Easy switch: Ecoballs and Washing Nuts.

The above is a picture of some balls which are commonly used around our apartment. What kind of balls? you ask. They're actually called ecoballs :)

They're basically a more eco-friendly way of doing laundry without having to go through tons of plastic bottles for liquid or powder detergents. The way they work is that they're filled with these little pellets which will last you about 150 washes (though you can buy a 1000 version as well)... you basically just throw them in your washing machine, 2 at a time. After the 150th wash (we have a small piece of paper which we use to keep track) you can unscrew the balls open and fill the balls with replacement pellets and use them again.

They come in a pack of 2 in a cardboard box. There are a few replacement pellets in there in a small plastic bag, and they themselves are made of plastic but in my opinion, it's less plastic than you'd end up buying with a bottle of detergent. I'm not promoting this company, though I have enjoyed using this product, but I just wanted to point out some options in terms of washing detergents. These are made by Ecozone, as fast as I can tell, a Finnish company. I actually got mine from Stockmann (after an insane search all over Helsinki and Tampere.)

I have also heard talk and seen some "washing nuts" in eco-friendly stores. They have them in Finland at Ruohonjuuri or Punnitsee ja säästä-type stores. Here is some more information about these: on Wikipedia or on Treehugger.
I haven't tried these because I only heard of them after buying the Ecozone ones but I figure they should work. If you check out the Wikipedia link above, it seems people have been using them for hundreds of years.

Now here's the thing, while trying to find other companies with similar products which may be delivered in other areas throughout the world, I came across so many articles written about direct-marketing and other laundry-ball-related scams. Reading any of these can make you feel like an idiot for considering the idea but hear me out. I heard about this from a trusted friend who liked them and thought I might be interested. I bought them for about 20€ (not the $75 ones they're bashing all over the internet). After which I proceeded to recommended them to a friend (or actually buy them as gifts for people) and have had no complaints. If you're unsure about which ones work and which don't, I would recommend trying the laundry nuts, since they're all natural and aren't exactly associated with a brand and its efficiency, but rather, just basic nature and chemistry.

If you have more to add on the topic, including your own experiences with eco-friendly products, leave us a comment below!

New habits: Start shopping at your local farmers' market.

I couldn't sleep in today, so I decided to wake up and start my day early. The farmers' market a few blocks away is open until 2pm on Saturdays (and every weekday morning) but I like having time to browse so I hopped on my bike and headed there. I've been shopping there for about a month and I only just realized that, although I'm cooking different things, I use more or less the same ingredients every time. I started by walking up and down the isles and looking at all the produce and prices, making mental notes as I go.

What to bring:
+ Bike and bike basket (it speeds up the whole process)
+ Cloth bags to hold everything while walking around
+ Containers (like the Tupperware I already own) or other bags for messier items which need packaging ie. berries
+ an egg carton, if you're planning on buying eggs.

What to look for:
- check the prices.
- check how the items are packaged. wrapped in plastic? put in boxes?
- where do the products come from? I noticed this summer that people were selling cherries from Portugal, for example. Or lettuce and cucumbers wrapped in plastic from the same source as the grocery store (Here I failed to see the point of buying from those stalls.) Talk to the sellers about their products and origins.
- After doing a good warm-up walk around, you'll notice many of the same products on the tables. The products you see most often are those which are in season. In season products are a more sustainable choice than those which require extra resources to produce. I'm still learning "what grows when" but the visual aspects of it at the market makes it easy to understand :)



So now that you know what to look for and what to bring, you just need to find your local market and go there! I love coming home and admiring all the freshness, and I get a thrill out of knowing the stuff is local and not covered in plastic!