30 Sustainable Switches for your Home
Last month across my social channels on Instagram and Facebook, I shared 30 sustainable swaps we’ve made in our home to draw attention to Plastic-Free July. Since the beginning of lockdown, my family and I have been exploring the ways in which we can become a more sustainable, eco-friendly household. We’re working hard to becoming zero waste most of the time.
I want to stress one point, I you are also embarking on this journey, it’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed. There is a great deal of information out there, as well as numerous products on the market all trying to grab our ‘eco-attention’. It’s my intention that with this post, you may be able to gain some tips and advice on the products and changes that are working for us as family, so you don’t have to spend the hours researching like we did in the beginning and continue to do.
Becoming a more sustainable household is hard work. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do it. Even if you’re able to incorporate just one of these swaps below, you’re making progress. Start somewhere. Anywhere. But just start.
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
Here are 30 sustainable swaps we’ve made since March 2019:
Here is the full switch list, with links to our favourite products and sustainable brands (none of these brands are sponsored, I’m simply sharing what works for us):
1. Reusable Coffee Cup - This was my starting point. I take my KeepCup everywhere I go so I don’t need to use a disposable cup.
FACT: Beware having a takeaway drink in a cup that says ‘compostable’ on it. Unless it’s treated in an industrial facility, it will just exist as landfill.
2. Reusable Water Bottle - I’m proud to say that I haven’t bought a plastic water bottle in over 3 years now. I love my Chilly’s water bottle.
3. Reusable 'Unpaper' Towels - We wash our bath towels. Why shouldn’t we do the same for our kitchen towels?… We invested in a beautiful selection from Vera-Bee to replace our kitchen roll, which often comes in plastic packaging. You simply wash them with your clothing and they’re ready to use again.
4. Silicone Bags for Food Storage - For storing food in the fridge, freezer and for outings. Ours are from Everything’s Peachy.
WASHING TIP: Turn them inside out to clean them. It may sound simple, but it took us ages to work that one out!
5. Shampoo and Conditioner Bars - I made the switch to shampoo and conditioner bars from Ethique in November last year. They can get messy in the shower so I’d recommend investing in a container to store them. Our container is 100% biodegradable and also from Ethique.
6. Milk Delivery Service - We use Milk & More and it’s so lovely to bring back the milkman! We receive a milk delivery three times a week (oat milk and whole milk). Their reusable glass bottles replace the vast amount of plastic milk bottles we used to buy as a family.
7. Eco-friendly Razor with Recyclable Blades - As a society, we have appreciated the ‘convenience’ of disposable plastic razors since 1974 when they were first introduced. However, they are not, and have never been, recyclable or biodegradable. My eco-friendly razor is from Bambaw.
8. Bamboo Toothbrush & Eco-Friendly Dental Floss - This was one of the first switches we made as a family. Our bamboo toothbrushes are from The Humble Co. It’s lovely to see they have a child’s version too. We also use an eco friendly dental floss from Bambaw. Their floss is silk and compostable, and comes in a resuable stainless steel container.
9. Sustainable Food Delivery Service - We have joyfully used Riverford for nearly a year now. We buy all of our fruit and vegetables from them. All of their packaging is home compostable or can be recycled.
10. Plastic Free Cleaning Products - Examples include a coconut dish scrubber, biodegradable dish brush with natural bristle replaceable head, wooden pot brush with plant-based bristles, home compostable sponge cloths and a dish washing soap bar. We tried very hard to get on board with the dish soap but in the end, it didn’t work out for us. We’re currently seeking out a good eco-friendly washing up liquid so if you have any recommendations, please let me know in the comments.
11. Natural Deoderant Crystal - I was nervous about this switch for obvious reasons. But so far, our deoderant from Salt of the Earth has worked out very well.
TIP: Try not to drop it on to a hard surface because it will break!
12. Loose Leaf Tea - Why should you make this switch? Tea bags can contain plastic. Several tea bag brands use polypropylene, a sealing plastic, to keep their tea bags from falling apart. This plastic is not recyclable or biodegradable. So, even when you put all your used tea bags in the food waste bin or compost heap, it can lead to plastic pollution, as not all of it will be broken down. I buy my loose leaf tea from H. R. Higgins in London.
13. Reusable Sanitary Towels and Organic Cotton Tampon Subscription with Reusable Applicator - For some reason, I found this switch quite difficult. I was readjusting years of buying disposable sanitary towels from a trusted brand. But I’m thoroughly glad I’ve made the switch and now I shudder at the thought of many plastic towels I sent to landfill. There are many good brands offering sustainable female hygiene products but I decided to invest in products from Dame.
14. Plastic Free Toilet Rolls - We use Who Gives A Crap (not a fan of the name but love their product!). I know some of you may prefer to invest in brands where they send the rolls to you ‘naked’ (without each roll being wrapped in recyclable paper).
15. Plastic Free Lunching - I use my Boc’n’Roll reusable wrap (no need for cling film or tin foil anymore) and my Stashers bag for veggies and fruit. And my Chilly’s bottle has made another appearance!
16. Ramie Cloth - We have replaced our plastic shower pouf with a ramie cloth from VeraBee. Ramie is a flowering plant native to Eastern Asia. It is a plant-based fiber with low environmental impact. For more information on other sustainable fabrics, check out this Fiber Eco-Review.
17. Beeswax Wrap - Beeswax wrap is a resuable and sustainable alternative to plastic wrap and single-use plastic. I use it instead of cling film. Its main use is food preservation.
18. Cleaning Bottle for Life and Refills - We invested in an Ocean Saver Bottle for Life and cleaning refills with recyclable packaging, with an EcoDrop packet which dissolves in water.
19. No Plastic Bags in Pedal Bins - For our small pedal bins in our bathrooms, we no longer use plastic bags. Once it’s full, we decant the contents in our main bin before giving it a good wash. This switch doesn’t cost a penny, it actually saves you money on small pedal bin liners!
20. Bar Soap - We use bar soap in our bathrooms and kitchen. This is such an easy switch to make. Unless you are a fan of investing in a plastic or glass soap bottle for life and you utilise a refill station.
21. Reusable Stainless Steel Capsule for Coffee - We own a Nespresso machine, but we were shocked to discover that if the single-serve coffee capsules are not recycled properly (using the Nespresso recycling service) they can end up in landfill. Billions of coffee capsules end up in landfill every year. The time a single aluminum coffee capsule takes to completely break down in landfill is 150-500 years.
Other than making your own coffee on the stove, if you own a coffee machine, the best switch is to invest in a reusable capsule. They work on many coffee machines, not just Nespresso.
22. Flannels for Makeup Removal - This switch is easy to make. No more face pads, no more plastic packaging, and no more guilt that you’re adding to unnecessary waste. If flannels aren’t your thing, you can invest in reusable bamboo makeup pads from Bambaw.
23. Reusable Silicone Straws - We invested in silicone straws from Hip with Purpose that open up so they can be washed easily.
TIP: Reseal them when they’re completely dry.
24. Silicone Lids for Food Preservation - Instead of using rolls of plastic single-use cling film, we use resusable silicone lids.
25. Recycled Colouring Pens - Our first sustainable switch for stationery - Recycled colouring pens from Remarkable.
26. Reusable Napkins - We intend to use these napkins for a very long time so we had to be sure they sparked enough joy for continued use. Ours are from Anthropologie. Goodbye to single use serviettes!
27. Reusable Shopping Bag - I rarely see single use shopping bags being used in my local area, which is great. Investing in a cloth shopping bag, which can be used again and again, is one of the simplest switches you can make.
28. Plastic Free Games - There’s not much point re-investing in a sustainable option for a game if you already have the plastic original. However, if you’re building up a bank of games for the first time like us, it’s wise to seek out plastic free alternatives or eco-friendly options first. When we wanted to invest in a Snakes and Ladders game, we found this great sustainable version from Deuz.
29. Recycle your 'non-recyclable' plastic waste with a Terracycle Zero-Waste Box - What goes into the Terracycle Zero-Waste Box? All of the plastic waste that cannot be recycled by your local council or your supermarket.
This is a big investment for what appears to be a cardboard box. But there are great benefits that come with it. The greatest benefit we’ve found is how it has changed our shopping habits. We have reduced our plastic waste dramatically because of this box! We don’t want to fill up the box, because the box itself is so expensive! So instead, we seek out plastic free alternatives in our shopping as much as we can.
30. Change your Eating Habits - In my opinion, this is one of the most challenging, yet most impactful change you can make. Whether you decide to eat less meat, become vegetarian or become fully vegan - this change will have a dramatic impact on your success in becoming a more sustainable household.
You can choose one of the above, or let them naturally lead into each other, which is what happened in our family. We started to change our eating habits by having ‘meat free’ days a few years ago. These days featured more and more in our week as time went on. After being inspired by a few documentaries and conducting our own research, we have decided to stop eating meat altogether. We now have vegan days too.
Have you made any of the switches mentioned above? I’d love to hear about your own experience of creating a more sustainable home in the comments.