You don’t even need your morning cup of coffee to understand the genius of Öko’s reusable coffee bag! Zero-waste living is not without compromise. If it were possible to avoid single-use items and over-packaged products and choose 100% reusable 100% of the time—all without spending extra time or money—well … a lot of the world’s…
It’s been about eight years since I started re-evaluating the products I use in my bathroom. It all started with a concern about the ingredients in my body care products. I started reading ingredient labels and realized that I wanted to choose products with fewer synthetic ingredients; I wanted to use products that would be…
A guest post by Maman Loup’s baby brother, Sean Gallimore This year has been a rollercoaster. Every day there seems to be a newer, crazier story and there seems to be a never-ending parade of upsetting events. We continually hear how we’ve never been more divided over issues such as immigration, gun control, race and…
One of the most single-use-plastic-ridden rooms in our homes is the bathroom. I realize that many forms of plastic packaging can be recycled. Alas, recycling is not the holy grail of waste reduction—it’s the least effective of the three Rs. In fact, I’d rewrite the 3 Rs if I could: Reduce, Reuse and Refuse. Many…
Just like the dreaded birthday party loot bag, the Christmas stocking can be stuffed with a whole bunch of useless doodads that ultimately wind up in the trash. I get it: Christmas is expensive, and the dollar store is full of inexpensive fluff with which to stuff those Christmas stockings. But, ultimately, can we as…
Soiled Diaper Composting is a dad-run diaper composting service currently operating in Calgary. This article is by co-owner Mark Arishenkoff. Article updated April 23, 2021: Soiled Diaper Composting now has their composter and is actively composting disposable diapers in Calgary and Edmonton! Now that your baby has arrived, your heart is overflowing with love for…
Want to know something weird? I was looking forward to postpartum bleeding. Why was I such an eager beaver for the dam to break and the blood to gush forth? Because I had a fluffy, colourful stash of postpartum cloth pads to try out! All told, I used a total of one pair of mesh…
I’ve always been a bit of an eco-warrior. In elementary school I was the kid picking up beer cans full of slugs and rinsing them out in my driveway so I could bring them back for the deposit. In high school I became a vegetarian. As a high school teacher, I was known by my…
Updated Dec. 2018 Wrapping paper. The epitome of our single-use, throwaway culture. It is designed to be immediately discarded. Unlike take-out cutlery, plates and cups or paper towels and disposable diapers—items that at least help us accomplish vital tasks—wrapping paper is just for show. But trust me, I know wrapping paper is joyful! It can…
Updated May 2019 I realize it’s kind of a bizarre milestone to be celebrating, but what can I say? I’m excited and proud to announce that it has been almost exactly three years since I banished disposable panty liners from my bathroom cupboard and switched to reusable panty liners. Because I am blessed with excessive…
This post contains affiliate links. If you think the idea of boycotting disposable straws is stupid, that’s okay. You do you. This Earth Day, however, I’m finally making good on a resolution I’ve been putting off for years. I’m already using washable menstrual products, cloth diapers, family cloth (yes, that’s washable toilet paper) and handkerchiefs. I’ve had…
There was this ad on TV when I was a teenager, I think it was for Clean & Clear-brand face wash. A pair of besties were standing in front of the bathroom mirror, washing their faces with a new product featuring “smooth, round, microscrubbers.” Yes, I remember the exact line. Hey- the ad probably played during…
I received the products featured in review free of charge. This post contains affiliate links. Things just got real, folks. I’ve been planning this post for a couple of months, and its relevance has become even more pronounced now that I know I will be having a daughter of my own. Leafing through a women’s…
Going green can seem daunting. You learn about the toxins hiding just under your nose, about the environmental impact of convenience products, about all of the destruction we as consumers are causing to the earth’s ecosystems… and then we put our heads back in the sand. It’s too much to take in, too overwhelming to…
When I first learned that “Family Cloth,” aka reusable toilet paper, was a thing, I was appalled. Gross. Nasty. Backwoods. But when I started working with David Suzuki’s Queen of Green, coaching families on how to be “greener,” I also started evaluating my own waste footprint. I looked at what was in my trashcan, and, since I…
My name is Lindsay and I am a 40-year-old mama of four trying to live an eco-friendly, budget-friendly life! I am a substitute teacher and Child Passenger Safety technician in Calgary, Alberta. Join me on my adventures!
