It happened to me: I'm a baggie-rinser. Sort of...

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

I have a 9 year old- soon to be 10 and I found these amazing dishwasher-safe plastic bento box things for her lunch. I put it in her insulated lunchbox with a juice box-- and I haven't used a paper or plastic bag since. Wonderful stuff. We got three of them so the fit in the dishwasher rotation at points during the week so we always have a clean one ready to go before the next school day. Sure, I'm not stepping over dollars to pick up dimes while risking poisoning my dear child to death with a bacteria-laden baggie-- but I still feel pretty frugal. 

[thyme4change]

Next stop, the silicone baggies.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

You're going to start ripping paper towels in half, if you're not careful!

[Works4me]

Oct 21, 2019 22:12:31 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

You're going to start ripping paper towels in half, if you're not careful!

Saw an ad the other day for the New Brawny paper towels that are perforated for quarter sheets.

[Blonde Granny]

There is a thread on Smart Spending about Bento boxes. I use one for my lunch if I am taking it on the days I work at the VA.

No , no, you don't tear paper towels  in half they already come that way.....it's paper napkins that you're supposed to tear in half.  I used to do that to irritate my late DH.....

[Deleted]

Oct 21, 2019 18:40:28 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

I have a 9 year old- soon to be 10 and I found these amazing dishwasher-safe plastic bento box things for her lunch. I put it in her insulated lunchbox with a juice box-- and I haven't used a paper or plastic bag since. Wonderful stuff. We got three of them so the fit in the dishwasher rotation at points during the week so we always have a clean one ready to go before the next school day. Sure, I'm not stepping over dollars to pick up dimes while risking poisoning my dear child to death with a bacteria-laden baggie-- but I still feel pretty frugal. 

What's nice is that many things we do to save money are also "green".  The fewer single-use plastic products we use, the better.

I once sent DS to school with a piece of pie in a Tupperware container in his lunch.  That got thrown into the trash at school with the rest of his lunch scraps.

[NoNamePerson]

I keep a roll of paper towels in my kitchen for my son when he visits. He freaks that I don't use paper towels. And this is a kid who grew up in a home that didn't use paper towels or paper napkins! How he has changed

[Deleted]

I use paper towels for only a few things- mostly drying out the inside of my cast-iron skillet after cleaning.  I use sponges and cloth rags for cleaning everything else.

I fill out surveys on e-Rewards to get Hilton points, AA miles, etc. and there have been quite a few on paper towel use- in fact, at one point I was sent a roll to test.  The marketers are very interested in what you use for what purposes- it was pretty clear they wanted to make products that would motivate you to use paper towels for more things.  No, thanks.

[laterbloomer]

So you've discovered tupperware. Congratulations?

[sesfw]

dang .......... not sure what I am

I rinse out baggies each day I take grapes to work.
I tear paper towels in half
I tear Kleenex tissues in half
I used to tear dryer sheets in half when they were perforated
I use bar soap until it's small enough to stick to another bar of soap
cloth grocery bags
I send rubber bands back to our newspaper person each year for reuse

Can't think of others right now

I grew up in a financially depressed family and I learned to reuse and use up

[Blonde Granny]

Oct 22, 2019 10:39:33 GMT -5 sesfw said:

dang .......... not sure what I am

I rinse out baggies each day I take grapes to work.
I tear paper towels in half
I tear Kleenex tissues in half
I used to tear dryer sheets in half when they were perforated
I use bar soap until it's small enough to stick to another bar of soap
cloth grocery bags
I send rubber bands back to our newspaper person each year for reuse

Can't think of others right now

I grew up in a financially depressed family and I learned to reuse and use up

reuse aluminum foil
buy 2 ply toilet paper then unroll just 1 not both
my
mom would pour a little bit of milk into what was left in the container of creamy salad dressing.
Rinse all plastic bags and air dry
dont use the heat cycle on dishwasher, open door and air dry dishes.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Oct 21, 2019 22:12:31 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

You're going to start ripping paper towels in half, if you're not careful!

Lol. I know, right?

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Oct 22, 2019 9:46:22 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

So you've discovered tupperware. Congratulations?

Yeah, but I don't feel like it's wasteful like the disposable store-stuff, and I don't have to pay $1,000 for a set of bowls because they have lids.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Oct 22, 2019 7:07:11 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Oct 21, 2019 18:40:28 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

I have a 9 year old- soon to be 10 and I found these amazing dishwasher-safe plastic bento box things for her lunch. I put it in her insulated lunchbox with a juice box-- and I haven't used a paper or plastic bag since. Wonderful stuff. We got three of them so the fit in the dishwasher rotation at points during the week so we always have a clean one ready to go before the next school day. Sure, I'm not stepping over dollars to pick up dimes while risking poisoning my dear child to death with a bacteria-laden baggie-- but I still feel pretty frugal. 

What's nice is that many things we do to save money are also "green".  The fewer single-use plastic products we use, the better.

I once sent DS to school with a piece of pie in a Tupperware container in his lunch.  That got thrown into the trash at school with the rest of his lunch scraps.

I'm not against being all Earth-friendly and what not. But I'm not confused about the fact that it makes no difference- we hardly pollute at all here in the US. We're wasteful and careless to be sure, but we've got nothing on the rest of the world.

[gs11rmb]

Oct 22, 2019 21:25:33 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

Oct 22, 2019 7:07:11 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

What's nice is that many things we do to save money are also "green".  The fewer single-use plastic products we use, the better.

I once sent DS to school with a piece of pie in a Tupperware container in his lunch.  That got thrown into the trash at school with the rest of his lunch scraps.

I'm not against being all Earth-friendly and what not. But I'm not confused about the fact that it makes no difference- we hardly pollute at all here in the US. We're wasteful and careless to be sure, but we've got nothing on the rest of the world.

You're quite right that the US is low down in the rankings of "polluters" but the countries most responsible are those that are still developing and often don't have the infrastructure to properly dispose of their waste.  The solutions are going to have to come from highly technologically-advanced countries.  Companies are trying to find solutions and produce products that are completely biodegradable.  However, one of the side effects of fracking is that making virgin plastic is ridiculously cheap and there's no financial incentive to use recycled materials.  It's going to have to be consumer demand that changes that equation.