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Crew Commentary

LITTLE THINGS: Thirty lifestyle hacks for Spaceship Earth

Jon Biemer, P.E.
05.25.2025

 

By Jon Biemer, William Lightning, and Willow Sage Dixon

 

For my birthday my son William read me a long list of things he does to reduce his environmental impact. It began, “My Dad taught me about how the little things matter.” Here are some of William’s eco-hacks – along with guidance from my wife, and a few tips of my own. Are you doing some of these already? Try creating your own eco-hacks.

 

William’s eco hacks

 

  1. Visible shelves reduce food spoilage because you can see what needs to be used.
  2. Squeezable sour cream and guacamole tubes reduce waste of food going bad.
  3. Reuse party decorations – such as the Happy Birthday banner hanging in the living room.
  4. Use rechargeable batteries for the night light.
  5. Chose a printer with an ink tank (newer technology than cartridges) which can be refilled from bottles of ink. It reduces waste. You’ll likely save money in the long run.
  6. Go paperless with bills and Scan documents as needed.
  7. Some workplaces offer changed-out computers to employees at little cost. William’s family has two such computers.
  8. Recycle your computer in a good way. William gives his to FreeGeek (a Portland institution since 2000). FreeGeek provides refurbished computers to non-profits and people they serve. Also check out Sell GPU. They provide quotes for purchase and shipment packaging.
  9. Reuse single-use desert cups over and over (for two years now).
  10. Use scrap paper for craft paper. William’s list of eco-hacks was written on a page torn from an old spineless notebook
  11. Go to a Repair Café where volunteers take on modest projects for free. (They unstuck the chuck of William’s drill.) Founded in Amsterdam in 2009, there are over 2,200 Repair Cafés in 46 countries.
  12. People with anxiety about charging electric vehicles have alternatives. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV’s) get around 50 percent better mileage than gasoline-only cars – with correspondingly reduced emissions and typically less maintenance. (William’s family has two HEV’s.) Also, plug-in hybrids (PHEV’s) allow electric-only travel and access to rebates.
  13. Legos last. Other toys quickly lose their allure. Legos kits, when done, becomes part of a larger collection of possibilities. When your kids are grown, donate the bricks to Legos’ Replay so disadvantaged children can enjoy them.

 

 

 

Willow’s little things that add up

 

  1. For cleaning, use white vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda or washing soda, and Dr. Bronner’s Castile concentrated liquid soap. Bronner’s has a comprehensive approach to sustainability.
  2. Use plant-based hand soap.
  3. Avoid clothing materials made from petroleum, such as acrylic, nylon, polyester, and spandex.
  4. Buy natural fiber clothing. Merino wool is naturally anti-microbial, so it needs less frequent washing than other fabrics. Bamboo is soft, inexpensive, and hypoallergenic. Organic cotton is way better for the environment than “conventional” cotton – less carbon in the atmosphere, far less water use, no toxic chemicals, no GMO’s.
  5. Buy outdoor apparel from Patagonia. Their “preferred materials” include hemp, organic cotton, recycled down, recycled cashmere, and recycled nylon. Besides, 98% of Patagonia’s post operation and development profit goes to fund environmental projects and to lobby for environmental action.
  6. Shop ThreadUp, online, for consignment and thrift clothing. Their mission: “Inspiring a new generation to think second hand first.”
  7. Carry packable shopping bags. SYZY and Nanobag are Willow’s favorite because they pack down small enough to carry several in a pocket or purse, but open to a surprisingly large size.
  8. Pack your own spoon, fork, or spork so you can say no to plastic cutlery when away from home. Wrap them in a bandana which will serve as a napkin. Likewise, having your own bowl avoids paper plates (or worse).
  9. Use bamboo toilet paper. We’ve used Reel and Gaia

 

Jon’s eco tips

 

  1. Choose hearing aids that use rechargeable batteries.
  2. Scrub and dry the iron frying pan with left-over packing paper. Then compost the paper.
  3. Pick up doggie poop with toilet paper rather than disposable bags. Then flush it.
  4. Check out tools from a tool lending library. So far I have checked out mowers, extension cords, picks, shovels, rakes, a set of socket wrenches, and a power saw. Conventional libraries are starting to loan a diversity of things as well.
  5. Genius kits: Make projects out of recycling with the young at heart. Like a mini book case, or a dragon fly, or a robot, or a mountain range. Great for learning to work with hand tools.
  6. Obtain car parts from Pick-N-Pull, which has 50 self-service locations in the U.S. and Canada. For our 2004 Toyota Siena van, I have so far replaced a rear view mirror, a brake light assembly, and a rear quarter window.
  7. Eco-floss. Tie overhand loops in the ends of your dental floss. With a finger in each loop, you’ll do a great job. Rinse it off like your toothbrush. Good for 10 to 20 uses.
  8. Write letters and poems as gifts.

 

Earth Day everyday

 

I married an environmentalist  

While I’m wowed by rivers revived

She attends to the little things  

Like a home without plastic

And baked apples with honey

 

Do little acts of kindness to the earth make a difference? Yes, especially when they become a caring consciousness shared with family, friends and fellow crew members on Spaceship Earth.

 

 

Willow Sage Dixon’s little things in this article are adapted from Chapter 2 of Jon Biemer’s Our Environmental Handprints: Recover the Land, Reverse Global Warming, Reclaim the Future (Rowman & Littlefield). Their son, William Lightning, is a systems architect for Fuel Medical.