1) Medical devices always get a free pass from me re: using plastic/electricity/etc, 2) toothbrushes are medical devices. Oral health is essential and not taking care of your teeth can literally kill you.
Yeah, exactly. The logical conclusion of not using electricity or plastic for medical devices is pretty dark and not a place I think we can get to compassionately. Especially when there is so much that can be cut out of our lives without anyone dying.
@piss Long story short: yes, pill bottles count and you shouldn't feel bad for taking care of your health. I think things like that are the pharmacy and pharmaceutical company's responsibility, not yours. They choose to do things that maximize profits rather than minimize harm to the environment, and if you need a medication to function then you don't really have a say in the matter. You can reuse pill bottles for other stuff (they're airtight and small so they can be pretty useful) but ultimately things won't change until the government starts regulating plastic packaging.
Whenever I have a shampoo I don’t really like, I use it as body wash or to scrub the tub/sink. In the end, shampoo is pretty much soap, and using it in multiple ways helps get rid of it faster
I decided before I can buy any new haircare and skincare I have to use up what I have in the house and found every bottle or bar …. I was shocked I have already gone months and wouldn’t be surprised if I made it till the end of the year with just the stuff I had in my house already! It’s tough for me because I like to try new products but I’m sticking to it and saving money in the process!
I finally used up my soap and body wash odds and ends a few weeks back. But I still have dozens of containers of creams and lotions. I was an Avon nut a few years back plus people kept giving me gift sets of lotions, creams and colognes. I haven't bought any of this stuff since before Covid shut down.
Big mood! I'm doing that as well with all my shower products and hair dye. The collection has gotten quite a bit smaller, but there's still many months worth of stuff to go through!
This is a brilliant video. I’ve honestly stopped watching pretty much every ZW influencer who tells me to buy something. You do such an awesome job of giving people tips that they can use immediately BEFORE mentioning products which they may need to buy. And I appreciate the heck out of that!
I LOVE this! Whenever people comment on how eco friendly we are, then come over, see what it entails, they always have this look of “that’s why I don’t do that”. Like our flour sack towel dirty bin. Is it pretty? NO. It’s an old bin we had, it’s not pretty, but it’s water tight, and we haven’t bought paper towels in 4 years. Is our cloth diaper bucket in our bathroom pretty? No. But the diapers we have used on now our THIRD kid, are rinsed, don’t smell like a diaper genie, and having that ugly little bucket has saved us a ton of 💵💵💵. Or waiting until I actually have a load of laundry to wash. Yes my laundry baskets get full before I do a load. The amount of people who will do a full washing cycle on just one or two items is astonishing. The look of hang drying clothes is another. We don’t use our dryer a ton, and we live in WA state. It does rain here often and we end up hang drying things inside most of the year. Is it pretty to have stuff hanging all about the house for a couple of hours? No. But it totally works. Is my stack of bags for bulk shopping bags super pretty? Haha no. It’s pretty unappealing. But hey, we’ve saved money and plastic. No our jars don’t match either. We just use what others don’t want when they have jars, and we just write with a sharpie on them instead using a physical label. Saves time, saves some cash because those label refills get pricey, and there’s one less then for us to toss when the jars get washed or used for something different. I’ve gotten a lot of “why bother” when it comes to just waiting to find things second hand instead of buying them new in store instantly. Which to me makes the purchase more intentional and also saves some coin. Please keep making these videos and showing that not only is eco friendly living not always “pretty”, but it’s more than doable without having to spend a ton of money.
@@janetstonerook4552 I agree. Do they look nice at a store? Totally! That’s what they’re doing though and I get that. But at home I’m good with just writing in the jar itself. I also make sure to label the lids with dates too!
@@kelseybrintnall2080 right? We have 3 kids and one who is still in diapers (we’ve done cloth with all of them), so I’m not doing more loads than I need to.
I have an old messenger bag. It’s 20 years old and I have sewn, duck taped, glued and even used sugru on it. It is not aesthetically pleasing but it’s gone the distance!
All hail the bucket! The natural light one is also so tough. I love the way our home looks lit up in the summer but we get 100+ degree days all season, so instead we draw the curtain and live in our cave. Definitely a noticeable difference.
My AC has a condensate pipe that drips in our backyard and instead of letting it make the ground around our foundation soggy we’ve been catching it with a cool whip bowl and using that to water plants outside 😂
I really appreciate your point that sustainable living looks different for everyone - I'm always stunned by how many refillable options, quality subscription services, websites for local sustainability practices, etc, you have access to in America. Canada and Britain, too. Maybe one day some of these options will be more international. 🙃
There are some here in Finland, but they are completely different products. And they are kind of 'hidden', you don't know where to find them unless you know where to find them.
My local Buy Nothing group is constantly giving away shampoos and hair products and if I didn't have such finnicky hair, I would definitely rely more on that group for a lot of those items. It's more sustainable to get secondhand plastic packaged products than buy new "eco friendly" products.
Whenever I feel myself being a major sooner and being unmotivated (and admittedly slacking on my eco friendly habits) I hop on your channel to see the community and remember that my efforts aren’t fruitless and we’re all - little by little - making a difference together
I live in Arizona and I agree with you on the importance of curtains/blinds. After my family moved into our home, we saved some money by sowing our own black-out curtains from scratch. I'm glad I knew of a local small business fabric store... saves us more money over the more well known craft/fabric stores. You're space looks awesome, you're variety of jars seems more homey somehow. Sometimes samey is boring. Thanks for your video.
the second hand store in my town sometimes has shampoos and co. They don't run quite well because most people don't want to buy these kind of things second hand, even if the bottle is still unopened. I don't mind however, that's why there are bottles from eeevil brands land in my bathroom. They don't look sustinable, I however don't care about that since I consider them the most sustainable option.
I currently have beach blankets over my curtains to keep the sun out & my place cool. Thankfully my curtains are thick enough that you can’t see it from the outside. But yeah, not cute inside. Growing up I had neighbors that would go even further & put foil on the windows to reflect the sun like a car sun visor in the summer & shrink wrap with a hair dryer bubble wrap on their windows in the winter. Not aesthetic at all. I heard people call it ghetto. But it was cheap & they survived & it saved money!
I just finally got my own place again after having to live with family during covid and finally get to do some of the weird sustainable things my family didn't want me doing lol. One of those things was buying buckets off someone on fb marketplace and putting them literally everywhere 😄 my move was also from Houston to Denver so now that I'm in a zero drought prone climate, I'm really trying to make an effort to reduce my water usage.
Hey Shelbi, I love the fact that you don't mind compromising the aesthetics of your windows to help the bird, that's one of the reasons I think you & your channel is so great ❤️
I can relate to pretty much every one of these 'ugly' zero-waste measures! The one I was surprised not to see though is the "things I am not sure how to dispose of but know I can't throw away because maybe there's some remote recycling facility I can ship to in order to dispose of properly?" corner of messiness in my kitchen (fridge filters, toothpaste tubes (need to collect more than 3 before sending over to recycling), toothbrushes (need to remove bristles from handles and who has time for that), etc). Also the "things to donate eventually when I have time" area of my living room. Every 4-5 months I will be incredibly motivated and I can declutter most of the things but... it stacks back up relatively quickly. Thankfully, my partner understands and lives with it (:
For your blinds situation why not get curtains or even privacy film? Privacy film you only need soap and water to put it on. It helps reduce the heat but also still let’s light in the house. And curtains (especially blackout) help cool the house. I live in Florida and have both. Cheaper than blinds. Especially if you get the curtains from Ikea.
I listed my rabbits poop/litter box on next door app for community gardeners. If it wasn’t for your channel I would have never considered it- right to 🗑 Definitely not cute storing a bin full of pet waste every 2 weeks
Hi Shelbi! I just hope you are getting wood blinds instead of vinyl . I know they aren't cheap but they sure hold up a lot longer! I'm curious as to why why didn't you put up some drapes like sheers so you still get light but reduce some heat? I know I've found some decent drapes second hand , but it can be a real struggle too. Also , thank you for showing everyone and reminding me that we don't have to have the perfect "aesthetic" . I got so discouraged after a time that my house wasn't "pretty" with my second hand items. I now realise though that I'm helping the planet any ways and my solid wood pieces I've thrifted /dumpster dived can be refinished so they are the color I want. I also realized that before I purchase something it's better to wait to find the piece I'll love long time instead of buying whatever just to fill the need right then and there.
My least “aesthetic” sustainable thing is my broken fruit bowl. I have a plastic bowl I used to use as a mixing bowl, but the bottom cracked so it’s not long good for that. I use it on the counter as a fruit bowl
Hi Shelbi from Australia. :) I have to agree with you on not following the fashion & making your own style. ;) I am in my 50's & have Advised people this for over 20 years or more. Its way more creative too! :) ;)
Confession: I keep an empty kitty litter bucket in my kitchen and bathroom. I catch water while it’s heating up as well, but I also catch water from drained pasta and from washing veggies and fruits. This is embarrassing, but I also stop up the tub while I shower and use the grey water to flush the toilet and water my trees (I live in a desert area of Colorado). Edited for clarity 😃
I don't think it's embarrassing at all! You're doing things that are more sustainable and better for the environment, and that is (and always will be) really freaking cool!
we have buckets in the bathroom to collect water from washing face, hand, hair and we use it to *khm khm* to wash down stuff in ouir toilet since we live in an apartment and dont have a backyard.
I also live in Texas so I totally understand the blind situation. Also I LOVE the sun but at night I would hate knowing that people could look into my home.
Thanks for sharing, Shelbi! I think that in general people who go on the internet just assume that everyone is doing awesome while they’re doing terrible because all we see are the nice parts of life.
I like that you mentioned that you stopped eating the food you enjoyed because it didn't fit the zero waste aesthetic. By all mean try to find more sustainable ways to eat the food you love. (And do the activities that you love) But to completely cut it out? You gotta do/eat what you love!
All hail bucket. On the shower note, I've had to do sink baths for weeks, almost a month now due to hives and rash, but it's quite sustainable in terms of water conservation. I've been doing no-poo for over a year with my hair so I've been able to avoid washing my hair with water since I can only stand steaming hot showers in my climate. It works for me since I haven't been able to workout very hard/get that dirty recently. Once my skin resolves I think I'll still try to do sink baths for days when I literally haven't done much/sweated at all.
I love that shampoo but you can only use it every two to three washers. Might not have been area tree allergy just overuse. It's super strong! Looking for an “eco-friendly” better version. Let us know if you ever come across one.
Regarding clothing I wear a combination of thrifted and new. When I do buy new it's because I cannot find pre-loved that fits. My problem is my height, I'm 6'0" so it's always hard to find clothing which is long enough. When I do buy new I look for the best quality I can find, and then wear it until it falls apart. My current dressing gown is 19 years old, and has had several seam repairs. The fabric has not given out, only the seams.
Thank you for these videos! I am trying to be more sustainable while on a college budget. Me and my roommates are reusing jars and making our sauces and other products to reduce the amount of packaging used. My ap environmental teacher said that reuse and reduce are the most important!
That poor bird!!! 😭 Also, love your content Shelbi! My in-laws had sheets up as "temp blinds" for the longest time (about 4 years). They couldn't decide what type of blinds they wanted 😅
I'm so glad you're getting blinds. They won't ruin the aesthetic and you'll soon get used to them. Maybe it's because I grew up in the UK where everyone has curtains, but naked windows feel unfinished and creep me out at night. You'll also feel a difference when it's really cold - I'm thinking of your big freeze blog a couple of years ago, I was shocked at how uninsulated your house was for being in such a hot area.
I will occasionally have to buy a new clothing item for work but other than that, my whole family gives me their unwanted clothes before taking it to be donated. I closet has swelled since doing this. Especially since I actually enjoy the new-to-me pieces I have been getting.
even white cotton or linen curtains will help cool the room, while letting you retain all that beautiful natural light; i remember the day i moved out of my last apartment was HELL in the last few hours after i'd finally taken down my white curtains. the sun coming through the glass totally unfiltered was on a totally different level! also, i'm sure you of all people would be able to find sustainable options for blinds, but curtains in natural fibers with metal notions (grommets, or rings through buttonholes) or with no notions at all if you have curtains that have a folded-over channel for the curtain rod are something you can keep and maintain for a lifetime, without the expectancy that the materials will outlive you by centuries. just my onion!
also, i don't remember if you've mentioned being able to sew or not in past videos, but to anyone reading who doesn't sew, curtains are always a great beginner project bc they're just rectangles, and it gives you the skills needed to be able to care for the curtains later in their life.
I love your videos! I’m very interested in the zero or low waste living since I do have a kiddo. I definitely agree with you on this Texas heat. It’s no joke!
As for the window situation: In case you're lucky enough to owe the home you live in, diy-ing mediterranian style wood shutters and putting them on the outside would be the most effective for keeping out the heat (combined with airing out your home in the late evening and early morning and keeping everything shut otherwise, of course). Should be rather cheap too, especially if you happen to have scrap wood anyways (and more sustainable; use some paint for aesthetics if neccesary). And in case you're at least a little handy, you can even insert a slated section to get some light during daytime. And in my experience, some slats and opening up the shutters in early evening to let more sunlight in should suffice for most plants.
Hi Shelby! Love your channel! I always look forward to your uploads! I was wondering what you thought about the HR2307 bill? I have been writing to representatives and senators to support this bill!
I would not have thought a blanket over the window needed to be explain. I grow with blankets over my windows when the blinds didn’t do the job or when the cat messed up the blinds and. My mom got sick of looking at broken blinds
Can you do a video on how to do sustainable living while falling sick? Over this past month I have fallen sick with pneumonia and I felt bad with the amount of food I threw away after planning for a trip that was 4 days to a 3 week trip because I was hospitalized.
Omg yes the plastic bottle thing! I always make sure to try to reuse them as much as possible (for soaps, shampoo etc) and I was cert excited about the body shop having a refill programme but unfortunately I have to buy their "zero waste" metal bottle to fill the product up for every trip. Like it can't be any other bottle cuz oh "zero waste and sustainability" like NO?? that's not how it works?? I was so upset :')
I just started using the exact same bucket to do the exact same thing. And I have no idea where it came from....Are we all assigned dingy beige buckets as adults?
Does that 70 new clothing pieces include underwear? I decided when COVID started to not worry about underwear and bras, and now I buy them NEW whenever I need them, without the guilt! I have bought 8 pairs of underwear and 4 bras since COVID started.
Does anyone have a recommendation for an all purpose bar soap, good for dishes, laundry, skin and hair. Would prefer to buy from a responsible company. Am currently using Fels Naptha which works great but I am not sure about skin and hair and the responsibility level of the company. Same for Dr. Bonner's. Just curious.
havent been to your channel in a while, weren't you going to move out of state a while ago? another question, im not judging but what kind of water filter is that you use? Or do you have a berkey?
Ever since I paired down my wardrobe to just the things I actually wear, I hardly buy anything new. Recently, my partner’s mother asked for photos of us and he doesn’t like pictures, so I only have a few and I’m practically wearing the same shirt in all of them. I turned to him and said, “She’s going to think I only own one shirt!” 🤣
Love your bucket 😹👍😹 really, this is the point, you need no special coloured & formed collection, only a bucket, any will do. Know exactly, what the thing with the pretty windows is. Living in Europe the wheather is not that terrible in one way or the other, heat or cold, I mean, but the energy lost in winter is immens. not caring the heat in summer without air conditioning. I closed the Jalousien daily over night and we saved a lot of money. That is an investment you must really think about. Fingers on the point, as always 😘
1) Medical devices always get a free pass from me re: using plastic/electricity/etc, 2) toothbrushes are medical devices. Oral health is essential and not taking care of your teeth can literally kill you.
This is so true 👍
Yeah, exactly. The logical conclusion of not using electricity or plastic for medical devices is pretty dark and not a place I think we can get to compassionately. Especially when there is so much that can be cut out of our lives without anyone dying.
@piss Long story short: yes, pill bottles count and you shouldn't feel bad for taking care of your health. I think things like that are the pharmacy and pharmaceutical company's responsibility, not yours. They choose to do things that maximize profits rather than minimize harm to the environment, and if you need a medication to function then you don't really have a say in the matter. You can reuse pill bottles for other stuff (they're airtight and small so they can be pretty useful) but ultimately things won't change until the government starts regulating plastic packaging.
You can buy toothbrushes with bamboo handles but I dunno if that’s really better or just greenwashing.
Whenever I have a shampoo I don’t really like, I use it as body wash or to scrub the tub/sink. In the end, shampoo is pretty much soap, and using it in multiple ways helps get rid of it faster
I use the small shampoo bottles from my hotel stays for foot baths.
Same here! Try as a shaving oil (especially conditioner!)
I use them as the soap I use for cleaning my makeup brushes 🥰
I've used shampoo for hand soap
I decided before I can buy any new haircare and skincare I have to use up what I have in the house and found every bottle or bar …. I was shocked I have already gone months and wouldn’t be surprised if I made it till the end of the year with just the stuff I had in my house already! It’s tough for me because I like to try new products but I’m sticking to it and saving money in the process!
Same!! Its amazing how much we already have!!
I finally used up my soap and body wash odds and ends a few weeks back. But I still have dozens of containers of creams and lotions. I was an Avon nut a few years back plus people kept giving me gift sets of lotions, creams and colognes. I haven't bought any of this stuff since before Covid shut down.
Same.
Big mood! I'm doing that as well with all my shower products and hair dye. The collection has gotten quite a bit smaller, but there's still many months worth of stuff to go through!
This is a brilliant video. I’ve honestly stopped watching pretty much every ZW influencer who tells me to buy something. You do such an awesome job of giving people tips that they can use immediately BEFORE mentioning products which they may need to buy. And I appreciate the heck out of that!
I LOVE this! Whenever people comment on how eco friendly we are, then come over, see what it entails, they always have this look of “that’s why I don’t do that”.
Like our flour sack towel dirty bin. Is it pretty? NO. It’s an old bin we had, it’s not pretty, but it’s water tight, and we haven’t bought paper towels in 4 years.
Is our cloth diaper bucket in our bathroom pretty? No. But the diapers we have used on now our THIRD kid, are rinsed, don’t smell like a diaper genie, and having that ugly little bucket has saved us a ton of 💵💵💵.
Or waiting until I actually have a load of laundry to wash. Yes my laundry baskets get full before I do a load. The amount of people who will do a full washing cycle on just one or two items is astonishing.
The look of hang drying clothes is another. We don’t use our dryer a ton, and we live in WA state. It does rain here often and we end up hang drying things inside most of the year. Is it pretty to have stuff hanging all about the house for a couple of hours? No. But it totally works.
Is my stack of bags for bulk shopping bags super pretty? Haha no. It’s pretty unappealing. But hey, we’ve saved money and plastic.
No our jars don’t match either. We just use what others don’t want when they have jars, and we just write with a sharpie on them instead using a physical label. Saves time, saves some cash because those label refills get pricey, and there’s one less then for us to toss when the jars get washed or used for something different.
I’ve gotten a lot of “why bother” when it comes to just waiting to find things second hand instead of buying them new in store instantly. Which to me makes the purchase more intentional and also saves some coin.
Please keep making these videos and showing that not only is eco friendly living not always “pretty”, but it’s more than doable without having to spend a ton of money.
And labels are a hassle getting off the jar when you wash them. I use a Sharpie too but put the info on the lid for all my food uses.
Omg imagine doing more loads of laundry than you need to do…I thought I was just lazy but turns out I’m sustainable 🤣
@@janetstonerook4552 I agree. Do they look nice at a store? Totally! That’s what they’re doing though and I get that. But at home I’m good with just writing in the jar itself. I also make sure to label the lids with dates too!
@@kelseybrintnall2080 right? We have 3 kids and one who is still in diapers (we’ve done cloth with all of them), so I’m not doing more loads than I need to.
Oh cmon, Shelby, that bucket is the perfect beige. lol IT CUTE.
I have an old messenger bag. It’s 20 years old and I have sewn, duck taped, glued and even used sugru on it. It is not aesthetically pleasing but it’s gone the distance!
Does suguru actually work as good as they claim ?
@@faylinameir I really love it and have fixed all sorts of things with it.
All hail the bucket! The natural light one is also so tough. I love the way our home looks lit up in the summer but we get 100+ degree days all season, so instead we draw the curtain and live in our cave. Definitely a noticeable difference.
My AC has a condensate pipe that drips in our backyard and instead of letting it make the ground around our foundation soggy we’ve been catching it with a cool whip bowl and using that to water plants outside 😂
I really appreciate your point that sustainable living looks different for everyone - I'm always stunned by how many refillable options, quality subscription services, websites for local sustainability practices, etc, you have access to in America. Canada and Britain, too. Maybe one day some of these options will be more international. 🙃
There are some here in Finland, but they are completely different products. And they are kind of 'hidden', you don't know where to find them unless you know where to find them.
I honestly think your mismatched jars are cuter than all matching glass jars. Uniqueness gives the shelf more character
My local Buy Nothing group is constantly giving away shampoos and hair products and if I didn't have such finnicky hair, I would definitely rely more on that group for a lot of those items. It's more sustainable to get secondhand plastic packaged products than buy new "eco friendly" products.
Whenever I feel myself being a major sooner and being unmotivated (and admittedly slacking on my eco friendly habits) I hop on your channel to see the community and remember that my efforts aren’t fruitless and we’re all - little by little - making a difference together
I live in Arizona and I agree with you on the importance of curtains/blinds. After my family moved into our home, we saved some money by sowing our own black-out curtains from scratch. I'm glad I knew of a local small business fabric store... saves us more money over the more well known craft/fabric stores.
You're space looks awesome, you're variety of jars seems more homey somehow. Sometimes samey is boring. Thanks for your video.
the second hand store in my town sometimes has shampoos and co. They don't run quite well because most people don't want to buy these kind of things second hand, even if the bottle is still unopened. I don't mind however, that's why there are bottles from eeevil brands land in my bathroom. They don't look sustinable, I however don't care about that since I consider them the most sustainable option.
I currently have beach blankets over my curtains to keep the sun out & my place cool. Thankfully my curtains are thick enough that you can’t see it from the outside. But yeah, not cute inside.
Growing up I had neighbors that would go even further & put foil on the windows to reflect the sun like a car sun visor in the summer & shrink wrap with a hair dryer bubble wrap on their windows in the winter. Not aesthetic at all. I heard people call it ghetto. But it was cheap & they survived & it saved money!
I just finally got my own place again after having to live with family during covid and finally get to do some of the weird sustainable things my family didn't want me doing lol. One of those things was buying buckets off someone on fb marketplace and putting them literally everywhere 😄 my move was also from Houston to Denver so now that I'm in a zero drought prone climate, I'm really trying to make an effort to reduce my water usage.
Hey Shelbi, I love the fact that you don't mind compromising the aesthetics of your windows to help the bird, that's one of the reasons I think you & your channel is so great ❤️
Thank you for getting real about low waste or zero waste living. Thank you for showing what makes things clear and being authentic with us always.
I can relate to pretty much every one of these 'ugly' zero-waste measures!
The one I was surprised not to see though is the "things I am not sure how to dispose of but know I can't throw away because maybe there's some remote recycling facility I can ship to in order to dispose of properly?" corner of messiness in my kitchen (fridge filters, toothpaste tubes (need to collect more than 3 before sending over to recycling), toothbrushes (need to remove bristles from handles and who has time for that), etc).
Also the "things to donate eventually when I have time" area of my living room. Every 4-5 months I will be incredibly motivated and I can declutter most of the things but... it stacks back up relatively quickly.
Thankfully, my partner understands and lives with it (:
For your blinds situation why not get curtains or even privacy film? Privacy film you only need soap and water to put it on. It helps reduce the heat but also still let’s light in the house. And curtains (especially blackout) help cool the house. I live in Florida and have both. Cheaper than blinds. Especially if you get the curtains from Ikea.
I had privacy film in my last house. It was good but I had to cut spy holes for the cat coz he got upset he couldn't see out.
I listed my rabbits poop/litter box on next door app for community gardeners. If it wasn’t for your channel I would have never considered it- right to 🗑
Definitely not cute storing a bin full of pet waste every 2 weeks
My goal in life is to be as amazing as Shelbi. I love love LOVE the environment, and you are definitely an inspiration.
Hi Shelbi! I just hope you are getting wood blinds instead of vinyl . I know they aren't cheap but they sure hold up a lot longer! I'm curious as to why why didn't you put up some drapes like sheers so you still get light but reduce some heat? I know I've found some decent drapes second hand , but it can be a real struggle too. Also , thank you for showing everyone and reminding me that we don't have to have the perfect "aesthetic" . I got so discouraged after a time that my house wasn't "pretty" with my second hand items. I now realise though that I'm helping the planet any ways and my solid wood pieces I've thrifted /dumpster dived can be refinished so they are the color I want. I also realized that before I purchase something it's better to wait to find the piece I'll love long time instead of buying whatever just to fill the need right then and there.
My least “aesthetic” sustainable thing is my broken fruit bowl. I have a plastic bowl I used to use as a mixing bowl, but the bottom cracked so it’s not long good for that. I use it on the counter as a fruit bowl
Same, but with a bamboo bowl jajaja. Nobody is gonna know.
Hi Shelbi from Australia. :) I have to agree with you on not following the fashion & making your own style. ;) I am in my 50's & have Advised people this for over 20 years or more. Its way more creative too! :) ;)
I will try to put my glass jars on a no buy group and I need to get myself a bucket for my bathroom. Great tip about the toothbrush
Confession: I keep an empty kitty litter bucket in my kitchen and bathroom. I catch water while it’s heating up as well, but I also catch water from drained pasta and from washing veggies and fruits.
This is embarrassing, but I also stop up the tub while I shower and use the grey water to flush the toilet and water my trees (I live in a desert area of Colorado).
Edited for clarity 😃
If you use soap that won't kill plants, you can put a bucket under your sink to catch the gray water.
I misunderstood the first sentence as you saving buckets of used kitty litter 🤢🙈
@@Lilgoat.1 that’s a great idea!
I’m currently looking into a diverter for my washing machine and have found a detergent that is safe for plants.
@@supernova622 that’s too funny 😂
I edited the original comment for clarity.
I don't think it's embarrassing at all! You're doing things that are more sustainable and better for the environment, and that is (and always will be) really freaking cool!
We need a video about installing solar panels!
Great content:I’m in TX too and need to use by buckets to catch water 💧
we have buckets in the bathroom to collect water from washing face, hand, hair and we use it to *khm khm* to wash down stuff in ouir toilet since we live in an apartment and dont have a backyard.
I also live in Texas so I totally understand the blind situation. Also I LOVE the sun but at night I would hate knowing that people could look into my home.
Curtains though?
Thanks for sharing, Shelbi! I think that in general people who go on the internet just assume that everyone is doing awesome while they’re doing terrible because all we see are the nice parts of life.
I like that you mentioned that you stopped eating the food you enjoyed because it didn't fit the zero waste aesthetic. By all mean try to find more sustainable ways to eat the food you love. (And do the activities that you love) But to completely cut it out? You gotta do/eat what you love!
Right because you only live once. I'm trying to find sustainable, money saving ways of doing what I love.
Your house is so pretty! Even the "non-aesthetic" parts. Thanks for sharing!
All hail bucket.
On the shower note, I've had to do sink baths for weeks, almost a month now due to hives and rash, but it's quite sustainable in terms of water conservation. I've been doing no-poo for over a year with my hair so I've been able to avoid washing my hair with water since I can only stand steaming hot showers in my climate. It works for me since I haven't been able to workout very hard/get that dirty recently. Once my skin resolves I think I'll still try to do sink baths for days when I literally haven't done much/sweated at all.
Going on 6 months only using water to wash my hair! Love it, my eczema is gone. You should try it! See how it goes. 😝
I love that shampoo but you can only use it every two to three washers. Might not have been area tree allergy just overuse. It's super strong! Looking for an “eco-friendly” better version. Let us know if you ever come across one.
Regarding clothing I wear a combination of thrifted and new. When I do buy new it's because I cannot find pre-loved that fits. My problem is my height, I'm 6'0" so it's always hard to find clothing which is long enough. When I do buy new I look for the best quality I can find, and then wear it until it falls apart. My current dressing gown is 19 years old, and has had several seam repairs. The fabric has not given out, only the seams.
Thank you for these videos! I am trying to be more sustainable while on a college budget. Me and my roommates are reusing jars and making our sauces and other products to reduce the amount of packaging used. My ap environmental teacher said that reuse and reduce are the most important!
Your home is so pretty. You've been curating it for years.
Love this style of educational vlog where you move around your house 👍🏻
That poor bird!!! 😭
Also, love your content Shelbi! My in-laws had sheets up as "temp blinds" for the longest time (about 4 years). They couldn't decide what type of blinds they wanted 😅
I love my shower bucket! It started when there was a leak. Now it’s my water cache. I live in California so this has really helped me.
Shelby I was watching your one of these from 2 years ago and holy crap the video quality has changed! Looks great!
I'm so glad you're getting blinds. They won't ruin the aesthetic and you'll soon get used to them. Maybe it's because I grew up in the UK where everyone has curtains, but naked windows feel unfinished and creep me out at night. You'll also feel a difference when it's really cold - I'm thinking of your big freeze blog a couple of years ago, I was shocked at how uninsulated your house was for being in such a hot area.
Same is Australia I've never seen anyone have bare windows haha so weird! People could just see into your house and how do you keep the sun/cold out?
I will occasionally have to buy a new clothing item for work but other than that, my whole family gives me their unwanted clothes before taking it to be donated. I closet has swelled since doing this. Especially since I actually enjoy the new-to-me pieces I have been getting.
even white cotton or linen curtains will help cool the room, while letting you retain all that beautiful natural light; i remember the day i moved out of my last apartment was HELL in the last few hours after i'd finally taken down my white curtains. the sun coming through the glass totally unfiltered was on a totally different level! also, i'm sure you of all people would be able to find sustainable options for blinds, but curtains in natural fibers with metal notions (grommets, or rings through buttonholes) or with no notions at all if you have curtains that have a folded-over channel for the curtain rod are something you can keep and maintain for a lifetime, without the expectancy that the materials will outlive you by centuries. just my onion!
also, i don't remember if you've mentioned being able to sew or not in past videos, but to anyone reading who doesn't sew, curtains are always a great beginner project bc they're just rectangles, and it gives you the skills needed to be able to care for the curtains later in their life.
Even just keeping the blinds closed if you're not in the room will help tremendously!
shelbi you are incredible. thank you for being so honest, informative, and inspirational
The algorithm did not do this video justice. I love this series keep it coming!!
Windows like these are my dream as well! But I live in Mass so I don’t worry about heat, just 4 days a year lol
Thanks for the Buy Nothing link!
Yass to sharing/exchanging products with friends and family so they don't get thrown out
I love your videos! I’m very interested in the zero or low waste living since I do have a kiddo. I definitely agree with you on this Texas heat. It’s no joke!
You look so good in black!! Just to throw it out there ❤️❤️
Just here to say I love your energy in this video 💕
Really unique and interesting, appreciate the thought in every video
What are other ways to use extra shower water in colder climates. I use it to clean dishes, but there is still a lot of excess.
Lovely list again, Shelbi!
Such a beautiful home 🥰
LOVEEEEE this!!! Great vid shelb💛💛💛💛
Your videos never miss!!! Thank you for showing the less galmorous side of low impact living! You truly inspire me with every video/post :)
Fantastic! You inspire me with every video! I love the bucket in the shower!
As for the window situation: In case you're lucky enough to owe the home you live in, diy-ing mediterranian style wood shutters and putting them on the outside would be the most effective for keeping out the heat (combined with airing out your home in the late evening and early morning and keeping everything shut otherwise, of course).
Should be rather cheap too, especially if you happen to have scrap wood anyways (and more sustainable; use some paint for aesthetics if neccesary). And in case you're at least a little handy, you can even insert a slated section to get some light during daytime. And in my experience, some slats and opening up the shutters in early evening to let more sunlight in should suffice for most plants.
Whaaaat!? I didn’t realize there were bamboo electric toothbrush heads! Amazing
Did you consider rod with curtains?
I totally understand the not wanting to cover those windows.
When I heard that parts of Washington state are no longer recycling glass… I thought of your channel and am wondering your thoughts?
Hi Shelby! Love your channel! I always look forward to your uploads! I was wondering what you thought about the HR2307 bill? I have been writing to representatives and senators to support this bill!
I would not have thought a blanket over the window needed to be explain. I grow with blankets over my windows when the blinds didn’t do the job or when the cat messed up the blinds and. My mom got sick of looking at broken blinds
Can you do a video on how to do sustainable living while falling sick? Over this past month I have fallen sick with pneumonia and I felt bad with the amount of food I threw away after planning for a trip that was 4 days to a 3 week trip because I was hospitalized.
Wow this video making skills have improved so much. Impressive
hi shelbi ur hair looks wonderful today :)
Your videos are soooo common sense. I don't understand why people over complicate things.
question? my son has to drink filtered water and we have a pur filter on our faucet, is there a better system?
Did you think about tinting your windows. I heard that helps too.
A new favorite video! Thank you Shelbi! You are the best. 🥰
Paul Mitchell is and always has been cruelty free! They have a sub brand that’s supposedly more eco friendly as well
I have a bucket in my shower too!
My partner and I also use the same electric toothbrush with our own heads
I love your videos! do you have any advice on how to stay cool during the hot summers while leaving as little carbon footprint?
Oh yeah. I could find so many uses for that big old shampoo bottle. it even has a pump.
bro...stop being so mean about that heroic bucket 😭
Omg yes the plastic bottle thing! I always make sure to try to reuse them as much as possible (for soaps, shampoo etc) and I was cert excited about the body shop having a refill programme but unfortunately I have to buy their "zero waste" metal bottle to fill the product up for every trip. Like it can't be any other bottle cuz oh "zero waste and sustainability" like NO?? that's not how it works?? I was so upset :')
Is window tinting a thing??
I just started using the exact same bucket to do the exact same thing. And I have no idea where it came from....Are we all assigned dingy beige buckets as adults?
Does that 70 new clothing pieces include underwear? I decided when COVID started to not worry about underwear and bras, and now I buy them NEW whenever I need them, without the guilt! I have bought 8 pairs of underwear and 4 bras since COVID started.
you with the chicken on the arm, it’s a vibe ✨
wow a bucket! why had i never thought of that?? lol brb stealing a bucket from my parents house
Does anyone have a recommendation for an all purpose bar soap, good for dishes, laundry, skin and hair. Would prefer to buy from a responsible company. Am currently using Fels Naptha which works great but I am not sure about skin and hair and the responsibility level of the company. Same for Dr. Bonner's. Just curious.
I’m not sure about the responsibility level, but I do believe that Bronners is safe for all of those uses.
Thoughts on Nespresso getting B certified?
Looooved this video!
havent been to your channel in a while, weren't you going to move out of state a while ago? another question, im not judging but what kind of water filter is that you use? Or do you have a berkey?
Ever since I paired down my wardrobe to just the things I actually wear, I hardly buy anything new. Recently, my partner’s mother asked for photos of us and he doesn’t like pictures, so I only have a few and I’m practically wearing the same shirt in all of them. I turned to him and said, “She’s going to think I only own one shirt!” 🤣
💖~buckets~💖
Love your bucket 😹👍😹 really, this is the point, you need no special coloured & formed collection, only a bucket, any will do.
Know exactly, what the thing with the pretty windows is. Living in Europe the wheather is not that terrible in one way or the other, heat or cold, I mean, but the energy lost in winter is immens. not caring the heat in summer without air conditioning.
I closed the Jalousien daily over night and we saved a lot of money. That is an investment you must really think about.
Fingers on the point, as always 😘
Bucket for the cold shower water? Genius.
Good information 👍
love this!
I'm just saying, I've had my sonicare for 10 years... My teeth are great and my toothbrush is still going great.
The thrift stores I go to have jars, but all of them have no lids 😔
sometimes plastic lids from other things will fit. like lids from peanut butter or mayonnaise