Natural Living: The First 10 Sustainable Swaps I Made

If you’ve been following my Plastic-Free July posts on Instagram, or read my last post, you may know I’ve been on a sustainable journey at a semi-glacial pace.

 

It would have been great to decide to become sustainable, and wake up the next day in a linen pj set with organic cotton sheets on a USA-made mattress.

 

But…

 

That obviously didn’t happen. And it hasn’t happened yet. 

 

Same mattress. Same sheets. Poshmark’d pjs.

 

But, I’ve still been making progress over time and hopefully will continue to for all the years to come. Today I decided to round up the first 10 sustainable swaps I made when coming over to this new natural living lifestyle. 

 

(Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I will make a commission if you click through my links and make a purchase!)

 

 

The First 10 Sustainable Swaps I Made

 

 

 

 

Swap One:

Cotton Rounds

 

 

My first-ever sustainable swap was cotton rounds. 

 

I have a cotton set by EcoRoots and a bamboo set that is no longer being sold (My Eco Place).

 

As others who have started their sustainability journey far before me have said, it was a good idea to have “enough” facial rounds (or any reusable swap, really) to easily last the week without adding additional burden (meaning extra laundry loads). 

 

I’ve been using these for over two years! (I purchased them when I was in the middle of my non-tox pursuit) and so they rolled right over into the sustainability movement when I finally came around to it. Side note: for travel, I bring along a tiny delicates bag and put the dirty ones in it. Easy!

The list of pros have far outweighed the cons, too:

 

The Pros:

 

1. no more synthetic, cheap, bleached fibers scratching my face
2. eliminate plastic tubing waste
3. an end to filling my trashcan up with 14 rounds a week (or more)
4. gentler contact on my face
5. improved skin health and surface
6. ALOT of money saved

 

 

The Cons:

 

1. they stain
2. as they are thicker, I sometimes need a bit more product
3. when dried in my dryer after washing, they crinkle

 

The list of pros have far outweighed the cons. I’ve been using these for over two years! (I purchased them when I was in the middle of my non-tox pursuit, and so they rolled right over into the sustainability movement when I finally came around to it. I would absolutely, never go back to disposables. For travel, I bring along a tiny delicates bag and put the dirty ones in it.

 

I will use reusable facial rounds forever!

 

 

 

Swap Two:

 

Microfiber Face Towel

 

 

This was the second swap I made.

 

I was creating a huge amount of weekly waste with pre-soaped makeup removing towelettes. Not only were they getting bad ratings on my Think Dirty app (scores the toxicity of household items), but they were synthetic towelettes wrapped in plastic. Pretty much as single use as you can get!

 

I purchased a pack of 3 microfiber “just add water” towelettes from Amazon and tried them out. WORKED LIKE A CHARM, even for removing mascara.

 

Currently, I like to use a natural makeup remover blend for eye makeup and a handmade soap for washing my face– they pair excellently with these microfiber towels!

 

I can’t even remember the last time I purchased disposable towelettes but I CAN remember that I haven’t even been tempted to purchase them ONCE since I made the swap.

 

 

 

 

 

Swap Three:

 

Reusable Coffee Filter

 

This was probably one of the simplest and most convenient swaps to make.

 

A while back, I had moved away from purchasing white coffee filters (why do we need them bleached?) and was using brown disposable coffee filters. Until, that is, I realized how silly that was because my coffee filter came with a reusable mesh cone shaped filter. Duh. A free swap that saved me money and saved the resources going into disposable coffee filters.

 

Side note: I still use my 3-year-old electric cone-shaped Oster coffee maker. (It would be amazing to have a beautiful glass French press but I’m not investing in one until my Oster dies). My filter is the one that came with my Oster, so it’s more like this actually.

 

 

 

Swap 4:

 

Laundry Detergents

 

 

As someone with sensitive skin and babies (and on a non-tox journey anyways) switching laundry detergent and softeners just made sense. I purchased soap nuts and started using white vinegar instead of bottle softener (I know many warn that this hurts machines but mine has handled it fine thus far). 

 

If you’ve never heard of soap nuts before, they are simply a nut that releases saponin (natural soap) when mixed with water. They kill germs without releasing any harmful agents that will embed in your clothes and make contact with your skin. Just toss a couple (in a tiny muslin bag) into your machine and wash!

 

The nuts last 4-6 washes each, so a bag can stretch for a really long time. My original bag is over a year old and going strong. Oh, and the nuts are compostable too!

 

The results : my clothes are incredibly soft, not faded (at all) and I only use stain-removing elements when actually needed (instead of scooping a cup of powdered “color safe” toxins *just because*).

 

Note: Being on this journey for a while now, I have also supplemented with baking soda, old-fashioned sun and lemon, and Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds. A variety of laundry products has been my best way to tackle the different stains that come up.  I like all these products, and combinations of them!

 

 

 

Swap 5:

 

Laundry Drying

 

I often forget this was one of my first 10 sustainable swaps because it was so seamless.

 

I had given up “scented” dryer sheets on the babies’ and my clothes long ago. But the dryer balls I was using were plastic, or I was using scent-less sheets (still toxic).

 

I swapped out both for natural wool dryer balls. (Confession: I tried making my own and they turned out OK but mostly awkward and the purchased New Zealand wool ones were waaaaay nicer).

 

 

 

 

Swap 6:

 Silicone Bags

 

As of right now, I don’t have a “diehard fan” brand for them. I’ve used random grocery store brands (do not recommend), and full circle (I recommend). I’ve heard incredible things about Stasher and they are next on my list.

 

The bottom line was, with 3 kids 5 and under, I need snack bags. Not promising anything here, but it feels like when my littles dump the bag… so much less pours out than the flimsy plastic ones.

 

Yes, there is a debate deep in the circles of sustainability that even silicone isn’t a great option. And maybe when I don’t have littles and no longer transport snacks we will graduate away from snack bags. But for right now, I LOVE using them. I can’t remember the last time we bought any plastic bags which feels real good too.

 

 

 

 

Swap 7:

Produce bags

 

This swap is one of my top 5 favorite swaps EVER. I knew it was going to be really hard to drop using grocery bags completely (we buy a LOT of food it feels like and not all our stores are friendly towards bagging yourself). However, a safe place to start was produce bags.

 

I absolutely love these.

 

I LOVE them.

 

Oh gosh.

 

I could do a whole post on them.

 

But for now I’ll just say this, for anyone who thinks it’s still to use your own produce bags and then still use a few grocery bags to tote all your groceries to the car: every time you skip a plastic bag, you skip a plastic bag from being made and thrown away. Each and every plastic bag counts. I love bringing my produce bags and knowing that no matter what happens at check out, I’m guaranteed to use 5-6 less plastic bags purely bc I bagged my own produce.

 

I purchased these from Amazon, and I get all my Eco Bags (I’m a HUGE fan) from Earth Hero.

 

 

Swap 8:

Water Bottle

 

This was oddly a harder habit to kick.  

 

(For the record, Stanley Brand bottles has made the transition a lot easier).

 

I have a sentimental Hydro Flask that I’ve used daily since 2018 and yet I found myself often 2-3 plastic water bottles to refill and stash throughout the month. I purchased a back-up bottle so that I would have two to switch between, and it turns out that was all I needed to kick the habit!

 

It was a little hard for me to get past keeping plastic bottles handy for house guests. I felt “guilty” asking them to drink from the tap. It took a while, but I eventually realized a beautiful, clean glass is way more classy to offer guests than a crinkly, plastic bottle!  They are visiting my home, after all, not a car dealership. Things don’t have to be single-use around here.

 

Not sponsored AT ALL but I do whole-heartedly recommend the Stanley Brand. We purchase through their website (they always have great deals there) but you can find some on Amazon too. We started replacing all our old plastic water bottles with Stanley and wouldn’t buy anything else!! (Seriously that good).

 

 

 

Swap 9:

Silicone Baking Mats

 

They don’t burn.

 

They don’t stain.

 

And, they don’t smell.

 

These are great for baking and for roasting and I’ve even covered casserole pans with them. They don’t fold over the edge of the pan, of course, but they flop just right so that they don’t need to! It’s great.  I haven’t purchased aluminum foil, parchment paper, or wax paper for over a year now.

 

 

 

 

 

Swap 10:

Beeswax Wrap

 

Definitely a top favorite in my list of first 10 sustainable swaps would be beeswax wrap. I was never much of a cling wrap, plastic wrap kind of person. But I RELIED on tinfoil and plastic baggies for all sorts of leftovers.

 

Using beeswax wrap is not only far better for the environment (they are compostable when they age beyond use) but they actually look so beautiful in my fridge, they are fun to use, and they are totally effective.

 

One tip I read that helped me for storage: mark a place in your kitchen to keep your misc reusable products like silicone lids, beeswax wrap, and reusable baggies. I designated a “sustainable drawer” right beside my sink and it helped me replace single use items and consistently enjoy my reusable ones.

 

Also, I purchased mine from Earth Hero, but you can find these in countless colors/shapes on etsy, or better yet, make your own!

 

     ——

 

It’s been a year and a half since I started on this sustainable journey and I’ve made a lot more swaps since then. But these first 10 sustainable swaps were some of my first baby steps towards living sustainably and I still use them all in my everyday life.

 

What were your first sustainable swaps? Have you tried any of these?

 

 

 

If you liked:

 

Natural Living: The First 10 Sustainable Swaps I Made

 

you might also like:

 

Natural Living: How We Started Living Sustainably as a Family of Five