Eco-friendly Swaps To Make Around The House!
Tuesday, October 20, 2020AD - This post is sponsored but all opinions are my own
I am a massive advocate for eco-friendly living. We all should do more to look after our planet and lead a more sustainable lifestyle. There are eco-friendly swaps you can make throughout the whole house, which don't take a lot to implement. I'm not saying you need to forage for your food and ditch all of your favourite brands. But beginning to make a change is the way forward. Here is a long list of eco-friendly things you can change in your household this week! From the kitchen to the bathroom, there is no excuse to not change something!
Replace Your Windows
I've always wanted a beautiful garden, and orangeries are sweet little extensions that you can sit in and enjoy your day off. As the winter approaches, make sure you invest in double glazed windows. Every room of your house needs them, even your conservatory. Conservatories can typically be cold, but double glazed windows prevent this from happening, meaning you don't have to turn on the heating!
You may be wondering how changing your windows reduce carbon emissions. Not only do they keep in the heat better, stopping you from switching on the heating, but double glazed windows also help the ventilation in your help. They are perfect for cutting down on fans and air-conditioning units. You can find out more about how double-glazed windows are good for the environment here! Double-glazing windows are the way forward and would be beneficial for any living area. It keeps just the right temperature for all the seasons so you can enjoy your family room comfortably.
Change Your Eating Habits
Something we all have in common is that we need to eat food to survive. Did you know food has a major impact on the environment, from the water it takes to grow crops and feed livestock to the fuel it burns to import food? It’s important to know where your food has come from, whether pesticides have been used and how eco-friendly the business is. For example, you could have organic. Locally sourced bell peppers, but most of them will come in plastic packaging, which isn’t good for the planet. Here are some quick tips to make your eating habits a little more eco-friendly:
- Buy products in bulk where possible
- Opt for “naked” produce or bring your own reusable jars/bags
- Cut down on your meat consumption - maybe try meat-free Monday
- Stop wasting food – find new and inventive ways of using scraps
- Buy from local businesses
- If you'd like more education about how food effects the planet, watch some of these documentaries!
More Swaps For The Kitchen
- Swap your plastic water bottle to a reusable bottle
- Stop using plastic cutlery & switch to steel or bamboo alternatives
- Take a reusable container to a take-away instead of using a polystyrene container
- Have metal straws instead of plastic
- Use glass containers to store leftovers, avoiding cling film
- Purchase food in bulk to reduce packaging
- Buy "naked" food where you fill up your own containers
- Use silicon lids or bee wraps instead of cling film
- Try out silicon baking mats instead of parchment paper
- Make your own cleaning products
- Use bamboo paper towels & toilet paper
- Have reusable tissues/handkerchiefs to hand
- Try reusable paper towels
- Reduce your food waste (buy less, meal prep, freeze food etc.)
- Pack your lunch for work instead of buying meal deals and fruit pots
- Learn to love recycling
- Purchase food at local farmers markets to reduce your food miles
Sustainable Oral Care
As we move around the house, the bathroom is one of the worst culprits for harming the environment. Not only do we use harsh chemicals which can damage the environment, but even our toothbrushes are causing problems. Swap to a bamboo toothbrush and use eco-friendly toothpaste. I reviewed Georganics’ oral care products to show you that having a sustainable brushing routine is possible. You can also change your harsh chemical cleaning products for more natural ones, or even have a go at making your own! Make sure you aren’t flushing wet wipes and avoiding them where possible. As for sanitary items, there are lots of eco-friendly alternatives such as a moon cup and sustainable cotton pads. If you’re taking a bath or shower, use cubed shampoo rather than liquid as it cuts out the plastic packaging. Did you not catch all of that? Here’s a little checklist for you!
More Eco-friendly Bathroom Changes
- Change your toothbrush to a bamboo alternative
- Opt for reusable or biodegradable sanitary items
- Use zero-waste make-up & beauty products
- Use shampoo & conditioner bars
- Stop using Q-tips and replace them with the "last swab"
- Try bamboo, washable makeup remover pads
- Try a metal razor instead of disposable
- Cut open your bottles to get more out of it
- Only buy a product if you've used the old one
- Pay attention to ingredients on products; Cruelty-free and organic DOESN'T mean sustainable
- Use tablet mouthwash rather than a bottle with a plastic cap
- Stop using make-up or nappy wipes unless they're biodegradable
- Make sure your products have recyclable packaging
- Cut out plastic make-up and beauty containers for glass or cardboard alternatives
- Try making your own products, so you know where the ingredients come from
- Don't leave the tap running as you do your teeth
- Donate unwanted beauty products before you throw them away
- Cut down on your laundry machine and dishwasher uses
- Use eco-friendly laundry products
- Let your clothing airdry instead of tumble drying it
- Use a bamboo toothbrush with eco-friendly toothpaste
- Swap plastic harp floss for sustainable, plastic-free alternatives
- Cut out harsh chemical products and use eco-friendly or homemade alternatives
- Ditch the wet wipes
- Try cubes shampoo rather than a shampoo that comes in a plastic bottle
- Use plastic-free roll-on deodorant instead of a spray
Change Your Fashion Habits
As we head upstairs to our eco-friendly house, we dive into the heaps of clothing we have on the back of our desk chair. Clothing is something that everyone has in common. It is also the second most polluting industry in the world. If you want to make your wardrobe more sustainable, there are a few things you can do:
- Source sustainable clothing
- Buy/sell second-hand clothing
- Upcycle old clothing
I have done lots of blog posts about sustainable fashion. We must start cutting out fast fashion. It's bad for the planet as well as the people within it. Changing the brands that you shop with is the easiest way to break your bad shopping habits. If you want to know how to start a sustainable wardrobe, I have a whole blog post about it!
Change Your Daily Habits
- Use reusable shopping bags on your next trip
- Cut out non-recyclable crisp packets and chocolate wrappers
- Don't purchase clothes unless you really need them
- Use LED lightbulbs & turn off the lights more
- Get reusable tea bags or try loose leaf tea
- Don't use the heating & aircon unless you really need it
- Use a kindle for reading instead of having 000's of books
- Learn to love the garden and plant some flowers!
- Try a vegan diet or be considerate of where your food comes from
- Repair damaged items
- Eat less meat & processed foods
- Swap your products to biodegradable (coffee pods, bin bags etc.)
- Purchase sustainable clothing
- Cut out fast fashion from your wardrobe
- Turn off lights and plugs when they aren't in use
- Have little plants around your house
- Only burn eco-friendly candles, making sure they don't have chemicals in
- Try to repair or reuse clothing before throwing it into landfill
Use Sustainable Stationary
The last, possibly most currently relevant room in the house is the home office. While you may not have a dedicated room, most of us have a dedicated work-space for our homeworking ventures. There are a few things you can do to make your home office eco-friendlier, most of which are changes you can make right now. Cutting out Sellotape and switching to brown paper tape is one of the easiest swaps to make. Brown paper tape looks rustic and cute, and you can even buy the patterned tape. It's perfect for wrapping Christmas presents too!
Swaps To Make Around The Office
- Use brown paper tape instead of Sellotape
- Try refillable ink pens instead on plastic ones
- Use eco-friendly packaging when shipping items
- Cycle to work or use public transport
- Only make and sell responsibly sourced products
- Cut out on plastic packaging for your products
- Recycle as much as you can
- Implement a rooftop garden for your office
- Go paperless & do more things online
- Reduce your heating or air conditioning consumption
- Don't use coffee pods in your work's coffee machine
- Remove the vending machine to cut down on crisp and chocolate wrappers
- Offer china plates, mugs and cutlery. You can also install a sink area for washing up - don't use plastic or disposable alternatives!
- Don't have a fan at your desk
Recycling packages and paperwork as well as swapping to online filing can save a tonne of trees. My office uses a lot of paper, and it makes me cringe when things are printed out unnecessarily. Think about your bad office habits, and try to cut it out where you can. If you need your daily fix of coffee, don't use coffee pods. Unless they are compostable, coffee pods will be sent to the landfill. These pods end up as microparticles which damage our soil and get into the food chain. Using coffee beans or even cutting out coffee is better for the planet! You also should wrap up when it's cold, rather than putting on the heating.
There are so many changes that you can make in every room of the house. Whichever room you're in, make sure you've got double-glazed windows. We all must do our part to look after the planet and strive for a more sustainable future. Whether you just watch a documentary or are protesting, your actions can influence change, no matter how small they are. Try to make one change this week. Even if you're doing something new each week, you're cutting out 52 bad things and swapping them for something better. Eco-friendly swaps don't have to be big, you just need to pick a few and stick to them. What changes will you be making? Can you add any more to the list? Let me know what things I've missed out in the comments!
7 comments
Love these tips! Also, very happy to see that I'm already doing a lot of these :) Especially in terms of kitchen and bedroom/wardrobe! I just left the grocery store shocked by the size of my food bill, but then realized that I don't need to shop for food for couple weeks. Shopping smart is both sustainable and economical ;) My bathroom is still waiting for the eco-swaps, but hopefully soon.
ReplyDeleteTeresa Maria | Outlandish Blog
Great sustainable living tips in here! I try to shop smart so that I don't have to throw anything away. I also take good care of my clothes so they last longer and shop my closet for new looks. Few years back we isolated the house walls with this new technology and it's saving a lot of heating costs.
ReplyDeleteSo many great, easy swaps in this post! It just shows you how easy and quick it can be to make a real difference!
ReplyDeleteRosie
loverosiee.co.uk
This is such a great post. I didn’t even know of some of these things to make my living for eco-friendly except for purchasing naked fruits and veggies and buying in bulk. I will be implementing some of these in my home. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this post, there are so many ways to be sustainable so there's no excuse for anyone to change one thing or two in their house to become more sustainable! x
ReplyDeleteLucy | www.lucymary.co.uk
ohh this was so helpful!! never thought of this all, thank you !! <3
ReplyDeleteLooove this!!! Thanks for all the great suggestions!!
ReplyDelete