How to: swap home products for sustainable ones
above image was a house warming gift. h/e you don’t need to use aesthetic or new reusables, use what you have too. you’d be surprised to see what you have in your posession already that can be used again and again!
It has been a while since my last blog post and life has certainly gotten the better of me! I recently moved into my first home with my fiancé AND got our first puppy together, so life has been moving and shaking! We still have a’ways to go, but here are some tips as I have been transitioning out these products in my kitchen and bathroom:
1. Swap our disposables for reusables. I waved goodbye to single-use plastics to refillables— such as natural materials like glass, silicone, aluminum, or at the very least, reusable plastics. I refill my ouia soap and lotion bottles with their refillable pouches. These bottles are made of plastic materials, but they are 60% less and they’re made of recycled plastic. I also made the swap to solid dish soap and soap bars versus the plastic containers of liquid soap. These soap bars and balms actually bring me to my next sustainable swap,
2. Low to zero waste products. A low to zero waste product just means that the products can either partially or fully disintegrate and decompose. Decomposable products (including the packaging it comes in) will release fewer methane gas and stay out of landfills. So like the swap of plastic single use containers in products like soap, detergenet, bleach, toothpaste, etc. consider the alternatives.
3. Use what you have! You do not need to add fancy reusables. Most often you have free or inexpensive reusables right under your nose. I have been recycling glass marinara and pickle jars to house my grains, and other dried goods. They are all good for canning again if you plan on pickling or fermenting! I also use canvas tote bags that I already owned to bag my groceries as well as do not wrap produce in any of the grocer plastic bags. I also think any disposables you do receive, if sanitizing is possible, re-use them and or repurpose them. Oftentimes I will get takeout and reuse forks, spoons, or chopstick utensils in my garden beds to support growing vegetation and other plants. There is no shame to reusing, mending, and re-loving what you have in order to protect ourselves and our wildlife neighbors!