Guest post by Eva Hines
There are many ways you can reuse or recycle household items instead of simply throwing them away if you’re trying to live green. Reusing and recycling items obviously helps you save substantial amounts of money in the long term, but it also helps you do your bit of good for the environment.
What’s more, using everyday stuff in different ways or repurposing worn out items will bring out the creative streak in you! You can also turn repurposing items into a family affair.
If you don’t know how and where to begin, read on for some ideas on using everyday items differently, and reusing and recycling household items.
Don’t Discard Plastic Bottles
Don’t add to plastic waste by throwing away plastic bottles after finishing your soda or fruit juice.
Landfills are already full of plastic items that we know will never decompose. Don’t add to plastic waste by throwing away plastic bottles after finishing your soda or fruit juice.
Fill different sized bottles with water or sand and use them as weights while exercising. You can also use these free weights in the pool.
Fill one or two bottles with gravel and/or water and place them in your toilet tank. Doing so will displace an equivalent amount of water so that you flush less water each time. Don’t worry; most toilets flush fine even with less water. See what works fine with your toilet by trying out different sized bottles.
Bottles filled almost to the top with water can be frozen to be used later as ice packs. Frozen bottles won’t turn things messy as ice will. Moreover, frozen bottles will help your freezer work efficiently by keeping it insulated.
Assign More Chores to Coffee Grounds and Tea Leaves
Put those used coffee grinds and tea bags to good use! Photo:
Your favorite coffee beans and tea leaves probably come to your kitchen counter from halfway around the world. If you feel guilty about clocking more food miles, don’t consider giving up on your beloved beverages. Simply assign more chores to used coffee grounds and tea leaves.
Coffee grounds mixed with coconut oil and brown sugar will make for an excellent exfoliant. Say goodbye to pricey body wash with this simple recipe.
Coffee grounds are able to deter ants and repel slugs and snails. Sprinkle coffee grounds in problem areas instead of using chemicals.
Distribute coffee grounds and orange peels evenly around your plants to keep cats away.
Coffee grounds being naturally acidic and full of nutrients, can be used as mulch for plants such as camellias, azaleas, hydrangeas, roses, rhododendrons, and evergreens.
Tea leaves can be reused as fertilizer, to help ward off pests and to deodorize and freshen.
Tea leaves are packed with nutrients making them desirable as a natural fertilizer. Green tea being high in nitrogen can help ward off insects and pests.
Dried tea leaves can help deodorize kitty litter. To freshen up your carpets, sprinkle dried tea leaves on the floor and crush lightly. Let the leaves sit for 10 minutes and then vacuum. The vacuum bag will get deodorized too!
Reduce puffy eyes with used tea bags!
Avoid buying expensive creams to get rid of puffy eyes; use cold used tea bags instead.
Cedar blocks are a safe and healthy alternative to mothballs.
Mothballs help you kill and repel clothes moths and other fabric pests. The pesticide is effective in saving your clothes from damage, but being a chemical you need to use it carefully. A long-term exposure to the toxic vapors that escape from mothballs can lead to health problems.
Disposing mothballs improperly can cause the active ingredients- naphthalene and para-dichlorobenzene to dissipate into the environment. As these chemicals do not break down, they can contaminate the soil and groundwater.
A safe and healthy alternative to mothballs is cedar blocks. These will repel moths just as effectively and your clothes will smell good too. Cedar blocks are expensive, so you can choose to buy cedar shavings instead.
Cedar repels moths and your clothes will smell good too.
Cedar hangers like the ones available on OnlyHangers will also be beneficial. Cedar blocks and hangers will last you for years and you only need to lightly sand them when the aroma fades away.
Freshen Your Home Naturally
Baking soda can serve as a non-toxic air freshener and it is also great for people
with asthma or those sensitive to perfumes.
You don’t have to waste money on scented candles, plug-ins, or air-freshener sprays, to make your home smell good. Apart from eating up your resources, these artificial scents can trigger sneezing, runny noses, and asthma. You certainly can’t compromise on the health of your loved ones!
Moreover, artificial scents just add another smell to your house instead of deodorizing the air. So do away with them and try these techniques.
Baking soda can serve as a non-toxic air freshener and it is also great for people with asthma or those sensitive to perfumes. Just leave an open box of baking soda in the fridge, kitchen cabinets, or bedroom closet, and it will absorb all the odors. Also sprinkle some baking soda in the trashcan and in your vacuum bag.
Add spices to simmering water to scent your home naturally.
If you’re a fan of citrus and spice, just add orange peels, lemon halves, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, or other spices to simmering water and let the heavenly aroma spread through your house.
Dryer sheets can be used for more than just eliminating static from your clothes. Insert them in your shoes to absorb odors from them. You can also place them in your car and around the house to eliminate odors. Place dryer sheets in garment bags, closets, or drawers to keep clothes smelling fresh.
Conclusion
Going green might see tough, but with these easy tips, you’re sure to find it easy! Use your creativity and you will be able to find out more ways to live healthy while also protecting your environment.
About the author:
Eva Hines is a blogger who frequently writes on diverse niches like home décor, parenting, and fashion. She loves to spend time with her friends every weekend and is a travel enthusiast. You can connect with her on Twitter @evaphines
How do you reuse and repurpose common household items in your home?
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Great tips! We don’t use plastic water bottles, but I love the ideas on how to reuse them.
And I totally need to sprinkle baking soda around!
Oooh I used to do simmer pots in the winter and they smelled awesome, we should do that again. Thanks for posting. Hello from Healthy Happy Green and Natural.
Great tips! The idea of Cedar hangers is great. I will try it. All the tips are easy to follow. It is not possible to avoid plastic, but we have to somehow reduce the usage of it. Most of the people are not aware of the adverse effects of these toxins. Usually 1/3’rd of my disposal bin rental occupy carpet fibers and plastic wastes, I want to reduce it by using these methods. It is our responsibility to save our earth from pollutants and wastes. These tips will help us to maintain a healthy environment.
Of course, the best way to reduce waste from plastic water bottles is not to buy them in the first place! I think tap water in a stainless steel bottle tastes better anyway.
Coffee grounds also work well for scrubbing cast iron skillets.