Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with environmentallyfriendly

Help me throw away without guilt!

ocherdraco — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:27:30 -0800

Sustainable decluttering: how can I cull my stuff without feeling horribly guilty for throwing it out? Last June, I moved from a beautiful, light-filled, very spacious three-story apartment in Cambridge, MA, to a still very nice but significantly smaller (by two rooms) apartment in Queens.

I've got too much stuff, and I know the quickest way to solve that problem is to just toss things, but I hesitate to just throw things out because, well, landfills are atrocious. I've pretty much done the reuse and recycle part as much as I can, and the excess I'm left with is stuff that really doesn't have a purpose and wouldn't be taken by places like the Salvation Army or Goodwill.

What should I do with this useless stuff? (And I should mention that I don't have the time to craft, etc.)

Green office products that aren't in bulk?

bristolcat — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:36:31 -0800

Easiest and greenest way to put together a gift kit of green home office supplies? My sister-in-law has recently become interested in living green and at the same time is starting down a slightly different career path. I'd like to give her a kit of office supplies with a green theme for Christmas (my brother assures me this is something she'd love). I'm thinking a few pens, folders, a notebook or two, a planner and maybe tape or a stapler. I've even seen a USB drive that was promoted as green, which was pretty cool. For the sake of the theme, I'd like it if it looked recycled or the packaging promoted the fact that it was green.

Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time finding these things locally. Research online has led me to some cool products but shipping time is a concern and lots of online office supply stores assume you're buying in bulk. I want just enough to get an individual started with a budget of about 35 dollars for a nice kit (probably excluding the planner) or 50 dollars for a spectacular kit. I also want to do this the greenest and most efficient way possible and not have to have things shipped from several different stores.

I've become enamored with these products:
-Staple-less stapler
-Pilot's BeGreen Pens
-Recycled notepads, binders, folders and CD holders like these

What is the best way to find and put together these items? Are there any cool items I don't know about? I'd like to shop locally, of course, but I'm in small town South Dakota and the only options we have are big box stores, Office Max and Staples.

I found and loved Frog File but they only ship to Canada. Other online green office stores seem to be bulk goods only or don't have products that "scream" green.

I know this is an awkward and difficult question, so any help at all would be appreciated.

Homemade salt dehumidifier?

Shane — Sun, 02 Jan 2005 16:01:32 -0800

I'm looking for and learning about energy-saving/environmentally-friendly clothes dryer alternatives. My (basement) dryer is inefficient and requires a good 6' - 8' to vent (again, inefficiently) outdoors. I'm thinking of getting a Spin Dryer, but still just occasionally using the regular dryer to finish larger loads after the Spin. For the regular dryer I'm thinking of using an indoor dryer vent, but I'd like to limit the added humidity with a homemade salt dehumidifer. Anyone have experience making one? Can I just put the indoor dryer vent in a big plastic tub with some road salt to trap the moisture, maybe with some filtration media instead of the tub's lid to allow for some air escape? Or something somesuch? Does this plan sound okay so far?