Even though Earth Day as come and gone, I wanted to share with you my favorite products for a sustainable, healthy planet! These items I’m sharing with you today I have switched over to in the past several years. Don’t feel like you have to do an overhaul of your entire home in one day.
In fact, you may already be doing some of these already!
The goal of switching to this different products is to reduce your consumption of single use items and plastics. You know the old saying, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”. Well, this is all about “Reduce”. Recycling is great, but it’s not convenient to do so in all towns and cities. The best strategy to take care of our planet is to reduce your consumption of plastics and single use items to begin with!
Let’s get started!
Stasher Bags
This is my most recent addition to my kitchen. Stasher bags are silicone resealable bags that come in a variety of sizes from snack bags to gallon bags. Since they’re made from silicone, they can be microwaved, placed in the oven, submerged in boiling water for sous vide cooking, or placed in the dishwasher for cleaning. So freakin versatile!!!
I always hated throwing away a plastic bag that barely looked dirty when it just held crackers or fruit until lunchtime. Now with Stasher bags I can wash and reuse! They’re pretty easy to clean by hand or place them on the top rack of your dishwasher.
Reusable Water Bottle
This one is a no brainer. If you haven’t switched to a reusable water bottle yet, this should be your first swap. Approximately 35 billion plastic bottles end up in landfills every year which is about 80% of total plastic bottles. One person switching to a reusable water bottle might not seem like a big deal but it can really add up!
My personal favorite is my 30 oz Yeti tumbler. I like that it keeps my water cold for hours (even when it sits in my hot car all day!) and it’s easy to clean. There’s other brands of stainless steel bottles out there that come in fancy colors and prints but they require a special brush to clean the inside of the bottle. No thanks, I prefer mine easy to clean by hand or dishwasher.
Stainless Steel Drinking Straws
This is a fun one to add to the list but not 100% necessary. I normally drink beverages at home without a straw but I do have a couple tumblers that came with plastic straws that I eventually broke or lost. So it’s nice to have a few extras one hand. The ones I have linked to fit my 24 oz. tumbler from Starbucks.
If you’re concerned about young children biting down too hard on a stainless steel straw, click here to see straws made with a silicone tip. This set also comes with a drawstring bag to carry your straws on the go to restaurants!
A reusable straw can be a great way to slowly reduce the plastic in your life. If you’re still clinging onto the habit of going through the drive through in the morning for a cold beverage, start by refusing the straw and bringing your own! If you need some new ideas on what to drink besides sodas and sweet tea, I’ve got you covered (link to post)!
Glass or Stainless Steel Food Containers
Sustainability aside, plastic storage containers are no good in the kitchen. They shouldn’t be used in the microwave, they stain easily, and you always seem to lose the lids! Switching to glass food storage containers are versatile for the microwave, freezer, oven, and will never stain! This is the set that I have at home and absolutely love it! I really like that each size container has its own color lid so it’s super easy to match containers to lids. If you don’t plan on microwaving the food inside the container, you could also use stainless steel.
To be perfectly honest, I still have some plastic containers in my kitchen but I use them a lot less since purchasing a set of 10 glass containers. Keep in mind, this is for my family of two. You may need more if you’re cooking for more people.
Wool Dryer Balls
I’ve been using wool dryer balls for a couple of years now and this is the swap that took the least amount of effort. Simply throw 2-5 balls in your dryer with the rest of your clothes to reduce static cling and drying time. If you want to reduce your use of dryer sheets, you can even put a few drops of essential oils on your dryer balls to give your clothes a fresh scent. I find that putting essential oils on the dryer balls doesn’t leave as strong of a scent as dryer sheets which may be a drawback or desire for you depending on your preference. I personally use wool dryer balls for their benefit of reducing drying time and therefore, using less electricity.
Cloth napkins
Want to feel fancy at meals while saving the planet? Switch to cloth napkins! The purpose of this switch is to reduce single use products. You may be in the habit or grabbing a napkin or paper towel when you sit down to a meal or snack and find that you don’t even use it…but you still throw it away! I love cloth napkins because it’s a one time purchase.
I spend the $10-15 on napkins and I don’t have to buy them again for years to come. Plus you can really showcase your personality and style here! Choose solid prints or patterns or change it up with the seasons. I personally take a practical approach and go for darker colors and prints. Tomato sauces + white napkins = ugly stains. You get the idea.
To get started for my family of two, I bought about 6 napkins. Whenever they get soiled, I simply toss them in the wash with my load of towels, bedding, or other darks. I don’t have a particular brand or website I prefer either. I simply keep an eye out at Meijer, Target, or Pier 1 for whatever is on clearance.
I hope this post helps you come up with some new Earth loving changes you can start in your life! Don’t feel like you have to start all of these at once. For me, these changes have occured over the past 5+ years!
Let me know in the comments below some of your favorite reusable and sustainable products!
References
- https://waterbottles.healthyhumanlife.com/plastic-water-bottle-pollution-plastic-bottles-end/
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