Easy Ways to Reduce Plastic Use at Home

It’s Plastic Free July and I am so excited because I’m constantly looking for ways to eliminate or reduce plastic waste in our lives and I’m using this month to challenge myself even more! Did you know that 91% of our plastic goes into the trash? And that it takes 400 years for plastic to degrade? And even when we think we’re being responsible and recycling our plastic, a huge amount of what we think we are recycling is not actually getting recycled. The numbers are shocking. 

So I’m trying to reduce or eliminate plastic use all together. Here are a few ways that we’ve chosen to go plastic free around our household:

KITCHEN

Clean up your Shopping Game:
When shopping, challenge yourself to buy as many things package-free as possible. This means shopping from bulk bins and the produce section. Did you know that stores with bulk bins will allow you to bring your own container to fill? Just have a cashier weigh your empty container when entering the store to get a “tare weight” on it and then fill away! I use this set of reusable bags that work great for the bulk and produce section (and already come tagged with the tare weight to make it even easier at the store). And I adore these chic net bags to tote all of your groceries home. We use these glass storage jars that we put out on our counters to hold bulk items (grains, lentils, flours, and even home baked goods!) at home.

Wrap Responsibly:
Instead of using plastic disposable Tupperware containers or Ziploc bags, make the switch to these beautiful and useful glass storage containers. A number of years ago I feel in love with beeswax wrappers after seeing them all over Australia, and I’m so glad we have a lot more options for them here in the U.S. now. They are a beautiful way to wrap up leftover produce or to cover bowls and containers. We also like these silicone food huggers to store half-used produce. In our household we save and reuse all bottles and jars that foods come in from the store because they tend to come in handy for storing food and other items around the house.

Ditch Plastic on the Go:
I hope by now that everyone is reusable water bottles and saying no to plastic straws when out and about. If you need an extra hint of flavor in your water, try one of these nifty fruit-infused water bottles. For picnics and take-out food, there are plenty of single-use disposable bamboo utensils or you could try this nifty reusable set of bamboo utensils for on-the-go complete with straw, chopsticks, and toothbrush. For lunch boxes and picnics, there are plenty of silicone or compostable sandwich bag options these days.

BATHROOM

Switch from Bottles to Bars:
I recently looked around my bathroom and realized just how many products I had in there that came in plastic bottles, which I was ashamed I hadn’t thought of before. I had already been using bars for soap and facewash, but I decided to make the switch from bottles to bars for my shampoo and conditioner and I’m obsessed! There are plenty of options but I found that I really like Ethique. One bar equals 5 bottles of shampoo! I’ve been using both their shampoo and conditioner bars and I’m super happy. They have so many things available in bars including shaving cream, face scrub, lotion, and even deodorant (although I love this natural and plastic-free deodorant).

Upgrade your Dental Routine:
It’s really easy to de-plasticize your dental hygiene routine. My husband bought everyone in our family biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes for Christmas a few years ago and that set off our obsession with renewable and compostable dental products. In addition to the toothbrushes, check out eco dental floss and toothpowder.

Freshen up your Shower:
In addition to the bars mentioned above, I recently switched to a fabric shower curtain which is great because I’m not longer disposing of and replacing a huge sheet of plastic every six months, and I’m able to wash and clean my shower curtain liner on a regular basis. And it cost just a few dollars more than the plastic ones I was disposing of and replacing on a regular basis. You could also switch to a beautiful and eco-friendly metal razor the next time you’re ready to refresh your shaving routine.

CLEANING

Ditch the Chemicals:
I learned long ago from my hero Martha Stewart that when it comes to cleaning, it’s always best to start with a simple and natural cleaner and a little bit of elbow grease before moving on to harsher chemicals that come in plastic bottles. I love the recipe below for an all-purpose cleaner or you can always just use some soap and water.

All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe:
1 cup water
1 cup white distilled vinegar
½ lemon squeezed
Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil if desired.
Put into a glass spray bottle to use

Revamp your Laundry routine:
I started looking at our laundry products recently and saw that we’re using not only a lot of harsh chemicals but that they were all coming in plastic containers. I did some research and discovered Dropps and completely love using their products. We use the Dropps laundry detergent pods and fabric softener pods, and they even have oxi dropps. The packaging is compostable cardboard and the products are non-toxic and biodegradable so I feel great about making the switch. I also started using these wool dryer balls (which didn’t replace any plastic but did replace disposable dryer sheets which can be toxic and wasteful), and I’m obsessed! 

Trash the plastic trash bags:
Last but not least, all of that plastic and recycling we were throwing out has to be put into something. It didn’t even occur to me until recently how much extra plastic we were throwing into landfills with the plastic trash bags that we use. We recently switched to compostable trash bags and I feel great about the choice.

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