Simple ways to use less water and save money too!

Reducing Your Daily Water Consumption

A refreshing drink, a relaxing shower, a fresh load of laundry, a set of clean dishes; what do all of these simple luxuries have in common? Water. We use water to cook, clean, and cool. 

But water isn’t free – to us or the planet. By learning how to reduce our consumption of water on a daily basis, we can easily save money for ourselves and reduce the impact to the planet. Here are some simple and easy ways to reduce your water consumption. 

Start simple…

Pay attention to your water waste

If you have uncontaminated water that is headed down the drain, say, from an old glass of water, consider watering your plants with it instead or using it to clean kitchen counters. 

Reduce your shower time

Even if just by a few minutes. This can have a great impact over time, especially if you shower every day. Additionally, taking a bath – depending on the size of your tub and how high you fill it – may lead to less water waste than showering. 

Water your lawn in the morning

The cool morning air will evaporate less water than the midday sun. This can also benefit your lawn by reducing the stress on it by keeping it cooler throughout the day. Also, it might be helpful to deep-soak your lawn by watering it more than the usual light sprinkle to ensure the water reaches the roots which can reduce your frequency of watering.

Turn that faucet off!

Rather than leave the water running while you wash produce or dishes in the sink, consider cleaning them by dunking them into water in bowls or your clean sink. Try turning the tap off while you brush your teeth or shave as well.

For an even greater impact…

Consider water saving devices or appliances

This may include a more eco friendly dishwasher, toilet, washing machine, or water saving shower head. The next time you’re looking to replace one of these items, consider researching the most effective yet least wasteful options.

Ensure you have no leaks

Drip, drip, drip. Not only can little faucet leaks be annoying, but they can also add up over time. These leaks are usually happening nonstop, so work on reducing any drippage. Take some time to ensure you have no leaky pipes as well.

Take a look at your lawn

Is it all grass? Is there opportunity to plant drought resistant greenery instead? Additionally, putting some mulch around your trees and plants can slow the evaporation which means less watering required.

Evaluate the food you are consuming

Now, this may not be so simple and may not directly impact your water consumption on a daily basis, but there is a potential for lasting impact. Eating less animal products generally means less water consumption as it relates to your food. Check out this neat statista chart to see just “how thirsty” your food is. 

No matter the size of your home or family, these tips can help you decrease your water consumption making your wallet and the planet a little bit happier. With more awareness of our most important resource, we can make a big difference for ourselves and others. 

Emma Walker

The post How to Reduce Water Consumption appeared first on Lilly Brush.

If you are anything like me, you may ask yourself this question while holding a pizza box, gift wrapping paper, or a plastic container. Let’s face it – recycling can be confusing. It seems like a good first step to increasing our own personal sustainability though, so let’s discuss the dos and don’ts to recycling in Denver, Colorado to better understand what is recyclable. 

Do This! 

Do make sure your recycled items are clean! It is important that the items you recycle are free of food and dried, but they don’t need to be absolutely spotless. The goal it to have most residue removed as to avoid contamination. 

Do check what number is marked on your container. If you have a purple Denver recycling bin, numbers one through seven indicated on plastic containers are acceptable which may include shampoo bottles, plastic tubs, to-go plastic cups, and milk jugs. Check with your recycling company to ensure you’re recycling the proper numbers as certain jurisdictions do not allow to-go or other types of plastic containers. 

Do pay attention to lids. For Denver’s purple recycling bins, large metal lids from glass containers can be recycled, but they must be separated from the container while caps and lids for plastic labeled #1 through #7 should be put on their respective container. 

Don’t Do That!

Don’t assume all plastic is recyclable. Plastic used in plastic wrap, sandwich and freezer bags, and bubble wrap should not be mixed in with your recycling. Try to reuse these items whenever possible or consider purchasing a reusable alternative like washable storage bags or tupperware. 

Don’t mix plastic bags in with your recycling. Loose bags like those from the grocery store are generally not accepted. Try finding a place nearby like your local grocery store to take those bags. Do not bag your recyclables, but rather put them directly into the container. 

Don’t throw in used items like tissues, paper towels, napkins, or packing peanuts. If possible, compost the paper towels. Consider, also, taking items commonly used for shipping like packing peanuts to a shipping store if they will take them for reuse. 

More Food For Thought: 

Consider putting recycling in other rooms. Although you may have recycling in your kitchen like most, many people do not recycle all that they can. By having different places to store your recycling throughout your home, more items may be recycled and your household’s awareness and commitment to responsible recycling may increase. 

Be cognizant of your shopping habits. If you generally purchase goods that come with a lot of non recyclable waste and packaging, consider changing your habits by shopping somewhere with less packaged alternatives. 

Consider sustainable alternatives. Rather than continuously buying sandwich bags or straws that will end up in the landfill after a single use, consider investing in sustainable and reusable options like resealable, washable bags, metal straws, or reusable bags for the store.  

Things to check out: 

Check out this Waste Management guide that was utilized in formulating this list if you want to read further on the facts and myths of recycling. 

Find an easy-to-access resource to check what is recyclable in your area, like Earth 911 which has helpful information on how and where to recycle. 

Find specific information on your recycling provider; for instance, Denver Recycles “Your Guide to Easy Recycling.” 

Emma Walker

The post The Dos and Don’ts to Recycling in Denver, Colorado appeared first on Lilly Brush.

Bartender, what’s this?

If you have ordered your usual refreshing drink at a bar or restaurant recently, you probably noticed that the push to get rid of plastic straws has at last reached your favorite watering hole. Maybe you wondered why no straw leaned idly against the glass collecting bubbles in your beverage, or you had to race to down your drink before your paper straw became wet and chewy, or perhaps you got one of the new compostable corn-based plastic straws that is currently experiencing a very hopeful popularity despite some not-insurmountable drawbacks.

 Welcome to Plastic Free July.

Born in Australia, Plastic Free July is a campaign that was brilliantly conceived of by the Plastic Free Foundation. As a not-for-profit organization, their selfless mission is to drive people towards refusing single-use plastic items. Thankfully, they are not alone. The sustained effort of many determined and conscientious people around the world has made movements like these much more widespread and urgent recently. Any soul who has walked a beach lately, deftly dodging (or cleaning up!) bottles, flip flops, tampon applicators and many, many, many straws is aware that the Earth’s natural resources are suffering tremendously. It’s undeniably high time to reverse the tides. 

Plastic Free July doesn’t mean no more plastic.

Plastic Free July’s critical mission isn’t aimed at getting rid of all plastic. Instead, they seek to see a world without the rampant plastic waste that has somehow become the daily norm for the general population on every continent. Most pressing for the organization is to drastically reduce the waste of single use plastic bottles and convenience items, think floss-picks, k-cups and plastic cutlery. 

So simple, yet….

Can you imagine how incredibly simple and satisfying it would be to replace all the disposable plastic you use daily with reusable alternatives? Doesn’t sound fun?  We get it. There are a lot of reasons for this. Habit and convenient use are big ones. For instance, if you are accustomed to the ease of a floss-pick, it’s a bit of a struggle to wrestle with slippery floss and strangled fingertips before you go to bed, but soldier on! Your grandpa did it every night! Of course, he didn’t have huge corporations shoveling convenient disposables into every part of his life either! That’s another thing you’re up against, by the way. Always see K-cups and huge flats of water bottles on your store end-caps? Yeah, there’s a reason for that. 

Lilly Brush brushes up against the ugly truth of enforced consumables.

Frustration with wasteful lint roller paper refills and their cheap plastic handles that broke way too often drove us at Lilly Brush to come up with our first pet products, the Fluffy Pets line of Forever Furless Home brushes for cleaning up long, soft clingy pet hair. We designed our brush so that it would be fast, effective, and built to last a decade. Our next product, the Mini Pet Hair Detailer, is designed to remove straight, short and wiry pet hair when it becomes stubbornly embedded in carpets and fabrics. No more duct-tape mittens, and hours of vacuuming for those pet owners! Solid move, right? Welp, turns out that’s not what most of the big box store buyers we met with wanted. In meeting after meeting, we were told that if there was some way we could make our products disposable, we’d have a good shot at getting on their shelves. We declined. Btw, little shout-out to some of the good guys who love our products and our mission…Thanks  Duluth Trading Company, Orvis, and Chewy!

Takeaway this.

To leave the month of July on a high note, just try to eliminate one item that is a single use product found in your everyday life. Find a new alternative to the things that are wasteful. Get a Hydroflask or a Contigo glass water bottle to hang with. Grab some refillable k-cups and your most favorite ground coffees. Wrestle with that floss. Say no to plastic straws. We know you’ll think of something, and it’ll make you feel great to know you’re one of the good guys too.

Sincerely,

The Lilly Brush Team

old.lillybrush.com

Elsie Hamilton

old.lillybrush.com

The post Plastic Free July – A Great Start! appeared first on Lilly Brush.

Our dedication to sustainability has not made us attractive to retailers whose desire it is to sell products that must be repurchased or refilled often, but frankly, we aren’t too concerned about that. Rather, you can find us in companies such as Duluth Trading Co. who seek to provide the products that will best benefit the consumer. They also have an outstanding reputation for being environmentally friendly. Lilly Brush products are designed and built to last for years of daily use. We are constantly turned away from the big box pet and houseware stores because our model will not provide them with recurring customers. We’re okay with that. At the end of the day, providing a high quality product that supports an important cause is our game.

For homes with fluffy, long haired pets who shed all year long, our washable and reusable Be Forever Furless brushes can clean a whole room in less time than it takes to peel and use one sheet of sticky roller paper! Yes, that fast, and there’s no paper waste to throw away! Just pluck the collected fur from the brush surface and throw it away, or our bird loving enthusiasts tell us that putting collected fur outside in bushes near nest sites makes for cozier baby birds in early spring!

To see just how wasteful a lint roller was, we decided to do our own little test against our reusable Be Forever Furless Brush. Both products were used on a 5 ft. couch full of fluffy pet hair.

Lint Roller:

• 4 Sticky Strips Used

• 3 Minutes to Clean

Be Forever Furless Brush:

• Zero Sticky Strips Needed

• 16 Seconds to Clean

Lilly Brush products last a lifetime, leaving our customers satisfied for years to come. If you have any questions about which Lilly Brush product is right for you, we are here to help! Just contact us here at help@lillybrush.com.

Sincerely,

The Lilly Brush Team

old.lillybrush.com

Elsie Hamilton

old.lillybrush.com

The post No Mess. No Waste. No Refills. appeared first on Lilly Brush.