6 Ways to Sustainably Shelter in Place

6 Ways to Sustainably Shelter in Place

Composed Living
Organization Tips, Guide, All

As we all finally begin to settle into this new “norm”, more and more people are learning to acclimate to a life with less luxury and finding simplicity in what we have. This pandemic and subsequent shutdown have shown us just how fragile our global supply chain is. As members of a global community, we strive to do our part to reduce plastic consumption, reuse what we already have at home and encourage sustainable choices whenever possible.  At Composed Living, we want to provide you with a few simple tools for creating a self-sufficient home life. Together we can reduce the strain on our supply chain, our wallets and our environment.

Here are 6 easy ways to do so right now, while sheltering in place:

Unpaper Towels

The United States alone uses more than 13 billion pounds of paper towels annually (1). To save you trips to the store and lighten the load on the environment, make sure you stock up on cleaning supplies that last. Switch from disposable paper towels to Unpaper Towels or get crafty and make your own dish rags out of old cotton or bamboo t-shirts. Because let’s face it, standing in line at the store waiting for an allocation of paper towels takes precious time away from all the online yoga, banana bread baking and closet de-cluttering you could be doing instead!

Toilet Paper

More than seven billion rolls of toilet paper are sold yearly in the United States alone, which means Americans use an average of 23.6 rolls per capita a year(2). Worldwide, we flush ~27,000 trees down the drain every day(3). We all need to keep it clean down there, but why not be conscientious and kind while doing it? Check out environmentally friendly toilet paper options like Who Gives a Crap, who make all of their products with environmentally friendly materials, and donate 50% of their profits to help build toilets for those in need. Or, since we can’t travel anywhere at the moment, bring a little European flair to your home and install a bidet to eliminate or greatly reduce your use of toilet paper. It takes a little getting used to, but trust us: once you get a taste of the bidet life, you’ll never go back.

Victory Gardens

During WWI and WWII, alleviating food insecurity and the “prevention of widespread starvation [was] the peacetime obligation of the United States” and “Americans were urged to plant in every patch of available soil — producing about 40 percent of the nation’s fresh vegetables” (4). According to a recent NY Times article: “Trips to the grocery store [have] become fraught with fears of coronavirus exposure, and shoppers worry that industrial agriculture could fail them during a pandemic (5)”. So, why not build a 21st century version of a victory garden and call it a resiliency garden? It’s a great way to shift your dependence on the global food supply chain to one that is right in own your backyard. According to LA based culinary farmer, Courtney Guerra Hill, “No matter how big or small, a resiliency garden is an expression of fortitude in a time of uncertainty. Whether it’s a few containers of herbs on a balcony, or an entire yard transitioned to a farm, it feels good to have a little patch of hope to tend to everyday”. Check out Courtney Guerra Farms for more tips on what to plant right now (get those summer gardens ready!).

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DIY Sanitizing Spray

According to the EPA, in 2017, landfills received more than 26.8 million tons of plastic, accounting for 19.2 percent of all municipal solid waste landfill (8). Reduce your impact by ditching plastic disinfectant sprays for homemade ones in glass bottles. The CDC recommends making your own disinfectant spray by using at least 70% alcohol. Normally, white vinegar, lemon juice and a few drops of your favorite essential oil do the trick for general household cleaning, but for disinfecting frequently touched surfaces like tables, doorknobs, light switches and toilets, use a high proof alcohol and a few drops of essential oils such as cinnamon or clove, which have natural disinfecting properties. You can upcycle a glass kombucha bottle for the container or purchase one here. For how to make, check out Live Simply’s recipe here.

 Zero Waste Cordial/Cocktail Mix

Spring is in full swing and we love eating and drinking with the seasons. Since we can’t celebrate the warm weather out at our favorite bars and restaurants with friends right now, we will gladly settle for enjoying ourselves on a zoom happy hour. Play mixologist by using leftover fruit from your CSA or farmer’s market haul to create a refreshing cocktail or mocktail mix. According to a 2012 report from the Natural Resources Defense Council, forty percent of food in the United States is never eaten, amounting to $165 billion a year in waste(6). Break the food waste cycle and check out this simple zero waste recipe from Anita Vandyke + @rocket_science on Instagram. Store the remaining mix in a mason jar or in these beautiful glass Blisshaus jars.

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Eco-Friendly Kid Projects

More than 15 million tons of used textile waste is generated each year in the United States (7), while up to 40 percent of the food in the United States is never eaten (6). We encourage your family to get creative with your food scraps and breathe new life into old clothes, dishtowels and table cloths. Before you cast your kitchen scraps into the compost bin, experiment with natural dyes for a fun at home dye project. Use leftover avocado skins and seeds to make beautiful, pale pink dyes or simmer a pot of blueberries for a deep purple hue. Little ones can join in too! Let them squish the fabric around in the dye or plunk in hard boiled eggs, wood beads and other odds and ends for dyeing. For more DIY inspiration that comes straight from your kitchen or backyard, check out “Botanical Colour at Your Fingertips”.

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