Ok I am not a hipster, granola person but I DO want to make changes to have less environmental impact as a family!
Today I wanted to share the super easy things we’ve done around the house to lessen our single use plastics and other wasteful/harmful things. I also wanted to share what’s next on my list as I try to make things more sustainable around our house!
What We Do Now
Instead of paper towels we use cloth napkins and microfiber cloths. We got a ton of cloth napkins for our wedding, and they’re super easy to clean and you can bleach them if needed. Instead of using paper towels to clean I have stashes of microfiber cloths in our bathrooms and kitchen. Recently I heard how microfiber cloths add microplastics to the water….EEKK!!! So I will be demoting them to our rag bin (to be used less often) and stocking up on cotton cloths.
For cleaning, I do have a Mrs Meyers addiction – not going to lie. So I’ve bought those fun seasonal scents and use them. But for cleaning throughout the house I use “recipes” (can’t think of another word?) from Clean Mama. Her sink scrub is my ABSOLUTE favorite for cleaning our sink. I also now use baking soda and vinegar to clean our tubs and any grimey places!
We use cloth diapers (full post here!) as much as possible. People argue about whether or not the water usage is bad – but we have a HE washer that uses very little washer. And I think the fewer the items in a landfill, the better! **We do use disposable diapers when traveling and those are what I carry in our diaper bag.
I bring reusable grocery bags to the store. Stash them in your car so you don’t forget them! Mine are all from various Whole Foods locations, but these look like a great option.
We bring metal water bottles when traveling so we don’t have to buy plastic – Yetis in the car and a Swell for the plane! (Be sure to empty before going through security) Just grab some water in a gas station when you need to refill! (From the drink dispenser, not from the bathroom hahaha)
Next on my list….
Limit the cleaning sprays and stick to the blends I can make on my own. Going to order some glass bottles to facilitate the cleaning sprays! I’m not going to throw away what we have – that would obviously be wasteful – but I won’t be repurchasing just because things have run out. Clean Mama has a lot of great blends I could make, and I can just buy lavender drops (etc) to make it scented.
Convince my husband to use Stasher bags instead of plastic bags for his work lunches. This is going to be a hard one but we go through SO many plastic bags.
Stop buying pre-made salad mixes in plastic containers and just buy the produce – and avoid putting it into a plastic bag.
Resources I’ve Found Helpful
For cleaner products (including sunscreens, etc) I look items up on EWG.org. It’s helpful to see exactly what chemicals are in these products and what might be better options. This is part of the reason I love Castille Soap so much – it can be use for SOOO much and is extremely simple ingredient-wise.
For DIY cleaning options, Clean Mama is the best!
There you have it – totally manageable things you can do to lessen your environmental impact. It doesn’t have to be extreme or require changing your whole routine! Just pick one item – like reusable grocery bags – and start there. Less waste, in any way, is a win!
Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash
