Oh gosh, my grandma had a string ball! Wonder what ever happened to it? I'm not offended either. My friend has a drier for her plastic bags that someone made by drilling holes in a board and inserting appropriate bare tree branches (need to have some bend/branching to hold the bags open). I often dry mine over wine bottles....
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Posted 1 year ago #
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I have a rubber band ball, and it just keeps getting bigger....
Posted 1 year ago # -
I re-use those plastic wrappers junk mail comes in, perfect for sandwiches or cut up fruit in lunches. I don't wash them though, I recycle them after one use. The thing about re-using cling film is, it doesn't cling after washing! However, I pretty much never use it, instead I use plastic segmented containers for lunches, Tupperware for storage etc or just don't cover stuff in the fridge. I re-use jars for jam-making but have to recycle some occasionally. Sometimes you have to strike a balance between re-using and recycling, keep too much and your house fills up with it!
Posted 1 year ago # -
i loathe cling film. it's evil.
i use containers with lids, dampened clean linen tea towels, or greaseproof paper held on with a rubber band, and that gets me through the majority of situations that require cling film.
of course i have a roll under the sink, but i cannot remember when i last used it.i used to work for a guy who had worked for a guy who had worked for escoffier.
one day my guy asked his (elderly) guy how on earth they had all managed in hotel kitchens before the advent of cling film.
old guy looks puzzled.
my guy clarifies: you know, when you wrap cling film over a dish and then put it into the refrigerator.
old guy says; why don't you ask me how we used to manage before the advent of refrigerators?
lol.Posted 1 year ago # -
Don't you worry about re-using bags for food? Do you use bleach or some other germ ridder on them before putting food back into them?
Posted 1 year ago # -
I just love that "crap at my parent's" stuff. It just shows again that with most objects, beauty is in the eye of the beholder... or owner ;o)
@Klutzgrrl (and everyone else) on
Unfortunately there's not a forum-specific search on here, but if you have a bit of a hunt back you'll find quite a few discussions on dealing with other people's clutter
-- there are two ways I use to find threads again quickly:
1) There is a tagging function in this forum that you can use for yourself to tag threads with a name that makes sense to you, so you can find similar ones in the future or just cross-reference them. So for this thread for example, if you click on the tags emotional attachment or parents in the top right of this page, you will find threads with a similar topic. You can also look at all tags used at
http://unclutterer.com/discuss/tags/to see which tags are already used and which ones are more frequently used than others.2) If you remember the wording, just use Google with the "site:" constraint, for example searching for "site:unclutterer.com/discuss developing life-style" will lead to this thread. If you just look for "site:unclutterer.com whatever" (without the /discuss), Google will return both articles on whatever from the blog AND threads from the forum.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@Irishbell - there are two times I won't reuse plastic bags (well, 3 if count having a rip/hole :) ) First is if it had any sort of raw (and usually cooked) meat/fish stored in in. My fear of salmonella is great having seen a friend suffer through it (from eating raw cookie dough). Second is if it had something moldy or spoiled or really greasy in it. Otherwise it's fine once I give it a rinse in hot soapy water (usually dishwashing water before the dishes). Rinse it out, be sure it's dry inside and it's good to go. Bread bags, or others with advertising should never be used inside out due to the printing...
And for storing things in the fridge, I use containers with lids, and I have found reusable plastic covers, much like shower caps, in varying sizes, which fit over bowls, jars, etc. Very handy.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I am trying hard to get away from using plastic baggies, bags, cling wrap, etc. I've found waxed paper is much better for cheese than cling wrap, re-usable containers better for lunches. One thing I just haven't found a good substitute for plastic bags, though, is cleaning the litter box! I'm not going to just throw the scoopies directly in the trash, our city has crews that sort through it for recyclables. Those poor guys.
So anyway ... most of the time I use canvas bags for grocery and drugstore, but once in a while I take plastic bags just so I can dispose neatly of the scoopies. :-) BUT now I am inspired to save bread bags and use those as well so I'll need fewer plastic shopping bags. Of course the great state of California may well solve the problem for me by banning the bags, LOL.
Posted 1 year ago # -
My mom is so offended by us not having clingwrap (either I reuse a plastic baggie, or put somethign in a bowl with a plate on top, or use a sealable container like a canning jar) that she used to buy a box and bring it with her when she visited.
So I've started keeping paper towels, kleenex (we use hankies usually) and clingwrap on hand when she visits, just to stop her pre-emptively buying me stuff.
Posted 1 year ago # -
irishbell, a wash with warm soapy water will fix almost anything!
rosa, that is crazy, but kinda funny too.
i have used hankies all my life and i vastly prefer them. much gentler on the snout.Posted 1 year ago # -
oh thanks for those search tips, Trillie. There's been a few times I've wanted to find a particular post or thread and found it difficult. I shall make better use of the tags. I use the Google site: a lot for 'au' or for another site I go to but hadn't thought of using it with /discuss for unclutterer!
RAW cookie dough - UGH I'd not thought of the salmonella risk, but I've never really understood it. Freshly made, possibly, but certainly not if stored for any time at all. And raw flour is really not good for you.
People who are into re-using stuff might like to check out 'myzerowaste.com' - they also have a facebook group - a UK family who do a lot of great work in promoting minimal waste. They have some videos on Youtube too.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@chacha1 -- I've been using flushable litter made of pine shavings as long as I've had my kittens (almost a year now, so they're not quite kittens any more...). Never had a problem with it clogging the toilet -- and mine isn't the toughest or the best of toilets. Not sure if it's available in your area, but may be worth a look?
I'm trying to reduce my paper and plastic consumption as well, but one thing I've failed miserably at reducing is Kleenex use. The boyfriend is allergic to cats (we were already together when we got the cats, and he loves them in spite of his allergies), and although he's on meds to control it, he's not terribly good at taking his meds, so I usually have to deal with the mountain of tissues on his nightstand (ew). I think I'd need to do a daily load of laundry just for his hankies if I stopped having tissues around. Or maybe that'd get him to take his meds every day? Hmm...
Posted 1 year ago # -
Anita, I'd like to try the pine litter with the next cats. These two, however, are middle-aged and set in their ways, and generally no trouble, and I'm going to stick with what works for now!
Re: tissues, um, ew is right. Maybe your DBF needs a wall-mounted shelf instead of a nightstand, with a wastebasket underneath it!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Oh, I also use plastic grocery bags for the litter scoopings (middle-aged/old cats here as well). Fortunately they use the outdoors in nice weather so that cuts down on the amount in summer.
My husband uses hankies/bandanas all the time, and when he has a cold they do mount up fast. :) I don't get colds/runny noses much, and prefer tissues, but it takes us several months to go through a box. Toilet paper now, whole different story! (My husband tells everyone that when you are both retired you go through a lot more toilet paper and coffee!)
Posted 1 year ago #
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