I’m always on the lookout for eco swaps for our home and life. The earth is our only home, I’d like to it be around for like ever! It doesn’t have to perfect to have an impact. Here’s what we’ve been using and loving:
Kitchen
Food Storage Bags – I’ve tried other brands of reusable food storage bags and Stasher are my absolute favorite. The quality, seal, and sizing is amazing. Very rarely do I even purchase single use bags anymore because Stasher is so good.
Kitchen Towels – Geometry towels are my favorite for all of the amazing prints and sustainable practices. Each towel is made from post-consumer recycled materials. They are super soft and super absorbent.
Napkins – We switched to cloth napkins several years ago and I’m so glad we did. Yes we have kids, and yes they get messy, but the napkins clean up really well without going through mountains of paper napkins. Geometry also has lots of fun napkin prints to choose that are made from post-consumer recycled materials.
Grocery Bag – Reusable grocery bags are any easy swap and usually hold so much more than plastic or paper. I recently started using a Lotus Trolley Bag for grocery runs along with their reusable produce bags.
Silicone baking sheets – Cut down on parchment paper by swapping it out for silicone baking sheets. I use these from GIR.
Bath
Toilet Paper – We’ve been using Who Gives a Crap toilet paper for maybe 2 years now and I have no regrets. Is it the softest on the market? No. But it’s soft enough for my sensitive tushy. They have bamboo or recycled TP options and their packaging is plastic free. Bonus, they also donate 50% of profits to clean water and sanitation non-profits.
Body Wash – I just started using the Blueland body wash and love it. You get a reusable bottle and fill it with a mixture of water and their powdered soap packets. It lasts a long time and has a great mild scent.
Hand Soap – We currently have two different sustainable hand soaps – Eddi and Blueland. Both have pros and cons. Eddi comes with a pretty decorative container that hides a replaceable aluminum container. The bottles tend to get a little messy with kids, but is otherwise great. Their replacements have also been out of stock for quite some time so we’ve been refilling with store-bought refills. Blueland is a glass foaming soap container that you drop a refill disc in with water. I love that’s it’s foaming but our soap pumps have failed after 6 months – 1 year. I’m going to try a different foaming soap dispenser to try and solve the problem because I really like the refill tablets.
Personal
Shampoo & Conditioner – I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to beauty products and don’t have some elaborate routine, so take that for what it’s worth. I’ve been using Plaine Products shampoo and condition for over a year. The shampoo and conditioner are packaged in aluminum containers. When you are done, order a replacement and ship back the empties for recycling.
Reusable Cotton Pads – I love using these reusable bamboo pads for toner and eye makeup remover. Just toss them in the wash and they are good as new.
Menstrual Underwear – There are several options for replacing disposable menstrual products. I’ve tried a few of the absorbent underwear and really liked Thinx brand. They replaced pads and liners for me and I am very confident wearing them overnight with a heavy flow.
Cleaning
Laundry Detergent – I’ve tried a few different green laundry detergents including TruEarth, Blueland, and Dropps. We are currently using Dropps. I really liked that they had a smaller pod for half loads but that seems to be discontinued so when we run out I may switch again to something like Dirty Labs. The TruEarth strips are my favorite to take on vacation.
Sponges – Swap your kitchen sponges for biodegradable sponges made from cellulose and coconut husk. And bonus, they are much prettier than the bright blue ones.
Multi-Purpose Cleaner – We currently use the Blueland multi-surface cleaner. Blueland make refill packs that look like little discs you drop in the cleaning bottle with some water. Super simple and works great.
Paper Towels – We’ve reduced paper towel usage by replacing them with cloth and microfiber. My favorite cloth option are these and I use them for cleaning up and covering food in the microwave.
Here’s hoping I have an even larger list of eco swaps to share with you next year. Happy Earth Day!
