A small fix for the sake of the environment

[The Blue Flower]

It isn't much but--I read several years ago about the millions of plastic laundry detergent bottles that end up in landfills. So I switched from liquid to powdered soap in a cardboard box. The one I'm using now is Arm & Hammer. Works just fine. Every little bit helps.

[Phoenix61]

1. I've used it for years for the same reason.

I also started using bar shampoo. So far seems to be working great.

[forgotmylogin]

2. I go out of my way to recycle now...

My apartment doesn't furnish recycling, so I put all my plastics and other recyclables into a separate bag, and my friend lets me put them in his neighborhood-furnished recycle bin that goes out with regular trash.

I know this would be crazy, but remember that first month of lockdown when nobody was driving and the air quality was AMAZING? I could tell outside, and there are pictures from that time period of LA without smog covering it. Nobody would ever agree to it, but wouldn't it be cool if we had an annual month-long "commuting break" where people could plan to stay indoors and work from home with only necessary vehicles out? Just to give Mother Nature a breath of fresh air on occasion.

[Scrivener7]

10. I remember mornings coming into my living room where I have fan blowing in air from outside.

I would stop dead and smell the air, and it was the smell of air of my childhood.

[flying_wahini]

3. Yes, I was just complaining to my husband how sooooo much plastic in our groceries bag.

Think I will switch too.

[Hortensis]

4. Good post, thanks. We buy powder in boxes also,

which has worked fine for years even though our washer instructions are for liquid. And it costs less.

[Tanuki]

5. Thanks for this reminder. My mom always used powdered detergent

when I was a kid. I will give it a try next time

[mahina]

6. My Mom gave me some of these sheets to try and I like rhem

A lot.

I gave some to a couple of groups of friends and they like it too. My second re-order is on the way in the mail. https://www.earthbreeze.com/

Wastes a lot less fuel transporting and works better in my opinion.

[GPV]

7. I just saw those the other day. Might give them a try

[mahina]

8. Works well,

Bit of an adjustment but I’m happy no more plastic jugs to repurpose.

[Scrivener7]

9. An alternate suggestion: make your own laundry detergent. There's no reason

to pay the ridiculous prices of commercial laundry detergent. Here is the recipe:

In a gallon plastic jug (I use old laundry detergent jugs) put:
1/4 cup borax - find it in the laundry aisle
1/4 cup washing powder (from Arm & Hammer) - find it in the laundry aisle
1/4 cup Cascade dishwasher powder

Fill the jug halfway with hot water, cover and shake to mix and dissolve, then fill the rest up with water. Shake again.

The borax, washing powder and Cascade are all in cardboard boxes, and a box of each lasts me about a year.
I make two gallons at a time. I've been using the same 2 plastic jugs for 10 years. Recently one of them split, so I went out and got a gallon of a name brand laundry detergent thinking it would be a treat for a few weeks and then I'd go back to using that new jug for the homemade stuff.

There was absolutely no difference between the homemade and the store bought in terms of cleaning power. And the homemade doesn't have unnecessary suds and it doesn't have the strong scents. I found those scents so overpowering, I rewashed all my stuff in the homemade to get rid of them.

Costs pennies, much less impact on the earth.