Easy ways to green your spring cleaning

Spring cleaning is here!

Did you know the average person in the U.S. uses about 40 pounds of household cleaners each year, and many of those products have harmful ingredients that can affect our health and damage our waterways?

We all want a clean home, but cleaning well doesn’t have to mean using harsh chemicals.

Make your own cleaning products

You can make your own cleaning products with common ingredients from the grocery store that are safe to use around kids and pets while being just as effective at getting rid of dirt and grime. Find out how at Oregon Metro’s Green Cleaners webpage.

Purchase safer cleaning products

Find out how to avoid harsh chemicals in store-bought cleaners by reviewing these tips from Oregon Metro.

Or shop at one of Portland’s small businesses that specialize in bulk items, including household items like laundry and cleaning supplies, and bath and body products. Read previous Resourceful PDX posts about The Realm Refillery and Mama and Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop.

5 safe cleaning tips for a healthy home

1.      Use natural ingredients that are tough on germs.

Vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and soap are effective at killing bacteria and some viruses without using harsh chemicals that can harm our health.

2.      Avoid aerosol products.

Products such as hairspray or oven spray cleaners release chemicals that can make our air quality worse and cause health issues, especially affecting children.

3.      Opt for wet-dusting instead of dry-dusting.

Dust often contains harmful residues from the products we use in our homes. Wet dusting is the most effective way to remove these chemicals.

4.      Skip the air fresheners and dryer sheets.

Artificial scents contain chemicals that lower air quality and harm our health. Try using scents from essential oils, lemons, cinnamon, and herbs.

5.      Safely dispose of harmful cleaners.

Leftover cleaners shouldn’t be poured down the drain. Call 503-234-3000 or visit oregonmetro.gov to find out where you can take things that are harmful for you and your family.

Metro resources

Green cleaning – Make your own cleaners at home using safe and affordable ingredients. 
Buying safer cleaners - Learn how you can buy safer cleaners that are better for your family and the environment. 
Common hazardous products - Understand what household products are hazardous, how to handle them. 

No Space for Waste at The Realm Refillery

The Realm Refillery is a package free grocery store in Northeast Portland that provides a more sustainable way of shopping by allowing customers to buy as much or as little as needed, creating less food waste, and less packaging waste.

Owners Brit Snipes and Ryan Knowles work hard to assure the products they sell support local businesses and are sustainably and ethically produced. Ninety-five percent of their products are organic, and they look for items that are fair trade, chemical-free, cruelty-free, vegan, and use minimal packaging. They source products from over 30 small, local vendors and numerous local farms, and purchase from wholesale vendors that share the same values.

Brit said, “We need to all do our best to make sure the choices we make when consuming are focused on going straight back into our local economies as a community. Having the ability to buy local and with a small business is key to doing just that. Large corporations aren't the answers for progress.”

Shoppers are a mix of regulars and new customers who walk in to see what a package free grocery store looks like. Brit says they have an attention to cleanliness of containers, respect for food allergies with no cross contamination, and an intimate community.

Social media has been integral to an increase in young customers, especially Tik Tok which offers another way to share what the store is doing through short videos. Brit and Ryan want to build community by offering events and swaps as ways for customers to get to know each other.

There is a DIY aesthetic in the store, with Ryan taking the lead on building out the space and working with other local makers to complete the look. 

Ryan shared, “The DIY music scene and the ethos that comes with it was very impactful on my life from a pretty young age. Naturally, we wanted to do as much as ourselves, not only to reduce cost and waste, but so we could see out our vision to its fullest. We had never done anything to this level before and thanks to close friends and YouTube, we were able to get it all done ourselves. It's an amazing feeling to walk into the store every day and see our hard work come to life.”

Weigh, tap, tare

The Realm Refillery offers many products, including snacks, spices, baking ingredients, granola, olive oil, laundry and cleaning supplies, bath, and body products – even local, seasonal produce.

For bulk items, all jars have an initial deposit of $2. Once the jar is returned, the deposit rolls over to your new container each time you shop.

The staff are there to answer questions and assist with fast checkout with their weigh, tap, tare process. “We use a system called Filljoy in the store, which allows us to save the weights of all containers we use in the shop so we can easily deduct the tare for the customers. We even have all our paper bags weighed out, so customers won't ever pay for anything except exactly the amount of product that they intended to purchase.”

Brit and Ryan continue to make changes, with a free loyalty program as a recent addition. For every $1 you spend, you receive one point. When you get to 100 points, you receive a voucher to use in the store.

The monthly membership is like a co-op. Members don’t pay the deposit on containers and can take advantage of 20% off rotating items that are marked with a decal. You can also get more bulk items with discounts.

Future changes to bring your own containers

Customers often ask if they can bring their own container, but this is not currently allowed under Oregon Law. As part of the broader reusable container conversation, Brit and Ryan are involved with the Surfrider Foundation on a petition and possible legislation to change this law for the state of Oregon and approve bring your own containers.

You can sign the petition to help change the law.

Learn more about The Realm Refillery at their website, including frequently asked questions, and by following them on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok.

Get your food to go, without the waste, with GO Box

Portland has been fortunate to have GO Box, a women-owned and led reusable take-out food container system, for 11 years. To date, GO Box has prevented over 750,000 single-use items from being disposed.

Like many small, local businesses in Portland, GO Box both survived and thrived during the pandemic. CEO Jocelyn Gaudi Quarrell shared that the company pivoted and recovered from the first year of Covid impacts, then transitioned from operating in a small commissary kitchen to a 1,000 sq ft space, and then into an 8,000 sq ft warehouse in July 2021. They also expanded to 10 staff members.

People passing by their Central Eastside location can look through large windows and watch the step-by-step process of how the reusable containers are collected and cleaned with automated commercial dishwashing equipment.

New space allows expansion and more partners

GO Box’s new, larger space has created opportunities to partner with like-minded businesses, such as Utility Zero Waste and Legwork Local Delivery. In total, GO Box has 100 partner vendors, including food carts, brick and mortar restaurants, and regional grocery stores. Jocelyn said she wants to support small local businesses and larger companies transition away from single-use packaging towards durable, reusable systems.

GO Box containers can now be found at the deli counter and in the bulk sections of every New Seasons Market location, from Fisher’s Landing in Vancouver to Happy Valley and Hillsboro.

And GO Box partners with Imperfect Foods to clean gel packs from the grocery delivery business so they can be reused repeatedly by Imperfect.

A new venture called Loop hired GO Box to manage logistics for their first U.S. pilot program of reusable packaging for consumer goods including everything from ice cream to shampoo. Through the pilot, you can buy products in Loop reusable packaging and return the empty containers at any of these 25 local Fred Meyer locations.

Heather Watkins, GO Box’s new Chief Revenue Officer, said, “We’ve seen a tremendous amount of interest to partner with businesses across the region. Companies are really interested to implement reusable packaging and reduce their waste. This is a big win for us all in the community.”

How it works

GO Box makes zero waste takeout easy. With a subscription to GO Box, you can order takeout food and drinks in reusable containers at 100+ restaurants, food carts, cafes, and grocery stores across Portland.

There are various subscription options so customers can borrow what they need when they need it, through the GO Box app:

1. Select the subscription term and credit level which best fits your reuse needs, starting at $3.95 a month.

2. Check out reusables from any partner vendor and return reusables to any drop site using the GO Box app.

Find a GO Box vendor, get your questions answered, and dig into why reuse matters.

Refill and Save at Mama & Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop

Mama & Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop opened in Southeast Portland in May 2021. Since then, word of mouth has fueled the refill shop, with more Portlanders learning about it every day. A second location is already in the works for North Mississippi Avenue, with plans to open in December.  

Mama & Hapa’s joins other refill stores and pop-up shops around Portland, meeting a demand from consumers who want less packaging waste in their lives. Most packaging, especially plastic, cannot be recycled. And even when there are recycling options, single-use items use more energy and resources than reusable items that can be used over and over again. 

At Mama & Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop, reuse takes center stage, with household and body care products available in reusable and refillable containers.  

Ross Ching, co-owner with his wife, Nadia Takla, said he would like “less emphasis on recycling” and more focus on reuse. This extends to how they’ve built their shop: Their tables, dishwasher, and many other shop items were purchased second-hand.  

They also purchase local products: The store’s body care products come from manufacturers in Portland and around Oregon, while other items in the store come from Washington. Ross would like to make zero waste shopping convenient enough for the average person to change their habits. 

“Going zero waste isn’t going to save the world, but what it really does is change the way people think about the life of an inanimate object. How much energy is put into making something, transporting it, and disposing of it. Those are the kinds of things that need to be at the top of consumers’ minds when they shop because what is bought is a vote for wanting more of it — gasoline or batteries, paper or plastic, compost or trash.” 

The shop’s name represents its owners: Nadia is the Mama, and Ross is Hapa, a Hawaiian term that reflects Ross’s Chinese and white heritage. Ross embraced the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) small business ethic; he used online research and tutorials to learn to code, and designed the refillable electronic dispenser system himself, with inspiration from a fill-your-own brewery in Southern California. 

Ross highlighted three aspects of Mama & Hapa’s that make it stand out: 

1. Offer free jars 

The shop provides customers with reusable and refillable glass jars at no charge. You can also bring in your own clean containers, or donate excess jars from home. Jars are washed onsite in the dishwasher.

2. No weighing necessary 

The store’s electronic system measures the amount of product you’ve dispensed by volume rather than weight. This eliminates the need to weigh your jars, makes it easier and faster to fill containers, and even shows the price of the amount dispensed as you go. 

3. Keep it affordable 

Prices are kept as low as possible by purchasing products in 55-gallon barrels, which are approximately 500 pounds each. Buying in bulk allows the store to sell at lower prices and offer a “store brand”. 

Ready to get started? Check out the website for a full product list.

Getting more delivered to your door?

The holiday shopping season has begun. With an increase of online ordering and shopping due to COVID-19, major retailers are offering sales now and into December.

Actually, data shows that 57 % of consumers plan to shop online more this year and spend about $80 more overall (online and offline) than in 2019. According to the survey, 45 % of consumers say they do more than half of their current shopping online – nearly three times pre-pandemic. (Source: Digital Commerce 360)

Shop Local

Support Portland’s small business community by shopping at local places to help keep money in the community. PDX SOS (Save Our Shops), Chinook Book and Zero Waste City Guide to Portland are resources to find brick-and-mortar shops, online offers and alternatives gift ideas.

An increase of deliveries brings an increase of packaging. Here's a cheat-sheet for what goes where.

Plastic-padded mailers: Garbage

Any padded envelope that’s lined with plastic bubble wrap should go in the garbage, never in recycling. Even if it’s paper on the outside, or labeled “recyclable” or “biodegradable,” it’s still trash.

Packing peanuts & plastic air packs: Garbage

No matter what they’re made of or how they’re labeled, all packing peanuts and air packs should go in the trash, never in recycling or compost.

Styrofoam: Garbage

All Styrofoam™ should go in the trash. (Or look for drop-off recycling locations.)

Paper or cardboard envelopes: Recycling

If it's made entirely of paper or cardboard it should go in your recycling bin. Tape, labels, or a plastic address window are OK. (But if it's lined or coated with plastic, it goes in the trash.)

More boxes than you can fit in your bin?

To save space, break down and flatten boxes before putting them in your recycling bin.

Still too many to fit? Tape flattened boxes together in one bundle, and lean them next to your blue recycling bin.

Bundles should be no larger than 3 feet in any direction, so the recycling truck driver can safely and easily lift them.

Save packaging for reuse

Padded envelopes, packing peanuts and air packs can be reused to protect fragile items, like holiday decorations, framed photos or art. Plastic padded envelopes can even be used as make-shift waterproof laptop protectors. 

Cardboard boxes can be flattened and tucked away for the next time you need to mail or store something. Or offer them to neighbors for a move: Consider listing them on Nextdoor, Buy Nothing Group, or Craigslist.

And, don’t forget about Buy Nothing Day! The day after Thanksgiving can also be an intentional time to hit pause on purchasing.

Reuse pop-up fills zero waste needs

The term ‘zero waste’ is being used more and more these days. It could be because of what we see and hear in the news: several environmental crisis on an international scale, such as recycling disruptions and issues with single-use plastics. This has led to new efforts, or a new sense of urgency, to minimize waste, reduce consumption, and promote product reuse and repair.

This zero-waste movement is alive and well in Portland - from community-based efforts to businesses promoting a lifestyle of less.

One of these businesses is Utility.

Utility promotes refill and reuse by selling personal and home care products from bulk and encouraging shoppers to bring their own containers. Each ingredient in every product is researched, so customers can be assured they are using products that are safe for their health and the environment. The store also sells plastic free versions of commonly used items, such as toothbrushes, kitchen sponges, etc. The majority of products are produced locally and made to last.

Rebecca Rottman and Nadine Appenbrink started Utility in April 2019 as a way to help mitigate local plastic pollution and provide Portlanders an opportunity to buy products that are safe for their health and the environment. “We were both tired of having to go to multiple places just to buy shampoo and laundry soap that didn’t have petrochemicals and other harmful ingredients, were safe for the environment and had refill options. Inspired by the many “zero waste” shops popping up in cities around the U.S. and internationally, we decided to start Utility in Portland”.

Although Utility follows some tenets of the zero waste philosophy, Rebecca and Nadine refer to themselves as a “low” waste business rather than “zero”.

Nonetheless, here are some of the ways Utility aligns with zero waste:

●     Sells products from bulk instead of individual plastic bottles.

●     Encourages and promotes the reuse of containers.

●     Carries products that contain only natural ingredients and safe for humans, animals and the earth.

●     Sources from local producers as much as possible.

Utility currently operates as a pop-up shop and online store with local delivery only, no brick and mortar...yet. Pop-ups have been held at retail stores like J. Crew and Nike, bringing these tenets to employees and consumers around Portland.

Bring your own containers

There are pop-up events happening around Portland. Look for upcoming dates online and/or follow them on Instagram. 

Utility will be partnering with eco-conscious and reuse promoting businesses such as GO Box, Gather Resale and Patagonia this fall.

Read about other zero waste initiatives in Portland and get more tips to reduce waste at Resourceful PDX.

Find (more) holiday inspiration and creative gift ideas

The holidays are upon us - and that means consideration of how we celebrate the people in our lives.

We can choose to do things differently. Here’s information on two sources that provide ideas outside the gift box.

More fun and less stuff

New Dream empowers individuals, communities, and organizations to transform the ways they consume to improve well-being for people and the planet. They’ve been offering alternatives about gifting for many years, including extensive information and resources about how to celebrate the holidays in ways that are lighter on the planet and your wallet.

The SoKind Registry is a registry and wishlist service that encourages the giving of homemade gifts, charitable donations, secondhand goods, experiences, time, day-of-event help, and more.

Check out the gift ideas section!

Create memories, not garbage

Metro Vancouver, our neighbors to the North have a holiday campaign called Create memories, not garbage.

There is a collection of creative gift ideas, tips for gift wrapping and ideas for celebrating the season – all with the intention to create memories and reduce waste this holiday season.

Get inspired with gift ideas by price range too with the Merry Memory Maker.

Note: The specific places are in and around Vancouver, BC. Check out the Resourceful PDX map for local organizations.

Find more ideas to create memories in your life in our resourceful #holiday series. 

The Buyerarchy of Needs

Are you already overwhelmed with stressful holiday errands and overspending? Worried about getting buried in all the packaging?

Consider a new low-waste way to approach the holidays this year that might save you some money and bring you a little more joy. The Buyerarchy of Needs is a visual guide to remind you of your other options besides buying something new.

As you look over your holiday lists, take a creative moment and ask yourself:

Is there something I already have I could use in a new way? Could I borrow or swap to get what I need? Maybe a thrift or resale shop has it? Can I make it?

Intrigued? Resourceful PDX is your local resource for tips and ideas to make simple changes in everyday choices. In fact, the Resourceful PDX map includes community-based organizations that help residents reuse, swap, repair and share such items as tools, building or art supplies, household goods or other materials rather than throwing away or buying new.

Resolve to be a thoughtful consumer in the new year to save money and resources. Explore the website for more ideas and tips in our resourceful #holiday series. 

Learn how The Buyerarchy of Needs came to be by designer and illustrator, Sarah Lazarovic.

Reduce and reuse for the holidays

Master Recycler volunteer, Bonita Davis, shares tips to reduce and reuse during the holiday season.

The holiday season is a time when we do more of everything, including celebrating and shopping. It can also be a time when a lot of waste is created in the process, but that doesn’t have to happen. This season, we can have some fun focusing on reducing and reusing to save money and go easy on the environment.

Watch Bonita on KATU Afternoon Live, where she shares some of these tips with host Tra’Renee.

Reduce

Choose experiences rather than things because something out of the ordinary may be the perfect gift for someone on your list – and alternative gift ideas are often waste-free. Know what your family and friends like and want – and if someone has a gift registry for a special occasion, use it!

Resourceful PDX partner, Chinook Book, offers coupons through the print edition or mobile app from local businesses and provides gift ideas and savings at your fingertips.

In the long run, durable materials save us money and significantly reduce waste. Items such as plates, utensils, glasses and linens can be new, used, borrowed or rented. Holiday meals may include leftovers. Plan ahead to save containers, like yogurt tubs, or invite guests to bring their own containers to take home extra goodies.

And don’t forget to use your reusable bags and travel mugs when you are taking advantage of holiday festivities and shopping excursions.         

Reuse

Creative reuse is the name of the game during the holidays. Reusing items and buying used materials can be fun and easy on our pocket. Make SCRAP PDX your first stop for cards, tags, bows, ribbon, gift bags and more.

Collect old maps and the Sunday comics to use as gift wrap. Or use a bandanna or kitchen towel for a no-waste gift.

Return, re-gift, or donate items you know you will not use. It is better to keep them in use with a new owner, rather than cluttering up your space with something you’ll never use. Many people need items during this time of year, so consider donating them instead.    

Find more ideas to create memories in your life in our resourceful #holiday series. 

Maybe holiday goodness means something more

Everyone has at least one person on their list that’s nearly impossible to choose a gift for. Perhaps you have a teenager who wants everything, but likes nothing. Maybe a busy mom who is always trying to put a homemade meal on the table. Or an uncle who says he has everything he needs, but you want to give him something fun during the holidays.

Fortunately, you can find a special something for everyone on your list and — bonus! — skip the retail lines to save your sanity, too.

Do something together

Wrap up cookie ingredients and include a coupon for a cookie-making playdate at your place. Make it extra special for a friend by taking care of cleanup, too. For adventure seekers, take a trip downtown together and brave the Portland underground tunnels tour.

Make it!

Portland offers many ways to make it yourself. Try a woodworking class at the ReBuilding Center, or make something special at one of the many do-it-yourself workshops around Portland.

Feed their mind

Who doesn’t love to learn something new? Portland offers nearly endless options for classes, tours, lectures, and much more. Is your uncle a cheese lover? Save him a seat in OMSI's Design Lab where he can learn to make his own cheese. Help those busy parents in the kitchen by giving them a cooking class. And for that impossible-to-please teen? Gift a video production class at Portland Community College.

Find more ideas to create memories in your life in our resourceful #holiday series.