Gift Donations, Experiences, and Used & Homemade Gifts

If you practice low waste, you probably already spend more of your money on things like experiences and used goods than you put toward buying brand-new merchandise. There’s no reason why you can’t apply this ethos toward gift-giving, too. Giving a donation in your loved one’s name to their favorite charity is not only a zero-waste gift, it’s also a meaningful one.

Go Easy on Wrapping

One of the most wasteful parts of gift exchanges is all of the wrapping and gift bags and tissue paper and bows that go straight into the trash. Instead of wrapping your gifts in brand-new wrapping paper, consider using recycled newspaper or scrap fabric. If you receive gifts that are wrapped in paper, save it for next year instead of throwing it out.

Plan Ahead

Do your best to plan your gift list ahead of time. That way, you’re more likely to buy people things they’ll actually want and put to good use. You also will save yourself the temptation to last-minute panic-buy something online with two-day delivery that will inevitably create a lot of waste in the process.

The post Cutting Down on Your Waste this Gifting Season appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

Compostable Trash Bags

Every household produces a lot of waste on a daily basis, so using trash bags is pretty much unavoidable. Still, you can always replace your regular plastic trash bag with an eco-friendly alternative, like these compostable bags.

Beeswax Food Wrap

Instead of wrapping sandwiches and other foods in a bunch of plastic wraps, use these beeswax wraps that are 100 percent compostable.

Stainless Steel Metal Straws

We already know that plastic straws are a major source of plastic pollution, and every time you have the opportunity to avoid them – do so. If you love having your drink with a straw however, you can buy these stainless steel metal straws that are easy to clean with a brush and can be used multiple times.

Bamboo Toothbrush

Say no to plastic toothbrushes and buy these eco-friendly toothbrushes made from bamboo. They are equally good for your teeth, made from natural ingredients and are also biodegradable.

The post Awesome Eco-Friendly Products to Buy If You Want To Go Green appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

Throwing away or donating shoes shouldn’t be your first inclination if you’re someone who wants to save money and produce less waste, try these fixes instead!

Shoelaces

Sneakers can have a totally different look based on the cleanliness of the shoelaces. Before you throw your sneakers away because you think they’re dirty, take out your shoelaces and give them a good washing and see if that doesn’t bring them back to life.

Polish

Shoe polish is essential to keep leather shoes looking brand new. All you have to do is brush the loose dirt off, use an old cloth or another brush to put the polish all over, and let them dry. It’s super cheap and easy to do this at home, and you’ll be able to keep your shoes for years or even decades!

Waterproof

If you have suede shoes, make sure that you buy formula to waterproof them! This will help them last longer and it will protect them in the rain.

The post Save Your Old Shoes With These Tricks! appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

Beeswax

Beeswax is one of the newest products that you can use in order to cover your food securely without having to use plastic wrap. You can wrap anything from cut vegetables to bowls and plates, which is really convenient.

The best part is that you can wash them and you use them over and over again! The downfall is that you do have to buy them, which creates wastes in and of itself.

Plates

The plate method of food storage is super underrated, and you can do it today if you choose. All you have to do is put a plate over the plate or bowl you have your food in, and put it in the fridge. This creates enough of a seal, and you can stack things on top of it! This is especially useful for things like pie crust that needs to be chilled.

Jars

Jars are another great method for food storage, especially for things like cut-up produce, loose greens, legumes, grains, and more! Plus, you probably already have them in your home which is extra zero-waste.

The post These Zero-Waste Food Storage Tips are Super Effective and Sustainable! appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

Tahini

If you come to the end of your tahini, don’t fear. Make your last batch of sauce right in the jar with as much as you have left. Just pour in a little bit of hot water first and shake it with the lid on to get as much loose as possible. Then, add lemon juice, salt, and garlic, and stir or shake to combine.

Nutella

This chocolate-hazelnut spread should not be wasted, even the last few drops. To utilize it best, warm up some milk on the stove until it’s just starting to steam. Pour it into the Nutella jar, stir it around, and you have instant hot cocoa in no time. You can also use your Nutella jar to make the most decadent, fudge ice cream sundae topped with whipped cream.

Mayo

An almost empty mayo jar is the perfect vessel for making salad dressing. Just add 1-2 tablespoons of any sort of vinegar to the jar with 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt and pepper, and shake it up.

The post Use Up the Last Bit of Food in Your Jars with These Hacks appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

However, a lot of them really won’t be helpful to you, and you can probably create them out of things you already own. Go ahead and create your own zero waste products; this will save you money and you will be upcycling things you already own.

Reusable Cotton Rounds

These appeal to people who wear makeup because they replace disposable cotton rounds that are used to take makeup off. However, you don’t need to buy these, you can just use a washcloth or even just some scrap organic fabric instead!

Jars

Jars are really useful for going zero waste because you can use them for storage, beverages, and more. However, don’t go out and buy them, just start saving the ones you have! Whether it’s from olives, pickles, tomato sauce, or more, save and clean out your jars so you can upcycle them!

Cloths and Hankies

You might be tempted to go out and buy a bunch of cloth towels to use for cleaning or to use as a handkerchief, but you don’t need to. Just save your old t-shirts and cut them into squares and you have your own towels, hankies, napkins, and more!

The post DIY Zero Waste Products, That Save You Money appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkEF4YunazI/?tagged=uglyproduce

The USDA has different visual grading standards for all fruits and vegetables. These standards are solely based on the appearance of the food, not nutritional value or freshness. Supermarkets mostly carry grade 1 food, but if you find any deformed or slightly different looking produce, buy it! There is a chance no one else will, so make sure that all the labor and money that went into that piece of produce gets used.

Also, try to shop at farmers markets as much as you can, as they sell almost all of their products that are grown, whether it is necessarily beautiful or not. This will also help small business grow and gives back to the community.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BifhfM0AArW/?tagged=uglyproduce

The post Why You Should Buy Ugly Produce appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

Gift Donations, Experiences, and Used & Homemade Gifts

If you practice low waste, you probably already spend more of your money on things like experiences and used goods than you put toward buying brand-new merchandise. There’s no reason why you can’t apply this ethos toward gift-giving, too. Giving a donation in your loved one’s name to their favorite charity is not only a zero-waste gift, it’s also a meaningful one.

Go Easy on Wrapping

One of the most wasteful parts of gift exchanges is all of the wrapping and gift bags and tissue paper and bows that go straight into the trash. Instead of wrapping your gifts in brand-new wrapping paper, consider using recycled newspaper or scrap fabric. If you receive gifts that are wrapped in paper, save it for next year instead of throwing it out.

Plan Ahead

Do your best to plan your gift list ahead of time. That way, you’re more likely to buy people things they’ll actually want and put to good use. You also will save yourself the temptation to last-minute panic-buy something online with two-day delivery that will inevitably create a lot of waste in the process.

The post Cutting Down on Your Waste this Gifting Season appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

Compostable Trash Bags

Every household produces a lot of waste on a daily basis, so using trash bags is pretty much unavoidable. Still, you can always replace your regular plastic trash bag with an eco-friendly alternative, like these compostable bags.

Beeswax Food Wrap

Instead of wrapping sandwiches and other foods in a bunch of plastic wraps, use these beeswax wraps that are 100 percent compostable.

Stainless Steel Metal Straws

We already know that plastic straws are a major source of plastic pollution, and every time you have the opportunity to avoid them – do so. If you love having your drink with a straw however, you can buy these stainless steel metal straws that are easy to clean with a brush and can be used multiple times.

Bamboo Toothbrush

Say no to plastic toothbrushes and buy these eco-friendly toothbrushes made from bamboo. They are equally good for your teeth, made from natural ingredients and are also biodegradable.

The post Awesome Eco-Friendly Products to Buy If You Want To Go Green appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

Throwing away or donating shoes shouldn’t be your first inclination if you’re someone who wants to save money and produce less waste, try these fixes instead!

Shoelaces

Sneakers can have a totally different look based on the cleanliness of the shoelaces. Before you throw your sneakers away because you think they’re dirty, take out your shoelaces and give them a good washing and see if that doesn’t bring them back to life.

Polish

Shoe polish is essential to keep leather shoes looking brand new. All you have to do is brush the loose dirt off, use an old cloth or another brush to put the polish all over, and let them dry. It’s super cheap and easy to do this at home, and you’ll be able to keep your shoes for years or even decades!

Waterproof

If you have suede shoes, make sure that you buy formula to waterproof them! This will help them last longer and it will protect them in the rain.

The post Save Your Old Shoes With These Tricks! appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

Beeswax

Beeswax is one of the newest products that you can use in order to cover your food securely without having to use plastic wrap. You can wrap anything from cut vegetables to bowls and plates, which is really convenient.

The best part is that you can wash them and you use them over and over again! The downfall is that you do have to buy them, which creates wastes in and of itself.

Plates

The plate method of food storage is super underrated, and you can do it today if you choose. All you have to do is put a plate over the plate or bowl you have your food in, and put it in the fridge. This creates enough of a seal, and you can stack things on top of it! This is especially useful for things like pie crust that needs to be chilled.

Jars

Jars are another great method for food storage, especially for things like cut-up produce, loose greens, legumes, grains, and more! Plus, you probably already have them in your home which is extra zero-waste.

The post These Zero-Waste Food Storage Tips are Super Effective and Sustainable! appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

Tahini

If you come to the end of your tahini, don’t fear. Make your last batch of sauce right in the jar with as much as you have left. Just pour in a little bit of hot water first and shake it with the lid on to get as much loose as possible. Then, add lemon juice, salt, and garlic, and stir or shake to combine.

Nutella

This chocolate-hazelnut spread should not be wasted, even the last few drops. To utilize it best, warm up some milk on the stove until it’s just starting to steam. Pour it into the Nutella jar, stir it around, and you have instant hot cocoa in no time. You can also use your Nutella jar to make the most decadent, fudge ice cream sundae topped with whipped cream.

Mayo

An almost empty mayo jar is the perfect vessel for making salad dressing. Just add 1-2 tablespoons of any sort of vinegar to the jar with 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt and pepper, and shake it up.

The post Use Up the Last Bit of Food in Your Jars with These Hacks appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

However, a lot of them really won’t be helpful to you, and you can probably create them out of things you already own. Go ahead and create your own zero waste products; this will save you money and you will be upcycling things you already own.

Reusable Cotton Rounds

These appeal to people who wear makeup because they replace disposable cotton rounds that are used to take makeup off. However, you don’t need to buy these, you can just use a washcloth or even just some scrap organic fabric instead!

Jars

Jars are really useful for going zero waste because you can use them for storage, beverages, and more. However, don’t go out and buy them, just start saving the ones you have! Whether it’s from olives, pickles, tomato sauce, or more, save and clean out your jars so you can upcycle them!

Cloths and Hankies

You might be tempted to go out and buy a bunch of cloth towels to use for cleaning or to use as a handkerchief, but you don’t need to. Just save your old t-shirts and cut them into squares and you have your own towels, hankies, napkins, and more!

The post DIY Zero Waste Products, That Save You Money appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkEF4YunazI/?tagged=uglyproduce

The USDA has different visual grading standards for all fruits and vegetables. These standards are solely based on the appearance of the food, not nutritional value or freshness. Supermarkets mostly carry grade 1 food, but if you find any deformed or slightly different looking produce, buy it! There is a chance no one else will, so make sure that all the labor and money that went into that piece of produce gets used.

Also, try to shop at farmers markets as much as you can, as they sell almost all of their products that are grown, whether it is necessarily beautiful or not. This will also help small business grow and gives back to the community.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BifhfM0AArW/?tagged=uglyproduce

The post Why You Should Buy Ugly Produce appeared first on My Daily Magazine - Art, Design, DIY, Fashion and Beauty !.