As you may have read in thisarticle, I have found several ways to avoid using plastic in my life. In this article, I want to share with you 10 things I do to reduce the use of plastic at home.
For the past year, I’ve been making a great effort to live a less toxic life. What does this mean for you?
For me it means more creation, more beautiful people around me, more love for nature, less negativity, less toxins in food, less plastic.
In addition to recycling, we need to embrace some new habits in relation to the materials we use at home and the operation of the house.
10 simple ways to reduce the use of plastic at home :
1. Dish sponge :
Conventional dish sponges are plain plastic ugliness. I don’t even want to think about how long it takes for it to decompose from the moment we throw it in the trash. During our trip to Europe in December, in one of the houses we stayed in, we encountered a perfect brush with a wooden handle when it was time to wash the dishes.. I am sure that this type of brushes were used by our grandmothers for their utensils in the past. I searched for it and found it! And apart from the fact that it’s a 100% eco-friendly product made of wood and natural hair, it’s also very convenient. Due to its the handle, my hands didn’t come in direct contact with the soap or any disgusting food remains that I needed to wash (!). This is non sponsored guys, I mean it.
2. Sponge cloth :
Okay, it’s well known that wettex-type sponge cloths are just poor quality plastic. At home, we use microfiber cleaning cloths that after a few days of use can be washed normally in the washing machine and reused.
3. Plastic film :
In the previous article on reducing the use of plastic in our day to day lives, I mentioned that I had not yet managed to completely eliminate pastic film from the house. But I did it! We haven’t bought plastic wrap for a long time and we have found other smart and sustainable solutions. For example, if we wish to put a plate of food in the refrigerator, we cover it with a special waxed cotton cloth. If the waxed cotton cloth is being used for something else, we cover the plate with another dish. For small fruits and vegetables, we use special reusable silicone cases.
4. Hand soap in the bathroom :
Until recently, we had been using liquid hand soap. We would buy it in plastic packaging and transfer it in our glass dispenser. But let’s think. Every time our dispenser needs to be filled, we have to buy a plastic bottle, transfer the liquid soap to our container and throw away the plastic bottle. Bad news for our lovely dispenser that now has to find another use at home, but now we use bar soaps that come in paper packaging! Plus, the soap is made with avocado oil, which I mean…come on!
5. Household detergents :
Let’s start with the following : We can make our own house cleaners with ingredients that we already have at our disposal such as lemon, vinegar or soda. They will be much cheaper than commercial detergents and much more eco-friendly and body-friendly. But we will buy the vinegar in a plastic bottle, and if we want to make our own mixture, we will put it again in a plastic bottle. Fortunately, there are sustainable detergents out there in regards to both their composition and their packaging. We use the detergents of a company whose packaging is made 50% from recycled plastic and 50% from plastics found at sea. Pretty cool.
6. Cotton swabs :
The use of this product has been banned in some countries. At Cotton Bud Projectyou can read all the information about how harmful cotton swabs can be to the environment. We no longer use any at home. I feel that it is better to clean our ears by washing them while we shower and wiping them well with a towel. If you still can’t quit cotton swabs, choose an sustainable version, such as these bamboo and cotton swabs or these reusable cotton swabs.
7. Makeup removal pads :
Makeup remover pads are something we use for 10 seconds and then throw in the trash. And if we remove our makeup every day, imagine how many we consume. In addition, they are sold in awful plastic packaging. I very rarely do my makeup, since I prefer to use the handmade tint I have made for the cheeks and lips. But when I do my makeup and need to remove it or want to do a good facial cleansing at home, I use organic cotton makeup removal pads. They are reusable and washable.
8. Hair brush :
I’ve had my hair brush for several years and I haven’t had to change it. It is a wooden one, with wooden teeth. If you need to buy a new comb or brush for your hair, then opt for a wooden one. Be sure to choose one with wooden teeth, not plastic. DIY tip: You can paint beautiful shapes on your wooden comb to make it more beautiful!
9. Clothespins :
Easy. Wooden clothespins are way cuter, more durable and obviously better for the environment. Plastic ones are ugly, cheap-looking and break after a few uses, resulting in a lot of plastic debris. Take a look at these zero waste clothespins.
10. Lighters :
According to Bic, 6 million plastic lighters are produced every day. Think about how much plastic this is. And when the liquid runs out, what do we do? How can we reuse this plastic object? I don’t smoke and in fact I’m a fanatic anti-smoker, but I like to light candles at home. For candles, or the fireplace, we use trusted, traditional, old-school matches.
Plastics, eat my shorts!
I hope you got some ideas on how we can reduce the use of plastic at home. And if you have more tips, tricks and ideas, I will be happy to hear about your own effort to avoid plastic at home.
See you soon,
