6 months later: a Mighty Fix update

Back in April, I shared with you that I'd received a year-long monthly subscription to Mighty Fix! Several months later, I'd love to share with you some of the great products they've sent me since that first shipment of Swedish dish cloths. 

Most recently, I received a simple cleaning system: a glass, reusable spray bottle with concentrated cleaner tablets. We've shared the benefits of concentrates before - you're not paying to ship what's 99% water, not using a whole new plastic package each time. With the tiny size and weight of a concentrated tablet, you can fit many more on a shipment with less weight, and therefore costing much less in shipping fuel. 

First great thing about Mighty Fix is they take sustainability seriously, from the products they sell, to the way they ship them. They always ship in paper/cardboard with the smallest package possible.

 

 

Next, they clearly explain the benefits of the item on a small product detail sheet. 

I'm digging the ease of reconstituting the tablet (just add warm water) and versatility of this solution (use on any hard surface).

Finally, the value has been there with each shipment. This particular box included the one time investment of a bottle, with 4 concentrated tablets (one inside the bottle and 3 refills). That means 4 bottles worth of cleaner for $11. If I want to buy the refill tablets (a 3-pack goes for $4.50), it will be $1.50 per bottle of cleaner. Compare to $4 each for similar products, for example, Simple Green or Mrs. Meyers all-purpose cleaners. 

Previous boxes included: 

• a 3-pack of wool dryer balls. Saves dryer sheets while cutting back on drying time.
  
• this set of 5 "tidy dishcloths". The textured weave gives them a slight scrubbing ability, and they're pretty!
  

•  a set of 3 beeswax food wraps. Swap out your plastic wrap for this plastic-free, reusable alternative.
  
• a set of 2 snack-size glass food storage with lids.
  

Overall, I've been enjoying getting a surprise in the mail. I think if you are a beginner on this path to more sustainable swaps, the monthly frequency is a great way to ease into one change at a time.

If you've been doing this for a while, you may experience some duplicates of things you've already encountered. For example, I already have beeswax wraps and wool dryer balls, although some would say you can't have too many of these. :-) If you want to just shop from sustainable choices without the monthly surprise, you can always shop straight from their Mighty Nest store. 

Twelve Days of Conscious Christmas: Day 10, Swap to Non-dairy Alternatives

I am not one to preach, because I LOVE me some dairy, in any form: cream cheese, sour cream, etc. But, did you know that dairy milk produces 3x the greenhouse gas emissions compared to plant-based?

I'll be honest: I tried making some oat milk to replace my coffee creamer (both dairy-based and the #1 source of plastic containers in our house), and it didn't work as well as I hoped. The milk tasted fine on its own, but I couldn't help but feeling like I was putting the leftover milk from cereal in my coffee.

Therefore, baked goods will be my next foray as a good way to ease in to alternative milks. While each alternative milk has its pros and cons, I'm interested in oat because: 

1. It's sooo easy to make at home and not purchase in a tetra-pak, which has limited recycling options. 
2. This baker on Epicurious did a comparison test, and determined that oat milk was a great option due to its similar texture to dairy milk and flavor that compliments baked goods.
   

Here's the super easy oat milk recipe I tried, recommended by an acquaintance:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt

Blend for about 30 seconds and then strain. Super easy!

I strained in these nut milk bags ($7.95 for 2-pack, washable and reusable). My friend used yogurt strainer. Any very fine mesh should do.

Strain into a container to store in your fridge for several days. It does separate, so you will need to shake before use.

There are tons of tips you can find online, for example, make sure to use cold water, rolled oats not quick oats, and don't over-blend. But this was by far an easy recipe for a novice. 

At an average $4 for 32 oz of packaged oat milk, you can save quite a bit by making it at home.

Twelve Days of Conscious Christmas: Day 7, Swap Your Holiday Candles

Nothing makes a holiday cozier than twinkling lights, and for me that includes candles. 

If you aren't seeking a fragrance, faux electric "flameless" candles can be a good way to go. They can be safer for forgetful people, and now come with energy-saving LED bulbs.

For those who still love the look of a traditional candle and may want the house-warming scents of pine or cinnamon or sugar cookie, an easy swap can be looking at the materials your candle is made out of. 

You'll want to look for coconut or beeswax vs paraffin or palm oil.

Coconut (pros): Vegan, sustainable, no major red flags for impacting habitat. It's a softer wax so sometimes blended with beeswax or soy.

Beeswax (pros): Beeswax is collected at the same time as honey. Strict vegans may be opposed.

Soy (pros and cons): Soy wax is made from the oils of soybeans, and renewable. However, soybean farming is tied to impacts to the Amazon, jaguar, and local farmers in South America. Consider looking for organic labeling. 

Palm oil (cons): Palm oil is a major driver of deforestation and habitat destruction for species like orangutans and tigers.

Paraffin (cons): Paraffin wax is derived from petroleum, both a non-renewable resource and releases benzene and toluene when burned. (Source)

Where can you buy better candles? The good news is: anywhere. With coconut, beeswax, and soy becoming more popular, you'll find them at popular stores and websites like Target and Amazon. Here are just a few examples: 

(Coconut and soy blend. Scents include gingerbread, pine, snickerdoodle.) 

 

(Holiday Fir beeswax candle)

 

(Red beeswax tapers, subtle honey scent)

Another resource I love is The Good Trade. They aren't a shopping site, but rather a resource site for sustainable shopping. Check out their guide for 11 Natural Candles here.

Earth-Friendly Ears

Whether you call them cotton swabs, cotton buds, or Q-Tips, you likely have a few uses for these sticks around your bathroom. For me, it's drying my ears or removing the last traces of eye makeup after a shower.

After seeing this devastating image of seahorse dragging around a Q-tip floating around the web, I wanted to prioritize swapping these out.

They may also be the next item to gain attention from governments, after grocery bags and plastic straws. Scotland has already banned plastic cotton buds, while the EU is looking at single use plastics in general.

Plastic, you say? Check your medicine cabinet and see if yours have a cardboard or plastic stem. If they aren't paper-based, that's the first easiest upgrade.

The next-level upgrade is to look at reusable options: for ear-cleaning they make them in durable plastic, metal, and wood. All are washable. I tested a couple out and wanted to share my results.

I first tried these Utility Tip ear cleaners, professing to be "ultra soft", because I was not sold on putting plastic into my ear instead of soft cotton. I was right to be nervous. After a few tries, I couldn't handle these, which felt like they were scraping me. However, I had a couple friends swearing by similar products, so I decided to give another brand a try.

Next up was Clínere. These are a bit better. Not only was the fin side substantially softer than the Utility Tip ones, but it also has a scoop side for if you have a wax issue. They still don't give me the same super dry satisfaction of cotton, but reduce post-shower water by about 80%.

Finally, I tried Last Swab. I first learned about them through their Kickstarter, and decided they would be my last ditch effort to finding a really comfortable reusable swab. Instead of plastic, they are made from silicone, and have a couple different designs: a regular round tip with bumps for giving your ears a good scrub, and a smooth pointed tip for makeup use. These were by far the most comfortable for ear use. It would be a fantastic tool for earwax removal and a decent tool for water removal. For makeup use... because it's smooth and not absorbent, it does nothing for makeup removal. I imagine it would be a great choice for blending makeup.

Having decided that none of these gave me the super dry feeling of cotton, I tried one last thing: an old t-shirt. I've been using cut up t-shirts for a few other applications: as hankies, as makeup remover pads, so I have plenty around. Simply wrap it around a finger and go for it. Viola! Not only did my ears get nice and dry, but it's probably the only doctor-approved method listed here. The used t-shirt squares are collected in a mesh lingerie bag, and then washed with my regular laundry.

In summary, after lots of experimenting, I will likely use t-shirts for ear drying and makeup removal, and Last Swab for wax removal.

T-shirts: FREE
Last Swab: $12, pay back after 4 boxes or 2000 Q-Tips

Q-Tips with cardboard stem: $3.29 for 500 at Target
Generic swabs with cardboard stem: $1.99 for 500 at Target
Generic swabs with plastic stem: $1.99 for 300 at Walgreens

(You can break even or even save $$ with the switch to cardboard!)

Lose Your Lint Roller

My cat, Toby, likes to lay in our windowsill, which leaves a thick coat of hair inside our curtains - yuck!

Enter the standard sticky-paper lint roller. It takes two sheets just to clear a 4"x6" area, or 30 sheets to clean the whole panel. 

     

 Enter the lint brush. 

This particular lint brush is self cleaning. Simply toggle the button on the back side, which cleans the hair into a reservoir; it holds about 10 sticky sheets worth of hair, which saves you wrestling with tearing off multiple sheets.

When you're done, just dump the reservoir! 

You can find self-cleaning lint brushes for $9.
Or, dual-sided lint brushes for $6.
Or, sticky sheet rollers in multiple pack sizes, average $.05 per sheet.

Assuming you use 2 sheets a day for clothing, and 100 sheets per year for larger surfaces like couches and curtains, you would spend $41.50/yr on sticky rollers.

With a self-cleaning brush, you'll save $32.50 in the first year, 850 sheets of paper and plastic handles. 

Now you can spend that money on extra treats for your fur babies.