Plastic-Free Household Options

Every piece of plastic ever made still exists - yikes. While this is a shocking realization, there are many little things we can all do to lessen our impact on the planet by using less plastic. We can’t do it all, but by making simple choices for products in our homes, we can use less plastic, which in turn reduces our waste and our impact on the environment.

Never feel like you have to live this perfect waste-free lifestyle to make a difference. Know that conscious choices made over time by people across the globe make waves of change. Now here are some easy switches to make to reduce the amount of plastic you use in your home.

Bars of Soap

A lot of the ways we can do better for the planet are simply by living the way our grandparents’ lived, like using bars of soap. When we pay for liquid shampoo or body wash, 80% of that liquid is water, so we might as well buy condensed soap and add the water ourselves.

For my body, my favorite bar of soap to use is Dr. Bronner’s Lavender scent.

Now I know shampoo bars can scare people and maybe they’re not for everybody, but I’ve been using them for about 2 years and love them. This is something my parents even switched to because they ended up loving the simplicity of it. Two of my favorite brands I have tried and loved thus far are Spring and Vine and Ethique.

Compostable Dish Brushes

Dish brushes made of bamboo are an easy way to use less plastic in your house. The dish brush is used for several months like a plastic one, but instead of going to the landfill at the end of its life, it can be thrown into the compost to return to the soil.

Natural Cleaning Supplies

This is a simple plastic-free switch that also gets rid of harmful chemicals in your home. If you’re into a good DIY, this website is great for natural cleaning recipes. If you’d rather buy cleaning products instead of making them, Blue Land makes cleaning so simple and it will save you money over time. An extra tip is to use old spray bottles you already have instead of buying new ones!

Silicone bags & Beeswax wrap for food storage

The plastic containers and baggies used to store food are not only polluting our oceans and landfills, but they’re also bad for our health. Ziplock bags are definitely convenient, and now this product has been reinvented. Sustainable companies have produced reusable, silicone bags that will save you money over time and will eliminate plastic storage bags from entering the landfill.

Saran Wrap is also something to avoid in the kitchen. Beeswax wrap easily eliminates the need for this. It’s inexpensive and you simply use the heat from your hands to mold the wrap on things like half of a used fruit, a bowl for leftovers, etc.

Bedding

The sleeping benefits of weighted blankets are amazing, but so many of these blankets contain about 20 pounds of plastic on average. I love the idea of having a blanket that is scientifically proven to reduce stress, but I’ve always hated that weighted blankets have plastic fillers that are adding to the plastic pollution problem.

That’s why I was so happy when I found Bearaby’s Napper - one of the first sustainable weighted blankets that are hand-made and completely plastic-free. The blanket is naturally weighted from layers of organic cotton that are knitted together. I got the Tree Napper, which is made of plant-based Tencel fabric, that is fully biodegradable.

And as we all know, most packages we receive in the mail are filled to the brim with plastic. When I received my Bearaby blanket in the mail, I was so surprised that the blanket comes packaged plastic-free and is shipped in a beautiful reusable cotton bag - which I now use for my dirty laundry while I’m traveling.

Bamboo Toothbrushes

Every plastic toothbrush we have ever used still exists - which is a scary realization. Bamboo toothbrushes work just as well, but when you get done using one, you can simply remove the plastic bristles for recycling and compost the bamboo handle. It’s such a simple way to have less of an impact on the planet.

Dropps Laundry Detergent

I like this option for the house because it’s not expensive, it’s convenient, and eliminates toxic chemicals and plastic in your laundry routine. It comes in little laundry pods that are packaged in a cardboard box. It’s subscription-based and has free, carbon-neutral shipping.