Happy New Year friends! One of my ongoing goals is to make our home and family more sustainable and remove toxins as much as possible. Fortunately, these go hand in hand with many of my favorite sustainable products that I use in my home. Swap these products to make your home greener in the new year. 🍃
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I feel like we can always add more green habits and sustainable products to our home and routines to help Mother Earth out. 🌍 And bonus... this often means eliminating harmful chemicals and toxins from the products your family uses everyday. I have gathered my favorite sustainable product swaps here, but am all about adding more to this list, so tell me in the comments below your favorite ways to be more sustainable. 🖤 Shop sustainable products I love under the image below.
KITCHEN
Reusable silicone bags -- eliminate single use plastics, PLUS these are dishwasher and oven safe 🙌
Reusable produce bags -- stop bringing those plastic produce bags home from the store with these produce bags in many sizes. TIP: if you have some of those plastic bags hanging around, I use them to cover my seedlings to keep them nice and moist when it's seed starting time! (I start my seeds in old egg cartons and wrap the plastic produce bag over the top after I water them)
Plenty of Dish and Microfiber Towels -- this may seem obvious, but I recently ordered a twelve pack of large cheesecloth towels that I use constantly with my sourdough and a twelve pack of black microfiber towels for the kitchen. Having so many is key and means I hardly ever use single-use paper towels... seriously I can't even remember the last time I bought them. We may have gone through basically all of these towels cooking Thanksgiving dinner, 🙈 but we did not run out.
Kitchen Compost Bin -- I love this little compost bin that sits right on the kitchen counter. I take it out to the compost pile 2-3 times a week and the charcoal filters work great! No smell or fruit flies anywhere.
Metal or Glass Drinking Straws -- I said goodbye to plastic straws a while ago but missed sipping my iced coffee with a straw so I really love this sustainable swap!
Yeti Cup -- again, this one is a bit obvious, but I always have my Yeti (or another insulated cup) on me whether around the house or in the car for water or coffee. No need for styrofoam cups or other plastic water bottles or glasses.
CLEANING
Laundry Drying Rack -- Opt to hang dry clothing instead of run the dryer whenever you can. Reduce your footprint while giving your fabrics a longer life. 😉
Wool Dryer Balls -- I ditched dryer sheets over a year ago and will never go back. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to each ball (optional) and toss three in the dryer. They keep your clothes static free and fluff up duvets and bedspreads even better!
Tissues, Paper Towels, Trash Bags, Coffee Filters etc. -- For the paper and plastic products you do have to buy, choose products made from bamboo or recycled plastics to reduce your footprint.
Glass Spray Bottles and Cleaning Concentrates (or even better -- your own cleaning concoctions) -- Cut back on harsh chemicals and plastic containers with reusable glass spray bottles, perfect for all purpose, tile, bathroom, glass cleaner etc. You could even mix an essential oil mixture for a natural room spray. I have so many, I label each with a chalk marker or label so I know what is what. 🙃
PERSONAL CARE
Cora Menstrual Cup -- This may be TMI for some, but I think menstrual cups are the 💣diggity! Empty it only once a day, put no harmful chemicals and unregulated materials in your body and feel so much cleaner. I barely even feel like I'm on my period anymore. It is so hassle-free to think about it only once a day and never worry about leaks.
care/of vitamins -- Besides the convenience of these daily packs being delivered once a month, the packet is 💯 percent compostable! No more dozens of plastic vitamin bottles cluttering under the sink. Use my code: NSYVHP for 50% off your first order.
Quip Toothbrush -- Again, this girl is all about the convenience of having the toothbrush heads delivered straight to my door (in recyclable packaging of course). Plus, I change my toothbrush head wayyy more often now and am not throwing away a big plastic toothbrush several times a year.
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What are some of your favorite ways to be more sustainable? Tell me in the comments!