Beware the micro-plastics seeping from your tea bag
Canadian scientists recently discovered that steeping a tea bag in hot water can release billions of micro- and nano-plastics into your cup of Earl Grey. This was by far the largest amount of plastic found in any beverage, and it’s easy to understand why: The tea bag is made with plastic, and it’s steeping in incredibly hot water. This is just one more reason to consider brewing with loose tea. Just look for stainless steel infusers; they contain no plastics and are reusable, too.
CLEAN THE FRIDGE
Twice a year, make it a priority to clean the inside of your fridge and freezer, and purge any food items that are past their expiration date. Wash the interior of the fridge with a solution of warm water and baking soda to loosen hard spills so they soften and can be wiped out. If possible, pull the fridge out from the wall and vacuum underneath and behind it, since dust buildup can force a fridge to work harder. And make a pledge to always toss out old food throughout the year and recycle any containers that are recyclable.
HOTEL KEYCARDS
They may seem small, but millions of plastic hotel keycards are made and tossed away every year. Hotels are slowly replacing the hard-to-recycle plastic with biodegradables and eco-resins, but until then, try two things. First, always return the keycard to the front desk to be reused. Second, if a hotel participates in a smartphone program, download the app and use your phone to unlock your door instead. This eliminates the need for a hotel keycard altogether.
TRAVEL WATER
When traveling, it’s important to stay hydrated for health, so always remember to bring a reusable water bottle with you. At hotels, skip the overpriced bottles of water in the minibar and head to the hotel gym instead. Most hotel gyms offer free filtered water that you can use to refill your reusable bottle (even if you opt not to work out). Even the hotel bar or restaurant can refill your bottles with free filtered water. This is a great way to cut back on single-use plastic and save money.
PICK A LANE
When you’re driving on a highway, you might wonder:
What’s the most fuel-efficient lane to drive in? If it’s a multilane highway, the best choice is right down the middle. The middle lane allows you the option to easily pass slower cars, and it also allows other cars to pass you or merge to exit the highway. The reason it’s the most fuel-efficient lane is that over time, you accelerate or decelerate less frequently, which makes your car’s overall fuel-efficiency much better.
THERMAL RECEIPTS
Almost all receipts you get from a store are “thermal” receipts, made by using heat to transfer information to the paper. These inkless receipts may be handy, but they contain the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that has been identified as an endocrine disrupter in humans. So what to do with these receipts?
First, refuse them and opt to have receipts emailed to you instead. Second, don’t recycle them. Recycled paper often is made into paper products like toilet paper and towels, which means BPA can get into these products from thermal receipts.
NAIL POLISH
Old nail polish can have multiple uses around the house. Clear nail polish can be used to stop fraying at the edges of fabric on clothes or textiles. Colorful nail polish can be used to mark keys for the home, with drops of different colors indicating which key works on which door. And if you have buttons that are constantly falling off a certain article of clothing, you can help prevent it by dropping clear nail polish on top of the button, where the threads cross.