Earth Day is tomorrow and I figured this would be a good opportunity to share something that I’m very passionate about but rarely mention on this blog: sustainability.
Andrew and I have been making small and large swaps throughout our home to help lower our waste of plastics (and just consumer packaged goods in general). Some of them are really easy so I wanted to share some of these today and to encourage you to take a stab at it as well. Trust me, that if I can do it, you can do it. Many of these swaps aren’t high effort and many will also save you money in the long run.
If you’re on the fence about the harm and sheer quantity of plastic waste, I’d highly recommend watching this John Oliver segment on plastic. It lit a fire under me to find more of these eco-friendly swaps so that we can reduce our plastic waste in 2021
Easy Sustainable Swaps for an Eco-Friendly 2021
Reusable Waterbottle or Filter
If you’re buying plastic water bottles, make 2021 the year you stop or significantly minimize buying them. You can invest in a Britta filter for your fridge or for your sink and will come out money ahead.
If you are hesitant to give up plastic water bottles, please go watch the John Oliver segment on plastics and recycling. Most of our plastic isn’t being recycled as we like to believe.
Reusable Coffee Cups
Andrew has a Yeti mug which he loves. I have a HydroFlask tumbler and omg it keeps hot drinks hot. Recently I made tea before we left for a drive and I couldn’t even begin to drink it for about half an hour. I’ve also heard amazing reviews of the Fellow Carter travel mug that seals so you can throw it into a bag without fear of spills. Another option that has rave reviews is the Stoje Collapsable silicone travel tumbler.
Regardless of what you choose, get yourself a travel mug and start bringing it with you!
Reusable Grocery Bags
We’ve been using canvas grocery bags here for a while since the state of Washington placed a ban on plastic bags. However, I’ve also recently started using reusable produce bags too. This combo just lives together in my car so that whenever I head to the grocery store, there are sitting pretty in the passenger seat waiting to be used.
Here are some pretty options but I feel like we all have a bag full of other canvas bags somewhere in our homes.
Reusable Metal or Silicone Straws
I never liked using reusable straws much until I purchased this pack from Amazon. They are really wide straws that are made to use with smoothies or thicker drinks. They are excellent for smoothies at home or on the go.
If you want a reusable straw that you can travel with, this option has great reviews and it comes with a travel case and cleaning brush for on the go.
Silicone Stacher Sandwich Bags
This is another swap that is easy to implement. Instead of buying sandwich bags that get tossed after a single-use, start buying silicone storage bags and you can reuse them over and over. I only have gallon size bags but I’m going to get some of the sandwich bags next time they are on sale.
Glass Tupperware
This is an easy one. Next time you have to buy new Tupperware, go with glass instead of plastic. Once your glass containers have worn out, they are easier to recycle than plastic ones which will just end up in a landfill.
Woolen Dryer Balls
Give up your dryer sheet for these wool dryer balls. I started using these years ago and I’m excited that they are really mainstream now. You just toss three of these woolen balls into your dryer with your wet laundry and it naturally softens your clothes. This set has over 45,000 reviews and comes with six dryer balls so you can rotate them easily
Bigger Swaps
If you’re thinking that these are all pretty basic sustainable swaps and you want something more, here are a handful more ideas for bigger lifestyle swaps
- Go meatless! One of the reasons I’m vegetarian is because having a plant-based diet is easier on the planet. If that’s too big a switch to do cold turkey (food joke) start with Meatless Mondays then go from there
- Swap your paper towels for reusable microfiber cloths. Swedish Dishcloths are one popular option. Another popular replacement is Unpapertowls. We just have a stack of microfiber cloths in a kitchen drawer.
- Switch from using tampons to a period cup. I recently made this switch and there’s a bit of a learning curve but it’s a great waste-free alternative to tampons and applicators.
- Start composting! We are lucky that the city collects our composting scraps with our regular trash pickup but you can make your own compost at home with one of these machines or have a service come and collect your scraps.
- Buy secondhand clothing. This doesn’t have to mean shopping at Goodwill. You can find brand-new trendy clothing at shops like Buffalo Exchange and Plato’s Closet or online with Poshmark and thredUP.
- If you have a baby, use cloth diapers instead of disposable ones. I didn’t know that diapers aren’t biodegradable until I was pregnant with Ted and oh my gosh, babies go through a LOT of diapers. I started thinking about all of his diapers piled up in a landfill forever and it was (and still is) really hard for me to think about. I used Bumgenius diapers for Ted and they were easy to use and only caused me to do an extra load of laundry every other day (plus they REALLY minimized the number of blowouts he had)
- My dad nominated this one: ride your bike instead of driving. Sure a bike ride is great exercise and a fun family activity but you can also think functionally when it comes to your next bike ride.
