A list of things we do not buy & why

In the past few years, our family has tried to become more environmentally conscious. We all want to do more to make this planet livable for our children and grandchildren. And that often means doing LESS. Less driving, less travel, less meat, etc. And it also means buying less.

I really like this visual! Reminds us what we should prioritize. Source.

So many of today's goods are disposable. While I'm not so concerned about the number of products going to landfills, because I believe the U.S. has great waste programs that keep waste collected and not in water, I am concerned about items that never make it to garbage receptacles and flow into storm drains and our waterways. We've all seen the photos of beaches and ocean covered and filled with plastic pollution. What I am most concerned about is the amount of energy (fossil fuels) used in the creation and distribution of disposable items. Other consumables come with a tremendous amount of waste in their wrappers and so forth. So here is a list of items that we do not buy (or try not to!) and what we have replaced them with. I have ZERO judgments on what any of you do, everyone is on a different journey. I hope you find a few new ideas to try out from this list. Please comment on ones you do that I haven't listed! 

Items we do not buy and what we do instead
KITCHEN

• Bottled water--we have clean water coming through our home in several locations. Why would we buy water that was sourced irresponsibly and packaged in materials that are harmful to the Earth? (Can you tell this is a moral issue for me? ha!) We have a great in-sink filter and use our water bottles when out and about.
• Napkins--cloth napkins
• Paper towels--I still somehow have a couple rolls hanging around but I haven't bought them. I think Nate sneaks them in the house, ha! Washcloths do everything paper towels can. We use newspaper to wash windows and mirrors. 
• Disposable cutlery--when we go on picnics, we pack our normal cutlery and bring it home to wash. 
• Paper plates & cups--We have a dishwasher, no need for paper plates or cups.
• Plastic wrap--we use Beeswrap instead. Love it!
• Fancy cleaning products--We clean with a water+vinegar+lavender combo for the kitchen. Ajax for the toilets and deep-cleaning the sink. We get a big jug of something strong once or twice a year that we dilute for the floors. That's pretty much it!
• Ziploc bags--I still haven't figured out how to 100% get rid of these because I use them to store prepared chicken breasts in the freezer but we have cut down our use of them by probably 80%. I use reusable snack containers for snacks rather than plastic bags.
• Granola bars--We make a few batches every week for snacks and quick breakfasts.
• Fruit snacks--We eat real fruit. Packaged snacks are saved for long plane rides!
• Applesauce--got lucky and we have an apple tree in our backyard so I canned a bunch of applesauce. We will buy it when we run out but it was nice to can so much!
• Popsicles--we have a popsicle mold we pour juice in to.
• Breakfast granola--We make this as well and it's soooo good!
• Cooking spray--We use old fashioned olive oil or butter and for cookie sheets a sil-pat mat.

BATHROOM/LAUNDRY ROOM

• Tampons and pads--I use a menstrual cup. I'm getting the hang of it so I still use a pantiliner for back up. Learn more about menstrual cups here. 4/13/17 UPDATE: For 2 cycles now, I have used cloth pads instead of pantiliner and I'm a BIG fan! They are so much comfier and no stickiness on your bum! 
• Fancy fragrances/lotions--In the last few years, body sprays have not been my friend so I avoid them now. We all use the same bottle of Aveeno lotion. When that runs out, I have the ingredients to make our own. Will be fun to try!
• Soaps/shampoos--We all use bar soap and now a bar shampoo. We like JR Liggets shampoo bar. Super sudsy, cheap and lasts.
• Fabric softener--we have 3 wool balls for the dryer.
• Shaving cream--unnecessary for me. Nate has a can that lasts him like year because he is fully bearded :)
• Make-up--don't wear it anymore except for mascara.
• Disposable razors--Just started using an old school safety-razor and I'm really liking it! It will last me my entire life! A bit of a learning curve, but not too bad.

Other ways we cut down on waste:

• Using cloth bags at the grocery store. This has got to be the easiest green choice to make. You probably already have cloth bags sitting around at home. They make grocery trips so much easier too! Ya know, they actually carry your groceries and don't rip! We use small cloth bags for produce and bulk bin foods as well as big bags at the end of our trip. A common question I've had is what do you use for small garbage liners without plastic bags? I can't say we don't have any plastic bags in our house because sometimes we forget the cloth bags when we go out so we use those.  And I also found some small "plastic" bags made from corn. 
• Cloth bags everywhere else too! I keep a couple small cloth bags that fold into themselves in my bag so I've never without one when I run into the drug store or hardware store.
• Re-filling honey and maple syrup in bulk. At our Whole Foods Co-op, we can bring the same container back again and again to re-fill honey, maple syrup, olive oil, peanut butter and more.
• Eating whole foods. Pre-packaged items aren't usually all that good for us anyway, so why would they be good for the planet?
• Buying second-hand whenever possible.
• Purchasing food from the farmers market or a CSA whenever possible.

Other ideas for cutting down on waste:

• My friend Maria carries stainless steel cutlery and small travel dishes with her so she can use those instead of paper products at events with food.
• When traveling, bring a large jug of water to re-fill your water bottles. In the summertime, we do this but freeze the big bottle first so we have cold water after hikes :)
• Don't eat fast food. We totally eat fast food. But we definitely go less since moving here. (No Chikfila! So sad!) But cutting back even one fast food meal cuts back on so much waste!
• And probably the best thing we can do is to stop buying cheap products like fast fashion that last only a season. Buying fewer, more quality items will make such a difference.

CHALLENGE
I challenge you to take one or more of these ideas and apply them to your family this week. You can do it! What did I miss? What is your favorite way to cut down on waste?