Happy Monday, friends! With the new year here, I’ve been craving all things lifestyle related on my blog so today I want to encourage you guys to look at any single-use products you could consider swapping out. Switching out these items will make an impact both financially and environmentally.
Over the years, I’ve really come to realize how much excess amounts of stuff affect me mentally. When there is too much stuff around me, I feel very overwhelmed and it can even give me anxiety. I’m constantly cleaning, organizing and minimizing as much as I can because once there is less stuff around me, I have more mental clarity.
Lately, I’ve taken that one step further by looking into what single-use items I can swap out. Believe me, I know single-use items are so convenient and cheap but in the long term, there is always a better option we can choose.
I’m not going to get into statistics in this post but If you want to learn more information, please do your own research and don’t take only my word for it. This goes for anything and everything in life.
I’ll be the first to tell you, you really don’t realize how wasteful these are until you stop using them. Try switching over to microfiber cloths since they are more convenient and efficient in the end. By not constantly buying paper towels, my boyfriend and I estimated that we are saving $80 per year!
I want to add that we do still buy them to have some on hand for when we are eating but we do not use them for any cleaning.
Straws are something that you could easily overlook but unfortunately, they are found all in our oceans and landfills. This is where reusable straws and even cups come in handy! They even make retractable straws that fit into a little holder that you could easily carry in your bag. I still have to switch over to using my own cup when I am out.
How annoying is it when your kitchen is covered in groceries bags?! One easy way to eliminate this issue is by bringing your own grocery bags! You can even use them when you need to return something. Companies are even offering incentives if you bring your own bag!
Honestly, if you are buying cases of water every week, this is a crazy amount of plastic to be wasting. Try buying a filtered water fountain and just filling up a tumbler! You will save so much money by doing this!!
This is another item I never thought about until recently but dryer sheets are something that is just going to be thrown out after every use. Try switching to dryer balls! They are wool balls you throw into the dryer in place of dryer sheets and you can actually add some drops of essential oils to them if you wanted your clothes to have a scent! I’ve also heard they cut down the drying time in half! This is something I still need to switch over to.
Parchment paper has always been a friend of mine but I’ve realized how wasteful it is. The better alternative is using a silicone baking mat. This switch is also going to save you some money in the long term!
They actually make reusable ziplock bags which are an excellent alternative since you can just put them in the dishwasher after you are done using them!
This is one item I never thought much about until my friend showed me a statistic showing how wasteful they are! Luckily, there is a better option for this which is bamboo toothbrushes! They feel weird at first because it feels like you could get a splinter from the bamboo but I promise you won’t!
I know what you are thinking, this is so much to take in but even if you swap out a few of these things, it would make such a difference! Not only that but you might even feel so much better knowing you aren’t throwing out as much stuff while also saving money! Another thing you could do if you need to use a single-use item, try reusing it a couple of times if you are able to. I often do this with water bottles if I am ever at someone’s house, I’ll refill it once I get home with my filtered water.
As you can probably see, I buy a lot of my cleaning supplies and other supplies from Grove Collaborative. I love all the products they offer. If you guys are interested in getting a free 5 piece gift set, use my referral code! Click here
Leave me a comment sharing other ways we can eliminate single-use products! Thank you for reading!