EASY ECO HACKS FOR A BETTER LIFE!
We've seen some comments asking for eco-friendly DIYs, and we've noticed that it's kind of trendy to be eco at the moment, so we decided to tackle it ourselves! Even though we should all be eco all of the time, we love that people are getting into the eco-friendly trend! If you're looking for some easy (and honestly adorable) ways to bring eco into your own life, keep reading!
Bulk up baby!
The first super easy way to be eco and save money is to shop and a bulk food store! You're not only buying in bulk, but you're also saving on waste by not buying products with packaging! When you go to the bulk store, bring your own glass container to store the food in. Some bulk food stores even give you a discount for using your own containers. It really is a win-win. The bulk food store is also an incredible way to get inspired with your food and try new things.
grocery goals (DIY)
This next tip is actually a DIY. You do not want to be getting plastic bags every time you go to the grocery store, plus they charge for those things now! Instead, make your own super easy DIY reusable bag. This DIY is actually sponsored by this amazing company called Thread that make fabric out of 100% recycled plastic water bottles found in Haiti and Honduras. You can check out all of the amazing work they do here. Now let's get to making the bag...
Start by taking your fabric folded in half and cut two large rectangles out of it. Make the rectangle roughly as large as you'd like your tote to be. Starting with one rectangle, fold it in half vertically. Mark 15 “ down from the top and 1 ¼ “ in from the top. Connect these points to form a diagonal line and cut this. Repeat this with your second rectangle as well.
With your two shapes cut out, unfold them and lay them on top of each other. We’re going to sew together the two vertical sides and add individual hems to the 2 top angles on each side. You can roll the raw edge under itself to create a super clean hem.
Next we’re going to join the top handle by laying the tops of each side together, good sides facing in. Stitch a straight line about an inch down. Now you can roll under each side and sew those up to stop the raw edges from fraying. Next take the bag and pull it out at the sides so that you shift the side seams to the centre of the bag. You’ll now see the handle taking shape at the top. Sew a straight line across the bottom. Flip the bag inside out and it’s all done! Now you can get fancy with decorating your bag.
We have this punny “dill with it” template available on our site here since we’ll be using this as a grocery bag. We cut this out using our silhouette machine and some iron on fabric. If you own a Silhouette you can check out the exact iron-on sheet we used here, but if not, you can cut out the stencil and paint over it!
get thrifty
You guys know, we have a series on our YouTube channel called Thrift Flip where we go to the thrift store and up-cycle cool stuff that we find! It's cool to buy products that are already made instead of supporting the production of new products, and wasting materials. It also saves you a whole lot of money. Instead of spending loads of money on a new trendy item, why not make it from a thrifted item yourself like we did above!
refuse and reuse (DIY)
We actually went to the thrift store and found these curtain panels that were this mesh material! We saw these and decided to turn them into some fruit and veggie bags. For these reusable fruit and veggie bags, start by cutting out the mesh the same way we cut out our reusable shopping bags.
Adjust the scale so that they are much smaller. Instead of folding and hemming the edges like we did for the first bags. We’re adjusting our sewing machine to create a zig zag stitch.. This wraps the edges nicely so you don’t have to worry about folding in the delicate mesh. If you want to know more about how to do this stitch, check out our off the shoulder tops DIY! Again sew the straight sides together and sew the angled sides individually. Pull out the sides to centre the seam in the middle. Sew up the bottom. We chose to leave the handles un-attached so you can tie your bag up in knot to stop any fruit from escaping. You could easily turn them into handles like we did before if you want!
chilly compost
A lot of people don't like to compost because of the smell it can leave behind. A really great tip for composting without the smell is putting your compost bin in the freezer! Check this cute one out here.
ikea idea
Another small hack is that your local IKEA usually has a section where you can bring old light bulbs and batteries to be recycled! Keep collecting those batteries and bulbs until you take another inevitable trip to IKEA.
rainbow recharge
Another great way to not have to recycle batteries is to buy rechargeable ones! We got this really cute rainbow set off of amazon. We go through batteries like crazy, and it's not only convenient but super eco to always have a set charged up and ready to go.
castile bff
The next tip is to use Castile soap, this stuff is going to be your new best friend. We didn't realize that a lot of regular soaps are made from animal fats, which we're not the biggest fan of. On the other hand, Castile soap is made from natural vegetable ingredients which is great, all natural, and good for the environment. It doesn't contain any toxic detergents and can go down the drain without contaminating the water, and is also non-toxic!
fizzzzzz
Another awesome cleaning hack is to use is baking soda and vinegar. Combined, these ingredients create a chemical reaction that can clean pretty much anything. Check out this cleaning method in action in our loft vibes series.
eco-laundry
Another eco-friendly tip is to use these wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. These guys are a natural fabric softener and save you from spending money on disposable drier sheets.
Diva cup
If you get a period, here's a great tip for you. Another great way to save LOADS of money and save from lots of garbage going into landfills is using a Diva Cup instead of traditional period hygiene products. You can check them out here.
STOring food
Everyone needs to store food safely or bring food to work and school, but it's not cool when we go through tons and tons of plastic bags to do so. Here's a solution, try using reusable zipped bags and food shopping and storage solutions. They're way cuter than plastic bags AND they save the planet.
That's it! A long blog post FULL of information that we're really passionate about. If you wanna see these eco-diys in action, check out the video below. If you try out any of these eco-tips or DIYs tag us using the hashtaga #SorryGirlsSquad so that we can see! Happy DIYing!
(Also make SURE to check out the templates under the "SHOP' tab, they're pretty awesome)