More Ways To Save The Planet!
Global warming is a major issue, and each of us can help solve it. My aha moment for switching to reusable shopping bags came when I saw my friend’s
collection of bags used to bring in groceries, stacked by the door, ready to return to the car for reuse. Now it feels natural to me.
At the grocery store, choose products with biodegradable packaging. That cardboard box of laundry detergent is gentler on the planet than a large plastic jug. But if you need liquid detergent, refill the plastic jug at Eco Now in the Lumberyard Mall or Ritual Refill in North Laguna. To develop the habit of refilling— shampoos, dish soap, laundry soap —start with one room. Switching to refillable hand and dish soaps is a simple change. Most stores provide clean, eco-friendly glass containers, but to truly close the loop, bring your own empty bottle. The more dedicated eco-warrior can try toothpaste tablets, which avoid plastic tubes, and bar shampoo, which has almost no packaging.
Flying pests bugging you indoors? Let spiders help. A few spiders in your home, quietly knitting in the corners, are a great, non-toxic way to control winged pests like mosquitoes, clothes moths, and flies. Usually, venomous spiders are very shy; the spiders you see spinning cobwebs in the corner are completely harmless to humans. Before you vacuum away that spider, check the pile of insect corpses below her web and recognize what a good job she’s doing to protect you from flying pests.
Sometimes, doing less means you are doing more to help the planet.
Nancy Englund
2026-2026 President