How to have a lower-waste home

I’ve been on a lower-waste journey for the past few years, but just recently I started taking it more serious because I actually do my research and HOLY COW plastics and non-reusables are ruining the planet!

We have all seen it…these crazy photos of beaches and waters FILLED with trash. Out of sight out of mind right? HECK NO, thats a horrible way to look at things. We can all take small steps now to reduce waste at home and it makes a big impact on the environment. It all starts at home, where we produce the biggest amount of trash and waste! So i’m here to help you get a head start.

Reusable Bags:

This was step 1 for me, for years and years I used reusable grocery bags to put all the groceries I buy in them, we don’t realize how many bags we use every single day. Americans use up to 100 BILLION plastic bags a year and only 1% on those are properly recycled. It takes 500+ years for a plastic bag to break down in landfill! So getting reusable grocery bags is such a small and easy step that can save so much waste.
Step 2 was getting reusable produce and bulk bin bags (shown above) my mesh bags are 100% organic cotton and 100% organic linen. This is so much better for the earth, no waste is going into our oceans!

Buying in bulk:

This brings me to my next point: buy more in bulk. (and use bulk bags!) I usually buy my rice, nuts, beans etc.. in the bulk section of my local sprouts market. For my smaller things like seeds and rice I use my linen bags so nothing can fall through. When you bring them home just store them in a jar or glass container.

Glass storage jars:

I like to re-use jars I get at the store such as pasta sauce jars (shown above), reusing is key to less waste so I will reuse items any chance I get. Storing everything in glass ensures in the future plastic isn’t being put back into the environment. Plus it looks cute and also you can clearly see what you’re running low on.

Get rid of disposable plates/cups/dinner ware:

I know, we all get lazy and don’t want to wash dishes but JUST DO IT. Many paper plates are coated in a plastic layer! Might as well take a few minutes to just wash the dish.

Use cloth napkins:

I recently started getting rid of all napkins because they are so wasteful and most paper towels have plastic in them (surprise surprise). So now I have linen napkins and I also clean with linen napkins in the kitchen. It’s so easy to just throw them in the washer and re-use! No more paper napkins in this household!

Use bees-wrap instead of foil/plastic wrap:

I LOVE my bees wrap! It takes place of cling wrap and plastic wrap. You can cover your food and it actually helps it stay fresh! You can find these online by searching ‘bees-wrap’ it is cloth covered in a bees wax (if you’re vegan they have other options online) and when you use your heat of your hands it will cling to anything!

Say no to sponges:

Sponges are super wasteful and SMELL, only to leave you getting a new one every few weeks and all of them end up in our oceans! Opt for a bamboo brush made with bamboo and compostable bristles. These last so much longer (I have had mine for about 8 months now and it still looks new!)

Ditch the plastic toothbrush:

We all go through at least 4 tooth brushes a year and that really adds up! I now use a bamboo tooth brush. They are biodegradable and also sustainably made!

Make your own cleaner:

Most cleaners we often see people purchasing is in plastic containers and they are filled with chemicals, its not safe for the environment or us! So now I make my own household cleaners (and yep, I put them in glass containers which i reused from a health aid kombucha bottle). I will post how to make these cleaners SOON.

Use reusable straws:

Say no to plastic straws! I use my metal straws all the time and I always try to have one on me at all times (i’m not perfect sometimes I forget). We have all seen that video of the turtle with the straw in his nose, it makes me so sad because thats real life and it happens ALL THE TIME. It’s such a simple change we could all make.

Reusable water bottle:

I never use plastic water bottles anymore, I have a water filter I use and it refill my half gallon bottle when I need! 1,500 plastic water bottles are used every SECOND in the US. WHAT, how wild is that! Sure, we can recycle but the sad truth is a lot of them don’t make it to recycling. The best thing we can do is not use them at all!

These are just some simple steps I have taken to reduce my waste at home, I hope this opens some eyes and you guys take some steps as well to reduce your waste and plastic usage. LOVE YOUR PLANET.