Simple Swaps and Habits for a More Sustainable Home
We are always looking for ways to lessen our impact on the environment and swap single use items for better, more environmentally friendly choices. Today we’re exploring ways to make small changes for a more sustainable, smarter, and simplified future. We are sharing our favorite tips for reducing our impact, reviewing our daily habits, and becoming more tuned into our consumption habits. We hope you find some new ideas to incorporate into your home and we’d love to hear your favorite tips in the comments!
Reduce
The best way for us to reduce our impact on the environment begins with what we bring into our homes.
Practice the one in and one out rule.
Only buy what you need.
Window shop (or online shop) without purchasing.
Take a shopping pause for a month. Limit your purchases for the month to essentials only.
If you find yourself buying lots of items through social media, mute, unfollow, or take a break from social media to pause your online shopping.
Unsubscribe from tempting shopping emails.
Host a clothing swap with friends to trade clothes and breathe new life into items you already own.
Evaluate Daily Habits
Walk through your day from start to finish. Think about what you touch everyday. Are any of the items single use products that go straight to the trash or recycling?
Swaps to consider:
Cloth napkins for paper napkins
Travel mug for disposable cups at the coffee shop
Reusable cloths and towels for paper towels
Reusable wraps for plastic wrap
Cleaning concentrate to mix up glass bottles of house cleaner to reduce new plastic bottles coming into the house
Buy in bulk to reduce additional plastic packaging
Washable containers and snack bags for disposable plastic zip bags
Refillable shampoo and soap for single use plastic bottles
Soap sheets or tablets for large plastic laundry soap containers
Reusable, washable mesh produce bags for the plastic produce bags at the grocery store
If the habits above feel unfamiliar or difficult, try adding in 1-2 habits at a time.
Do I need it?
It’s really easy to feel swayed to bring more stuff into our homes. Advertisements, influencers, and commercials portray an idealized version of what we think we need to be happier or more successful. Cut through the noise and focus on what you truly need. Is what you’re pining after a want or a need? Financial educator Tiffany Aliche recommends asking yourself:
Do I need it? Do I love it? Do I like it? Do I want it?
Stay on the quadrants of needs and loves. Needs are your basic needs such as paying for utilities, basic groceries, rent or your mortgage. Loves are things that will bring you fulfillment a year or more from now. A love might be an amazing vacation, a beautiful pair of boots, or an incredible dinner at a restaurant you won’t forget.
Likes are temporary joys that we may enjoy for a few weeks but will lose their luster in a few months. It might be a shirt on the sale rack you purchase while grabbing some toilet paper at the store. Wants are those instant gratification buys you click and buy without a second thought. It could be the kitchen gadget sitting untouched in the drawer or the face serum an influencer convinced you to try or the supplement powder you bought to add to smoothies. Before you click to buy, think through the long term impact of these purchases. What purpose is this item serving in your life? Be thoughtful with how you spend your money and what you give your attention to.
In the end the best we can do is to be as thoughtful as we can about what we bring into our homes. Utilize what you already own and find peace and fulfillment in what you already have. Find new uses for items in your home. And finish using items before buying more.
We would love to hear your tips in the comments below! What sustainable habits have you brought into your home? How are you reducing your use of single use plastics? What’s your advice for reducing and recycling at home?