A big goal for me this year is to become green and switch to as many paperless and plastic-free products as possible. I want to reduce my contribution to Garbage Island as much as possible. So I've been doing some research and finding things to replace my most used single-use items.
I've already switched Paper towels and sponges for "bar rags" and I'm so excited to keep switching! A big thing I wanted to do while switching to Zero Waste is also buying my items from fellow makers. So I found as much of these as I could on Etsy. Another big 2020 goal of mine is to buy small any time I can. I'm tired of giving my money to Amazon and Walmart. Makers Unite!
Anyway, on to the items I want to get to switch to. Buckle up this is a long one. (PS click on any of the product photos to go to the items! All product images are rights to the original shops!) Washable Cotton Rounds and Felt Sheets instead of One Use Cotton Pads I use a lot of single-use cotton pads when washing my face or cleaning my nails. I can use the washable Cotton Rounds for my makeup removal and applying my toner and stuff. And I found that some people now have felt sheets for nail polish remover! How genius is that? I found this set of Cotton Rounds that I'm really into. There are plenty of designs and prints on Etsy but most of those are double-sided. I like these ones because they are my favourite leaf print but are pure white on one side. I like my skincare to be dye-free. This way I get cute ones and the dye-free I want. When it comes to the felt sheets I really like these ones. I don't want pure white ones since I think those are the most likely to stain. I like the grey colour of these ones and the edge detail is super cute! Plus this is the biggest set I could find so that's a bonus. Look how cute both of these are!
Flannel Toilet Roll instead of Toilet Paper This might seem gross at first, I thought so too. But I've thought about it and I've decided when I switch I'm going to make a "baby wipe" solution and put it in a spray bottle. When I wipe #2 I'll spray the cloth first. It will actually clean you better than toilet paper. You know since we wipe with the paper dry. Anyway, after looking at a bunch of options on Etsy, I picked these. Again I didn't want to go for pure white because there is a possibility of staining here and colour or design can cover that better. I'll be getting the mixed print for some fun. Like how cute are these?
Kitchen Brush instead of SOS Pads/Scrub Sponges Like I said I switched to "bar rags" for paper towel and dishwashing needs. And most of the time that's enough but sometimes something is baked-on or burnt on. I want to switch to ceramic cookware soon and you can't be using steel wool on that so I want to get used to a kitchen brush now. I chose this brush to put on my list because it's not bamboo (which rots too fast and gets mouldy) and because it was cute! Also, this one looked like it wouldn't be too rough for my ceramic. And I also like that it is handheld rather than a handle so I can get better leverage.
Product Bags and Grocery Totes instead of all that Plastic The worst part about grocery shopping is all the freaking plastic! The little green plastic produce bags and the mountains of plastic bags at the checkout. I live in a state that doesn't charge for the plastic bags so they are abundant here. I think my first Zero Waste purchase will be produce bags and grocery totes. I love the colour of these woven produce bags and I love that they stretch to fit lots of fruit and veggies! I also picked out a set of linen bags for things like coffee beans, bakery bread, bulk rice or beans, pasta, small fruits like strawberries and other bulk choose-you-own items that are too small for the woven bags.
As for the grocery bags. They cost a lot more than they used to. I know I'm on Etsy and people price for the time decorating them so it isn't too crazy that they are around $9-12. But they are crazy high on amazon. 3 plain bags are like $28! I'd rather pay a bit more per bag from a Maker and get a cute piece of art on my bag. So I'm going to link to a bunch of cute bags here. Click on the photo to be taken to that listing! A few of these bags range up a bit more than $12 but they are bigger bags. None of them are over $18.
Washable Loose Leaf Tea Bags w/Tea Leaves instead of Pre-bagged tea I discover that loose leaf tea bags are a thing and I'm obsessed with trying them! I chose these bags. I liked the size, style and fabric used. Like how cute are these? I chose washable bags over a tea infuser because metal changes the taste of tea and coffee. So these cute bags are much better for me. I'm excited to try these and finally try loose leaf tea!