Hey y’all! Starting out with zero waste can be overwhelming. I’m going to show you just my top five, easy, zero waste swaps for your home that you can start out with.
My thoughts on creating less waste in your home
I’m trying to be realistic and knowing I will never be able to go fully zero waste, but I know with just a few swaps I can make a big difference in our home.
With just these five simple zero waste swaps for your home, I’ve seen a HUGE difference in our waste bin every week. It made me overwhelmed seeing so much garbage and waste going out every week, trash bags upon trash bags. We didn’t want to get way in over our heads with going all out with every zero waste swap at once, the burnout would be inevitable!
So, I went slow and easy with my swaps! I started small and I’m still continuing to add on little by little to my list of zero waste products. There could be so many more items I could list, but I will start with these five. Don’t feel like you have to do everything at once.
You don’t have to throw out everything in your home that’s not zero waste all right now. It’s a learned process and a mindful process.
Why choose these products for your home?
Every one has their own reasons for choosing zero waste items for their home, mine is just to create less garbage and become more natural in our day to day life.
When you pick up items you know you can easily incorporate into your life, finding new things to add becomes so much easier! For me, it makes me feel good knowing I can at least make a small difference even with simply just these few EASY swaps.
Not using so many paper towels, or coffee pods really makes a difference in my cleaning process. I don’t have extra things I don’t need!
When I swap something for something reusable, it opens up more space in my kitchen and home. Less to clean up and less to throw away! I want to encourage you in going zero waste! It’s so easy to start, and so fun once you get started.
I keep it realistic in knowing there will be some things I just truly need to use once and throw it away.
Easy Zero Waste Swap #1 – Reusable Coffee Pods
Reusable Coffee Pods have been my favorite change in the past few years. Since I found them I haven’t stopped using them! As much of a coffee addict as I am, coffee pods are expensive and wasteful. Instead of constantly buying the coffee I love in pod form, I just buy a whole bag and refill it for my Keurig.
If you drink one coffee per day, you’ve saved 365 disposable pods from ending up in our oceans and landfills.
How long do they last? I bought these about 3 years ago and I drink coffee almost daily. Sometimes twice daily. The amount of uses you can get of of them are usually infinite. Worst case scenario, you get 100 uses out of it.
Easy Zero Waste Swap #2 – Reusable Cloth Paper Towels
Y’all, these have saved me so much space, reduced my waste by a lot, AND saved me money! I know what you’re saying, “Why don’t I just use regular towels and rags?” Yes! You can absolutely use old rags and towels and it will work the same.
I am a visual person, so if I see these sitting out all pretty on my counter… I’m more inclined to use them. I got these from Marshalls for only $15, they’re flannel towels that come on a wooden holder, so cute and simple.
We still keep regular paper towels nearby because there’s just some mess that requires a single use paper towel. Gotta be realistic sometimes!
Easy Zero Waste Swap #3 – Wooden Scrub Brush
Wooden handle scrub brush! These little fellas get off all the grime so easily. Sponges are great and all (haha jk), but these last SO much longer.
How long do they last? You will only have to replace them every two or three months is so nice. With regular sponges you have to replace them every two weeks.
These save a ton of money in the long run and you know you’re getting your moneys worth for these. The wood scrub brushes are biodegradable but synthetic sponges can take hundreds of years, and may never fully decompose at all.
Using this has made it so much easier to reduce my waste. It has made me feel so much better knowing this is not going into landfill, but, back into our earth as things should be.
Easy Zero Waste Swap #4 – Reusable Wool Dryer Balls
Dryer balls are so much better than dryer sheets, cost efficient, natural, and all around a good thing. I don’t use dryer sheets, they’re so bad for you and the earth. This is one great zero waste swap to start with!
Dryer sheets contain chemicals that disrupt hormones, asthma and skin irritations. Over time, they coat your towels into non-absorbent and ineffective rags. They don’t magically turn your clothes soft, it’s the chemicals in them. Sure the first few times you use them, your clothes feel soft.. but the more you use them the more of a chemical coating they build up.
Wool dryer balls can sometimes reduce drying times by almost 25%. The movement of the dryer balls against the fabrics can help with static, wrinkling and they also make your clothes soft. Wool dryer balls don’t have any chemicals and they are biodegradable.
How long do they last? If you do your laundry 2 times a week, they last for up to 1,000 washes, which works out to almost 10 years. So much better than a chemical filled, single use, dryer sheet!
Easy Zero Waste Swap #5 – Glass Food Containers
We swapped from plastic to glass and it has been the best thing ever. While the good thing about plastic, it’s shatterproof. No matter how clumsy I am, I will take my chance over that good thing and get glass containers.
Plastic containers contains BPA that’s so hazardous to our health. The chemicals can leak into our food and cause microplastics to float into our systems. BPA can affect a child’s behavior such as hyperactivity, behavioral development, and brain growth.
It also has possible health effects on the brain and prostate gland of babies, infants and children.
Why glass? There are no chemicals, it’s infinitely recyclable, reusable and refillable! Safe for microwaving and dishwashing. Yes, it may be a little more expensive up front. By the time you pay for plastic containers over and over again, you’ll have paid more for those then you would have a set of glass containers that last as long as you want.
What zero waste swap are you going to start with first?
I hope this simple list of 5 zero waste swaps has encouraged you to start your journey to reducing less waste. Just remember, it all does not have to be done at once! It’s a slow process… Rome was not built in a day. Don’t get overwhelmed and just know that the smallest swaps make a big difference. We all start somewhere.
Let me know what zero waste product you’re going to incorporate into your home or what you have already started on!
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Thank you for these great and easy swaps! I recently swapped all the plastic containers, bowls, and whatnot. Still, a way to go but you got to start somewhere right?
Thank you for the kind words and letting me know how you’re swapping things. As long as you start somewhere you’re doing great! Progress over perfection!