As a disabled person I really appreciate how much you stress that certain things are not accessible to everyone! The most important thing is that you're doing what you reasonably can

Something that's completely free but I feel almost nobody does anymore is simply taking care of what you own already. Whether it be your clothes, your tech or your furniture. I feel nobody ever reads the label inside their clothes about how to wash them correctly or the manual of the tech item clearly specifying how to clean it properly or what to do when problem xyz happens before throwing it away.

I picked up a shopping bag full of rubbish on the beach and from the ocean yesterday. It felt so good to do it. I also saw a seal and thought to myself "that's who i'm doing this for." :)

Wow the fact that you're a sustainable KZfaqr who actually mentions DISABLED people and ECOABLEISM and straws (going to watch that vid now) just made me tear up with joy. People always forget about us, and so many sustainable options or swaps are inaccessible to us in various ways. Thank you so much!! Keep up the fantastic work. It is seen, valued, and appreciated.

Straws at restaurants: every year we go to Poland on a work trip with the whole family. Last year the restaurant had switched to bamboo straws or something like that. I told them I still didn’t want one but they keep forgetting most of the time. This year I was very sad when I saw that they had switched back again to plastic straws 😔 my daughter got one. At home we used our stainless steel one and she asked me if she could use a plastic one (she is three). I explained to her that it’s not good for the environment. “Why did we use it in Poland?” “I forgot to bring ours.” “Why do they use plastic straws?” “Maybe they don’t care as much.” And then she said something that warmed my heart: “ then we need to tell them we don’t want a straw next time.” ❤️ she gives me hope

Also completely free: spreading the word, just like you too. Everybody has a reach, no matter if you are on social media or just in day to day life.

As a special needs teacher, it’s really heartwarming to see that you care about these things. Thank you! ❤️

Canadian high school sewing teacher here... I teach my students how to mend and repair their clothes and other items. My school accepts donations of formal wear... prom dresses only usually get worn once, but at my school they can be altered and re-used for graduation gowns or Christmas formal outfits which is great for kids who can’t afford expensive new outfits. This teacher digs through the paper recycling bin at the photocopier and collects piles of good-on-the-other-side paper. At the end of the year students throw out so many school supplies that are perfectly good... binders, stationary, pens, pencils. There is so much free stuff in the school system that otherwise will become waste so I do my part to salvage and re-use as much as I can. Great video Gittemary, and I love that shirt... it looks amazing on you!!!

In portugal they do not give u a straw until u ask for it. They always use cups of glass and i think this should be like that everywhere.

REUSE ALL CONTAINERS! Pasta jars, pickle jars, peanut butter jars, even bouillon jars or my newest, medicine containers! I use the smaller jars for to go snacks! I put almonds or small foods in the medicine bottles and take it with me for a quick snack. I use pasta and pickle jars for drinking/putting stuff in. Also, RAGS! Saves me so much money if I use a rag instead of paper towels. I rarely use paper towels anymore.

Ecosia.

I had discovered your channel about an year ago when I was 14 and got into sustainable and minimalist living. We used to think what difference can 1 family make... But we've come a long way from that. I got into the science behind these everyday unsustainable products we used as "disposable" like glitter and cleaning sponge. We were vegetarian, but I'm slowly getting my parents to leave dairy- not fighting but actually taking the time to explain. Yesterday, my mom ordered her groceries in sustainable packaging- just paper wraps instead of plastic (because of covid19, we aren't able to go to farmer's markets). It's awesome, the influence internet can have and the revolution that education and awareness can bring! I hope we can together spread the message as far as we can! :)

You should be cautious when picking wild flowers as they are very important for insects such as bees for pollination, but also breeding grounds for many insects to help sustain the ecosystem 🌻🐝🐛🦋

I think reviewing purchases online can be helpful (and free too!). It’s a way to highlight what you did or didn’t like about the product. When someone else comes along they will know more about the product and will buy something that is more likely to work for them instead of “consuming it” and finding out that way.

Love that you mentioned libraries! I feel like it's so obvious and important but not talked about nearly enough.

At first I thought “pick a lonely banana” was some kind of metaphor 😂 but then i got it. And last time at the market i got some of the lonely ones because they were more mature also

The main things I do to be more sustainable are ; reusing jars / containers / plastic packaging until they are completely done, grow my own food where possible, buy food on bulk to reduce packaging and save money, my family have been using bamboo toothbrushes for years, use soap bars instead of plastic bottles of shower gel, my kids use steel straws, and main thing of all is I never buy anything I do not absolutely need! Edit : I also only buy secondhand books!

Yay ! I love free swaps, they help break the pre constructed idea that sustainability is necessarily expensive. Also thank you, you are one of the (few) great eco youtubers who recognise that privilege plays a great role in our ability to be eco friendly.

Such good tricks in this video! And to everyone : simply do you best, in the best of your abilities. I have coeliac disease and can't use bulk food due to the possibility of cross contamination. But I try to choose food that comes in cardboard boxes rather than plastic, I always carry my reusable bags, bottle and straw, I try to purchase reusable items rather than single use ones, I thrift as much as possible, I recycle everything I can, I grow some of my own food, I stopped buying plastic items and switched to glass, metal, bamboo, etc. Every small effort makes a difference. I can't remember who said this, but it's something I read last year : 10 people who make small daily changes have as much environmental impact as one person who is 100% zero waste. So never believe your actions don't make a difference. ♥

Regarding streaming, if you have a DVD player, you can check out DVDs from the library instead of streaming :)

Instead of using wildflowers for bouquets try to grow a small cutflower garden. Seeds are happily given away in Facebookgroups for free or very little money. And you can grow them on balconies too. I know it's not an option for every one but wild flowers are important for pollinators and can be endangered species that should not be cut. Please stay away from wild flowers unless you know what you are doing. Thank you for the great tipps ❤️

The problem about wild flower bouquets is, that you don‘t know if you are picking up any rare and endangered flowers. Also if every person did this, there wouldn’t be enough left for insects (bees...). -> bad for biodiversity I personally think that you ca pick wild flowers once in a while, but not to often and also not from nature reserves.

in the UK it's illegal to pick wild flowers so just be careful

Composting cotton can be dangerous when the soil is used to plant food. If we don't know what colourants were used to dye the fabric, it is not safe to compost. (Also I have heard about an initiative to make obligatory for sellers in the EU to add names of the colourants on the labels. I am not sure if it still exists, it can be 5to10-year-old thing.)

I bought a 2nd hand solar shower and fill that up before heading to work and set it in the sun to heat up and when I get home I take it in and have a rinse off or use it to wash dishes. It's 5 gallons of pure sun heated water that I didn't have to use any man made energy to get. And buying the shower 2nd hand saved me money.

In Finland one of the supermarket chains have a basket where they put the lonely bananas and they are then free for kids to take and eat

As a disabled person I really appreciate you making accessibility/noticing ableism important in this video. Also, an accessible alternative to walking in nature is viewing nature online (there are many people on social media who regularly post this kind of content), and opening the window. While voting is important, especially locally, I think it's more important to write to your politicians and favourite companies to let them know sustainability is important to you. Regarding what you said about bananas - the same goes for all fresh fruit and veg if you're able to access it. Choose the ones that don't look perfect, because they are more likely to be thrown out. Regarding reusing - if you have more jars than you need, I often wait til I have a few then list them on Olio, and people always want them. But I do think we need to focus more on reusing that recycling (like using a plastic water bottle, or taking your current cutlery with you instead of buying special 'travel cutlery'). I would only add that some of these ideas (such as dumpster diving) will cost money if it requires you to travel to them.

Old towels, bedding and linens can of course be turned into cleaning cloths or be donated to charity shops, but animal saving organizations that rescue abused animals from the streets or from secret dog fighting pits in for instance Italy or Romania can really use them too. There are many organizations that will gladly take them (or animal shelters), sometimes you can just drop them off, sometimes you have to send them (which would cost money, so not for everybody). They can also really use animal food donations and monetary donations, just saying, but that exceeds the free stuff of course. ;)

Repairing clothes is a great swap. During lockdown I finally learned to use the sewing machine. We couldn't go to buy new pants, so I watched a ton of tutorials and finally repaired our jeans. (I planed to do that for years, so we had nearly 15 broken jeans at home) now we can go to the shops again since Mai, but we're still using our mend jeans and will until they come to a point I can't fix them anymore. (I'm super happy that my boyfriend doesn't mind using the repaired jeans, because the first ones doesn't look good fixed at all. But he's proud of me 💚)

Same I live in tropical area, so my case isn’t heat but air conditioner. I never turn the air conditioner on. If I am extremely hot while studying, I go to the public library near me. It does save a lot of money!

Just a warning for those in the UK, picking many wildflowers can actually be illegal! Local, ethical florists may be a better bet (although not free) x

Just a word of caution for reusing disposable plastics; many times these disposable items aren’t meant to be reused and have harmful chemicals in them such as BPA

Reuse your shower water to... water your plant ! Take a watering can with you under the shower, and fill it with the water not hot enough for you to shower :) (and if you are fearless, you can even use your own diluted pee for totally free and super efficient fertilizer :p)

Yes! I also use sun energy (in Spain there is lots of sunny days) to melt butter to cook, unfreeze food, etc. I just leave the thing I want to warm up in the window and the sun do the rest ;). We can do so much with so little!

i love my silicone straws that fold up into a little tin and travel in my purse

🌱✌👑💚🌺🌎 great advice xo. bike riding or walking, unplugging electronics when not in use, food scraps to make broth or add to soil of houseplants.

The banana tip is great. I usually pick a bundle of greener unripe bananas, plus a few loose ripe ones (since they ripen more quickly then). Those are for eating the first days, whilst the greener ones ripen. Works great for families with small (and impatient) kids ;)

This is the first time I’ve seen voting mentioned on one of these lists, thank you!

I purchase small like makeup pouches from the thrift store and store everything and anything I can in them, bathroom kits for my grown sons to scissors and my travel kits for my purse,(which is stuff from my kitchen I already have), I've also purchase a lot of handkerchiefs from the thrift store to replace napkins. Or cut up old towels and tshirts for wash towels, second life. Buy something in the jar with full intent to reuse. I love to draw and I buy adult coloring books and even art supplies like watercolors and high quality pencils from the thrift store and also from an app where people are selling stuff usually used once, Mercari. Love the lists of "replacements' , its all about having forethought, being perceptive and mindful, and it saves money with not a whole lot of extra time.

I take colorful rubber bands that I get from collard greens, and put them decoratively on a reuseable drinking bottle. It might help from the bottle from breaking.

I watched this video when it came out and haven't been able to walk past those poor lonely bananas since, I have to buy all the lonely bananas now!

I think it's important to mention that eating a plant based diet is not an option for everyone. I have a health condition that means I cannot eat a huge amount of fibre. The plant based alternatives to meat tend to be very high in fibre. Lean meat protein is one of the things I can eat without issue. Where possible I buy organic, free range meat/eggs. Reducing the amount of meat people eat is a good thing, but it is often talked about as a a one size fits all solution.

For the using real paper, if you like crafting, you can shred the used paper & use it as pulp for anything from air dry clay to making craft paper & of course papier machet! Also compostable if not colored or glossy...

I haven’t had to buy any maternity clothes bc my sister & her friend saved theirs in bins that just travel between us during their pregnancies & now mine 🥰

I recycle envelopes from the few hard-copy mail items I still receive. Cut them up into small note size bits. And use them for my grocery lists (sorry, apps don't work for me cos I have a toddler to manage whilst shopping for groceries ;) ).

I think not enough people knows about Freecycle. Try it when you need something or when you need to discard something. It's amazing!

We use old sheets as washcloths for our mirrors they work realy good.

Awesome tips. The great thing about sustainability is that it never has to be expensive, because reusing and buying less is always the most sustainable option. I just retired an old bed sheet, and I'm making a day bag and an apron out of it, but there are tons of left overs so I'm making reusable cotton rounds (a soft worn bed sheet is perfect for this) and rags for cleaning and a new needle pillow, and face masks, and a set of oven mittens. There's so much fabric, I'm saving about 250dkk on stuff i wanted to sew anyway.

I think I've shared this one before. We had to buy a new mattress because my husband and I have back problems. We took really good care of our last one so we donated it. The problem was that while we were intending the keep using our old sheets they were now too small for the new bed. Rather than throw them away I made family wipes, or reusable toilet paper, and make vintage clothes. I got this last idea from Rachel Maksey. She has a KZfaq channel. Recommend 10 out of 10.

I live in an apartment and hang my clothes wet. It dries naturally and then I don’t have to hang it after it dries. Basically I saved a step. In the winter, it’s nice because it raises the humidity of my house.

As a Picknick kit we use plastic cutlery that we got from either a party or what. Even before going zero waste I started collecting them. My parents would like to get take out sometimes. I would just wash them afterwards and put them in my bag just in case. Now I’m married and still have a whole drawer full. Some of those have never been used. I just collect them from friends at parties before they throw them away or when they get those ready to eat foods with those tiny utensils. Most of the time they won’t use them cause they’ll eat the food at home anyways and would otherwise throw them away. It’s great cause they are do lightweight and I feel like I’m at least saving them from trash (until they break).

I kept the extra fabric and sleeves from when I cut my shirts last summer. And I'm so glad I did, because now I'm using them as tissues and napkins!!

oooh!! i also have a "eat me first" shelf in my fridge :) it makes my life so much easier and i throw away less food

I love how you always try to include everybody ❤️

I am super impressed by of this, I am from Mexico and many of this things are already part of out lives. I guess we all do live very differently, however we of course can improve our waste in so many ways

Could you do a video on sustainable youtubers or instagrammers who you enjoy? I am trying to make my feed not so consumerist and would love to hear recommendations :)

You can get silicon straws that are reusable as well if you find metal straws too hard. They might be hard to clean for some people but if you have a carer they might be able to help you

Another idea is reusing boiled water from pasta to scrape better pans you used for the sauce or to wash the dishes. This way you can spare clean water for at least the first rinse, even better if the water is still hot because it will make it easier to wash away oily rests :)

Being from an Indian middle class family we usually reuse everything we can be it rags or jars or plastic containers or cardboard (from online deliveries) also we usually buy things on loose and make our pickles ourselves Also we use heater and dryer rarely on extreme cold/rainy weather, so I don't realise but we're doing pretty well on sustainable living. Although I'm trying to improve ✌🏻

I always keep stale bread on my freezer until I have enough to make Torta de Pan, which is kind of like bread pudding, so delicious, highly recommend, and you need stale stale dry bread to make it

The best thing I've found to be more sustainable is simply using things up. Using up all skin care stuff BEFORE buying more. Using up leftovers BEFORE making new food

Thanks for the tips! I need to get better at picking up trash when I go for walks, i think its important to bring a bag to put the stuff in, this way you're more likely to pick things up

For 28/30 re-usable gift wrapping, it might seem simple to say but if you receive gifts in a gift bag - keep it! I have a drawer of gift bags I’ve collected over the years and just put the gift in it. It’s completely free and re-using something that would otherwise go in the bin is sustainable!

I absolutely love your videos and have been binging them these last couple of days. One of the main aspects I adore about your videos is how inclusive you are and that you take these things into consideration ☺️

You can also use the cold water while heating up the shower in a bucket to water plants

In US we get weekly “advertisements” that are paper. I rip up into bits and place in compost. Also let my friends and family know what I want and swap for things I have they need. Leaves and grass and paper for “brown” compost. Reuse everything, cloth napkins, hanky’s, read the books already on shelf. Great tips on video!

So natural, so beautiful 😍

I get my kids to give me their plastic jars from peanut butter( the big jars) and also any pint size plastic jars. I reuse them by putting soups. Chilli, gravies. And as such . They frreze really well

Hi! I have been doing some foraging this year. As long as you know which plants are edible, it’s so much fun & it’s free😊

Gittemary has an engaging and positive style that nudges you to incorporate sustainability into your life. A very responsible and thoughtful young woman and clearly a leader. "Waste is not waste until you waste it". A simple message but true.

Picking wild flowers? Thats surely better than buying flowers, but even better would growing you own flowers on your window sill. And I think also: beauty ist not about possessing something. I love to enjoy wild flowers in the nature. They are gorgeous and last longer there then in a vase.

I will say to be careful when picking wildflowers. In the US we have some federally protected plants due to low numbers of them. If you are going out to collect wildflowers, make sure to check what plants are endangered or threatened in your area!

Love the idea of a clothes swap party with friends! Such a good idea! Thanks G 😊

LOVE THIS! I've made three similar videos on my channel trying to prove that zero waste does not have to be expensive bc I know that that is a popular misconception and, like you, trying to make zero waste more accessible! Congrats on the growth you've been having recently it makes me so happy to see the zero waste movement gaining traction and my favorite creators growing :)

#10 is quite debatable imo. There are many lilac bushes growing around my hometown, but every year they are brutally vandalized by people who'd like to have or even sell to others a pretty bouquet. Also, if you're collecting flowers in the wild, do a little research and make sure you don't make any endangered species slightly more endangered.

I live in an appartement on the third floor, I barely need heating. During the winters I try to just put on during the evening, night and morning but during the day I’m either not home or wearing a sweater. This year my heater was broken for most of the time and it was a little annoying in winter but honestly fine. So sustainable pro tip: live in a high appartement.

I had a bunch of veggies that were getting old but no veggie stock, but I made vegetable soup anyway! I just used all the spices in my pantry, kept the soup cooking for a while, and it turned out amazing!

Girl, although I love your message. I do love your shirt too!!

Hey! Could you do a video on how to make a blog/ how to get started with your blog which surrounds environmental & sustainable brands/ practices. I've been wanting to do one which is more specific to my country but I do not know how to start.

I haven't gotten around to using rain water but...I flush the tap before I put water into bottles for drinking and cooking. I use that water in my toilet tank. 1) I wash dishes. In the process, I use hot water, which breaks up impurities in the pipes. 2) Wait 15 minutes. 3) Drain the impurities in water by running the sink cold for about 2 minutes. I collect this 2 minutes of cold water. 4) I then pour the water into my toilet tank. I flush after using the toilet. I have the bottle (beer growler) opened and ready to pour. As soon as the tank is empty, I pour my flush water in before the tank refills itself.

The tip about shopping online and plastic is so clever. Such a small effort, but never really thought about it.

I think something a lot of videos like this don’t consider is time. My partner and I both earn good money so cost isn’t a concern- I do things like menstrual cups, reusable makeup wipes, reusable shopping bags and straws, etc However, I personally work anywhere between 65 and 80+ hours a week (before commute) and would love to hear some tips on how to help minimise waste that takes very little TIME- as time is the resource that I am short on, not money Time works/feels very different when you work as much as I do. Something that’s “only 10minutes” to someone who works a standard 40 hour week is 10 minutes I could be eating that lunch I missed, 10 minutes of sleep, 10 minutes to call my mum and say hi. I really want to be more environmentally conscious but I have extremely limited time- id love some help

Always make sure the wild flowers that you are picking are not protected though..

I just had a thought regarding jars, you could organize a swap meet. Let people take your clean jars to reuse. I guess you could do this for anything!

I get you want to save money on nice flowers, but there is a serious lack of wildflowers and bees, butterflies other pollinators need the wild flowers to survive. If you do pick them do not pull out the roots! 🐝🐞

Ecosia is basically green google, it’s free and all the add revenue is going to planting trees.

with stale bread you can also make croutons

That top really suits you ❤️

I don't know why, but my local grocery shop gives a huge discount when getting lonely bananas. so I even save money lol

Some countries it is illegal to pick wild flowers. Also, during a pandemic I'd advise people to wash their hands with HOT soapy water.

I'm not the most sustainable person but I make an effort. My mother-in-law always makes too much food so she can hand it out to the family to eat at home as leftovers. She always puts them in plastic take-away containers (if we aren't fast enough to take out our reusable glass ones) that she buys in bulk. After using them, I started to wash them and put them back in the drawer without her noticing.

If you are going out to nature, pick up after yourself. It blows my mind that people can enjoy the beach so much but litter it as they leave.

So, here’s the thing: I’m 14, of course, I still live with my parent’s, and I’m trying to become low waste… I have a metal bottle, reusable mug, metal straw, shampoo and conditioner bars, I buy second hand clothes… most of this things I have bought them with my money, because, for example, with the shampoo bars my parents thought that were too expensive. I also reuse things, and do sustainable things that I don’t have to spend money in. I want to be vegetarian, but my parents think that I don’t eat enough vegetables ti be vegetarian, I’m trying to convince them that, though being vegetarian it’s a plant base diet, vegetarian eat other things besides vegetables… so I’m eating even more vegetables to see if I can convince them. We have air conditioning at home, but in winter my parents insist on using the fireplace because they say air conditioning is too expensive. I have explained them multiple times about how contaminating using the fireplace is, and they start telling me that everything we do contaminate… So, I guess I’ll do things by myself to help the planet, and when I get older and have my own house, I’ll try to live a low waste life. Edit: sorry if I made any writing or grammar mistakes, English is my second language. I love your content! You have helped me a lot 💚

My kids love playing with old shampoo bottles in the bath :)

Wish the whole world was watching your video's

This is amazing, and one of the best zero-waste videos/concepts, but remember to wash hands in warm water FOR NOW while we're going through the pandemic, just because it helps to break down the fatty lipid barrier around the virus cell that causes adherence. Also, don't skimp on soap right now (off-set in other ways until we're on the other side of this - your health and community health comes first), and use a WHO recipe-based hand sanitiser if you have access (Era do an amazing zero-waste one, and they're even launching a product line that they'll fill up at your door via bike-van if your city reaches 300 customers. I believe some European cities already have this service. Awesome, proven brand to check out and support atm on Kickstarter). Stay safe, and keep on being the change, wonderful people.

This is so helpfull for teens! I also just started making videos on how to live a more sustainable life for teens so its all budget friendly :)

As a little tip for anyone who wants to pick up more cigarettes but finds them as disgusting as I do: The metal tins some candy comes in is an excellent portable ash tray. I asked someone who buys them if he would give me one when it is empty and have been carrying that around to put cigarettes I find into. This way, I don't smell like a smoker without smoking. I tried a bag before but my jacket started smelling like cigarettes. Eww.

Instead of using ice in drinks (usually water) I just freeze half of it and fill it up later

loving this zero waste swaps! wish more people would watch this!