart crochet projects to reuse yarn. I have an 10 year old handmade hat that got irreparably mangled in the washing machine. So instead of throwing it away, I took it apart and rolled up the good yarn to make something new with. The smaller pieces are in a jar right now but will be used as stuffing instead of polyfill. There are a lot of cool scrap busting projects and ideas out there- you could probably make a whole video on sustainable crafting/sewing/fiber arts (if you haven’t already)!

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

oh yes! great idea and reuse for frogged projects :)

[@mj2625]

My comment on the writing in books part: only buy books if you know you'll reread them! Whether they're for reference or for pleasure, try renting them when you're reading them for the first time. I only buy books I know I loved reading and will read again, so I don't feel guilty about marking them up. I also share books with my friends who like to write in them, so we have some books with comments on comments on comments between us!

[@katem6562]

Buy them at these second hand first

[@karinhart489]

Library checkout: hard copy, ebook, & audiobooks.

[@juliannewegesend-ako3545]

I always buy ebooks and if I find myself wanting to read it again I'll get the hard copy second hand for my tiny home library 🥰

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

ooh good to note! otherwise you can borrow :)

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

yes!!! @@karinhart489

[@KS-jf2jf]

I LOVE this series, Emma! My top money and planet saving tips: 1) Circular & gift economy: curbside freebies, neighbourhood yard sales, FB free groups and sharing with friends and family. 2) Pet care: I don't buy doggy poop bags, use only bread and other food bags, add liners, waaay used freezer bags that otherwise would go to trash. I feed my dog lots of food scraps (of course vet approved) and make her toppers from using a little of what we eat - no food waste 😀. Cut her nails myself and groom her. Save on costs and gas money to get to the groomer. 3) we cut our own hair in my family and use very limited products. No need to wash hair every day and my hubby even stopped using shampoo altogether. Turns out his hair looks just as good and no products used. Such a planet and money saver! Thank you for this series!

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

yay it's my fav too, thanks for supporting it! These are great swaps :)

[@AWanderingEye]

Tips for humans: If you buy things in plastic containers use up every last drop! If that means you have to cut them open, do so. Lots of product gets trapped inside. Repurpose the lid onto glass bottles if able so you can reuse something you may prefer the aesthetic. Share your stock pile when it gets out of hand (sort and store your items so you can offer them readily). I have given away toilet paper tubes, sparkling water bottles, paper wrappers, nail polishes, and things I considered rags. There are folks out in the world who need these and other things for their projects. Tip for pets: If you have a kitty litter box, scoop poop and flush it with your human waste. Then repurpose frozen food and cereal bags to contain the soiled litter which has to go to the landfill contained. This all said assuming you cannot compost your litter. I buy an organic non clay type of litter so look forward to the day when I'll be able to compost it! Brush your pets outside so their fur can be used by other animals in their nest building or collect and send the fur to the compost site. Purchase as few items as possible, make what you can and reconsider whether you actually need the rest. Minimalish/minimalism is definitely a benefit to you and the planet. Make people more important than things . Maintain the few things you do own so they have as long a use life as possible.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

yes!!! always cut stuff open! these are amazing tips thank you :)

[@nancyhartwicker667]

When I am at work or church meetings that are catered and there are leftovers, I make sure they have plans for the leftovers. Sometimes I take them home for myself. Sometimes I take them to a friend who needs a meal. Sometimes I take them to our local shelter.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

genius idea!

[@wendy-zarate]

Omg I love this series so much. Saving money and being eco-friendly go hand in hand! 😊

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

they truly are the perfect pair!

[@carolinaazevedo2088]

Having a bunny and guinea pigs you have no idea how much waste we cut by giving them peels and things that would go bad if not eaten quickly, and the upside: their excrements are ready to go to a planter. no compost needed

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

right! that's how I feel with my dog!

[@StephanieGiese]

I love this series. I learned about the Treecard app from you and now I have my husband, my sister, and my son's therapist using it! The plasticware tip reminded me that my Grandmother used to handwash and reuse straws from McDonald's until they fell apart.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

it trulyis the best!! yayyyyy let's go!

[@megc.9253]

Really love the cupcake versus cake tip!

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

right! a fun little hack I discovered!

[@officialheidirose]

Another tip, don’t be afraid to call a company that is sending you physical junk mail. We’ve had to do that repeatedly for the same company we donated to once. We tried explaining to them that we didn’t want our donation funding all the junk mail they sent us back😂

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

omg yes! good idea!

[@adriennel29]

I really enjoy listening to your different ideas! One tip that I thought of was to renew my vehicle tags online instead of driving to the DMV. I also try to save some of my coffee for the next day by switching to a glass of water instead of having an extra cup just because it’s there.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

yay thanks! love that idea!

[@hwiper]

The reason eating cookie dough is unsafe is mostly because of the flour. Raw flour is more likely to cause food poisoning than raw eggs (if they’re washed eggs, i.e. any bought in the US). But, oats are actually cooked in processing, so eating “raw” oat cookie dough is fine.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

yes! cool!

[@nancyhartwicker667]

Oh, and this one might gross some people out. I work in a healthcare facility, where they are required to get rid of all expired food. Everyone knows to give it to me. I’ve gotten pudding, applesauce, and it’s the only time my kids ever get little Debbie cakes.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

I love it!

[@4-kathryn]

So glad you commented on the box mac and cheese. I always use 3 to 4 cups and it's fine, my meal isn't ruined or anything. You're making me want to contact these companies it's been a long pet peeve of mine. Thanks for your video.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

it's wild!!! omg we should all contact them!

[@ndsolimini]

Emma: “Sorry if I talk too fast” Me: … *turns speed to 2x*

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

literally same haha i'm a fast talker and fast listener too!

[@kayleemcelveen5821]

I looooooove tree card!! 🌲 It's literally so low effort to plant trees 💚

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

it makes me feel good in my daily life!

[@junglesuperstar9270]

Dye eggs for Easter using veggie scraps like onion peel or beetroot .

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

omg i love that!

[@officialheidirose]

Random tip when printing: ensure your document is set to the correct size you want printed. I work at my campus print services & we get many RA’s asking us to print things 11x17 for poster boards, but if their document’s setting was 11x13, it would print with a lot of extra white space. 🤓😅

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

omg yes good point!

[@LennyKJ1]

I really enjoy asking for specific gifts now. Especially when it's something a few people can get involved with. Fantastic video! These kinds of information ideas are totally awesome thank you

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

yes for sure! that's great :)

[@jennifershaw4756]

These are always my favourite videos! They always inspire me. I love the concept of them being budget friendly also.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

yay thank you so much!!

[@ashlamccammon4196]

Idk if it’s been commented yet, but it’s the unbaked flour in cookie dough that can make you sick - not the eggs. So baking your flour, using wheat based flour alternatives (ie coconut flour, almond flour, etc), or even using recipes without it can prevent it. I’m still trying to find recipes that I like that don’t use eggs (aspiring vegan here, lol) or using an alternative flour where I like the taste, so can’t provide a perfect solution on this yet, but yeah. Also, yes on the trimming strings! I’ve kept a pair of nail clippers specifically to trim off loose strings and have been doing so since BMT. Glad I’m not the only one 😆

[@ashlamccammon4196]

Mini video idea; cookie dough recipe that uses the bean juices as the egg and an alternative flour that doesn’t need to be baked. I don’t think I’ve seen it done yet so that would be a fun one if so. That or if anyone knows a recipe and would like to drop theirs that would be awesome too 😆

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

omg are you still in the air force? glad that habit wasn't just mine to keep hahaha. I hope you find recipes you enjoy!

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

ooooh yes i love that idea! @@ashlamccammon4196

[@nancyhartwicker667]

I live in a small town, and if I’m going to an event, I think about who will be there that lives near me, and I propose a carpool.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

omg I love that idea!

[@ashlamccammon4196]

I love this series!! Looking forward to the next part, thank you! 😁🙌🏻

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

thank you so much!

[@valerie4235]

Great informative video!! Love this series 🙂

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

thank you so much!

[@t4m1n0_]

i eat kiwis with peel and i dont even notice anymore, its also easier if u dont have to peel it

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

omg yes!!

[@meaghanshomestead]

Thanks for this! My tip would be to switch to a reusable kitchen compost bin. In our area it’s common to buy brown bags designed to be thrown out with the compost 😮 this switch has saved me hundreds of dollars in the last year

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

woohoo thank you! love this tip :)

[@pyenygren2299]

Here is a comment for the algorithm.

[@karinhart489]

And a reply for the algorithm to boost the video. 👋

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

awwww thank you!!!

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

thanks, Karin :)@@karinhart489

[@leanneono6237]

I watched this whilst cleaning my Phox water jug - refillable cartridges

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

woohoo! cleaning your products is a great way to get the most bang for your buck too ;)

[@karinhart489]

Great list! Already do most of those. Will look into the walking to plant trees app & if their privacy is ok I will try it because walking is my exercise. PS: YT better send you a few pennies because I let the commercials run for 5 minutes (!) at the end while I went out of the room to get a glass of water. Too many political ads, I already mailed in my ballot.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

omg Karin you are the BEST! Surely that got me at least a few cents haha. Thank you as always :)

[@kmbirdw74]

Vegan cookie dough…. No salmonella risk 😮

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

yes!!!

[@susanaalves6934]

Hi from Portugal new subscriber. You can vale your cookie dough íncide your car on the front Window with the heat of a sunny day 😊

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

ahh thank you for being here! I love doing that too haha

[@ninaexmachina]

Oh my god, I hate those egregious pasta instructions. It always pisses me off, both because it feels horrendously wasteful to pour out pasta water already (I don't have a way to reuse it sadly) and because I always default to small pots/pans that can't fit 4 quarts or however much in them, which I guess I also do because it feels wasteful to pour the water out lmao. I've ignored the instructions progressively more as time has gone on, with no apparent consequences, and I'm now at the point where I use as little as possible out of spite for the people who write the instructions. (Realistically it's more motivated by my discomfort with wasting stuff, but the spite feelings are real.)

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

right! I never measure water, only eye ball it and it works just fine!

[@aimeeseek]

Recycling creates inferior products right?

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

absolutely not! recycling is amazing!

[@nancyhartwicker667]

One more: I unsubscribe from any shopping catalogues that come to my mailbox.

[@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist]

good idea!! thanks for all the comments :)