What's in the bag? Plastic-Free, Low-Waste Household Supplies
I recently asked whether you wanted to see my plastic-free daily carry. And despite the fact that my bag is HUGE, there’s really not much in it.
Bullet journal/calendar
Wallet
Drives
Emergency kit with headphones, power cord, power stick, ibuprofen, lip stuff, pens, etc.
Deodorant
A lot of that stuff is NOT free of plastic because it still works. The deodorant isn’t empty so I’m going to use it up, do my best to recycle what of the packaging I can (not hopeful there) and replace with a different type that has less packaging. Same for lip stuff.
But here’s the good stuff:
Bamboo utensils (lost the spoon in Joshua Tree during an avocado snack, and I feel REALLY bad about it #leavenotrace)
handkerchief or bandana that serves as napkin, tissue, and whatever else you need
Our house has one counter that is almost entirely dedicated to water bottles, and we rarely leave the house without one. We love the affordability of the Nalgenes, but the insulated metal ones (i.e. Hydroflask, Yeti, etc.) are excellent for hot and cold beverages, obviously.
Since that was a pretty brief tour, here are some other things around our house that we’ve swapped out from conventional single-use products.
(Linked where I can find them online. No, this is not sponsored. Yes, some of them are via Amazon. Yes, there are other places you can find them. Baby steps.)
Dish sponge, bath loofa = actual loofa
Beeswax wrap instead of cling wrap or baggies (also available at Trader Joe’s)
My protein shaker bottles are large mason jars
White shop rags instead of paper towels (they get washed and reused)
Recycled toilet paper from Who Gives A Crap?
Just swapped out the laundry detergent for a refillable glass bottle - thanks to our local packaging free store, The GoodFill
My shampoo bar (similar sold at The GoodFill, but I got mine online)
a refilled hand soap bottle (also courtesy of The GoodFill, who will refill your plain ol’ plastic bottle you bought just to keep you from throwing things away! Don’t buy if you can repurpose!)
One of the barriers to more people participating is cost. If you were to swap the whole shebang out at once, you could easily spend hundreds of dollars. You would also send a lot of half-full bottles to the landfill. By replacing items piecemeal (and finding ways to reuse and refill instead of trashing things) you can reduce that cost over the longterm. You’re voting with your dollars!
Little by little, our house is becoming both more minimal and less plasticy. Again, the important part of this whole process is to consume less. The whole recycling and not littering schtick deflects the responsibility from the companies who are selling you all this stuff onto us, the consumer, to deal with the trash they are making. Solution: buy less trash.
Here are some things that I’m looking forward to replacing once we’ve used up what we’ve got:
Toothpaste (David’s comes in a recyclable metal tube, Georganics comes in a glass jar)
Toothbrush (probably bamboo)
Remaining household cleaners
Dish detergent
There are a bunch of things, particularly in the bathroom, where the contents of my preferred conventional brand are so specific ingredients-wise that I worry about finding a refillable alternative that my body likes. For instance, moisturizers and serums and all that business. While I have gotten myself pretty minimal in skincare (and zero makeup 98% of the time - mascara by w3llpeople and that’s it) there is still a drawer with some potions that serve me well. But a) don’t have very many of those things and b) they last me forever and c) what I do purchase has pretty minimal packaging so I feel like I am doing the best I can. (Same goes for medicines and supplements! There isn’t really a way to have a bulk section for ibuprofen and Claritin at Kroger!)
All in all, I’m pretty proud of how far I have come.
Mistakes? Tons.
Lots to learn? Oh yes.
But if we each just do the best we can ** AND HOLD COMPANIES SELLING US THIS SHIT ACCOUNTABLE ** we’re doing ok.
