- Stop buying plastic waterbottles!!
- Get a reusable water bottle and take it everywhere!
- Buy glass or stainless steel. No plastic is safe. (Source). Make sure your water bottle has been tested for lead (usually says so in Amazon description). With stainless steel, some can contain lead if insulated, so make absolutely sure.
- If you’re on the run and have to buy water, I look for glass ones. We try to buy Voss since most of theirs are glass.
- Get rid of or use paper towels and napkins more sparingly
- This is one of our goals for this year- to no longer use paper towels! We’re buying these (I’ll update you if we like them)
- We use dish towels for drying our hands and these and these rags and microfiber for cleaning almost everything. We rarely use paper towels, but would like to eliminate!
- Use cloth napkins. I’d recommend a pattern so you don’t have to stress about stains!
- Stop buying Ziplocks and plastic Tupperware!
- Ditch the straws!
- We use these glass ones and I LOVE them! I’ve had them for years and they’ve lasted great. LO uses them too and it’s great!
- Do the dishes
- As in stop buying disposable plates, bowls, cups, utensils, etc! The 20 min or so of doing dishes is worth it to lesson your economic footprint.
- Replace your dish scrubber with renewable resources.
- We love this bamboo scrubber and it’s even survived the dishwasher once (it’s not recommended and I wouldn’t do it a ton, but it worked fine and we’ll do it again)
- If you like sponges, use biodegradable and renewable.
- We like ones made from coconut (they work even better than normal sponges!)
- Ditch Qtips
- We use bamboo ones, but reusable ones (you wash them) look great too!
- No more plastic wrap or foil
- We use glass tupperware or mason jars instead of plastic wrap, but I’ve heard people like beeswax wraps (I don’t like the Trader Joe’s version).
- We use a cookie sheet over a pan when tin foil is called for to cover and parchment paper to line for baking (make sure it’s compostable)
- Ditch the dryer sheets!
- We use wool dryer balls. Trader Joe’s has some for a great price. They’re better for your health, environment, and finances
- Wear organic, natural fibers
- We love Pact ($20 off here) and H&M. There are many other great options, but these are the most affordable in our opinion
- Stainless steel and cast iron pans.
- These last forever and are better for the environment, your wallet, and health
- Bring your reusable cup for drinks (tea, hot cocoa, coffee, smoothies)
- Many places will let you use them (not all though!)
- Reusable bags.
- Use these for groceries, clothes, toys, etc. We bought 1 insulated and kept old beach bags and ones given to us at conferences, with purchases, etc. We then stash them in our pantry, car, stroller, etc. You can even use them for grocery pickup (just leave as a note when ordering!)
- Washcloths instead of makeup remover.
- Buy GOTS (highest certification) certified organic cotton. Better for the environment and you!
- I got mine from Amazon and love them. Pact also has some I haven’t tried but look great!
- Makeup remover pads.
- I love these!
- Bring your own produce bags.
- I love these and use them for meat and produce. I love that they’re washable too!
- Donate instead of trash.
- You can donate to homeless shelters, women’s shelters, Goodwill, etc. If stuff is broken or not in good enough condition to donate, you can donate clothes to H&M and get 15% off. You can cut damaged fabrics and use for rags or crafts with kids. You can take damages, unrecycable items to places that will repurpose
- Use reusable bottles for everything!
- I use Branch Basics and LOVE them. I love that all the bottles are reusable (with the exception of concentrate and oxygen boost), but I wish the bottles were glass. You can buy glass bottles and only buy the concentrate and oxygen boost from them then recycle the bottles. They have the ratios online of water to concentrate
- Request no plastic bag, utensils, or napkins for takeout
- Bring your own reusable bag to bring your food home
- Eat with your own utensils at home and if you are eating on the go, keep something like this in your car! You can wash it when you get home or wash it on the go with Branch Basics travel all purpose spray (I have these stashed everywhere!)
- Use cloth napkins and keep some in your car
- Switch to longer lasting cookware
- Wooden cooking utensils
- Stainless steel for kid plates
- Bamboo or normal stainless steel for kid utensils
- Stainless steel or glass sippy cups. Just make sure they’re lead free. We love these.
- Compost!
- I’ll write a post on this down the road as I’m just learning!
- Go Paperless
- Most companies have an option to go paperless for bills and just have your receipts emailed!
- Recycle!!
- This seems obvious, but too often, convenience becomes more important than searching for a recycling bin or holding onto it until you get home. The little things add up!
- Don’t be overwhelmed! Remember it’s not all or nothing. You don’t need to go out and buy all this at once! I just waited until each thing had run out before replacing (I didn’t have nonstick pans, but I’d replace before they run out). Some things like ziplocks and paper towels, I replaced before they run out and could use the disposable when absolutely needed or if I run out of Stasher bags. Any small step is great and makes a difference ❤️
Our goals for this year: eliminate our paper towel use, remember to request no utensils or bag for takeout, remember to bring our reusable cup for smoothies and herbal tea, find a better alternative to parchment paper or figure out composting so we can compost ours, start composting!
Thanks for taking any step to lessen your footprint and working together to leave a beautiful world for future generations!
Chopped Brussels Sprout Salad with Creamy Shallot Dressing