Convenience and consumption are easy. Living greener often means going against the grain. Here are some swaps I’ve made to make a greener life as natural as possible. This post contains affiliate links!
It’s not easy being green
Living a greener, more sustainable life has been important to me for years. But it isn’t always the easy or natural choice. Often the living greener choice comes with either a little more time or a little more money (at least upfront, but the long-term cost might be less).
But we all know how important both sustainability and low-tox living are. To make these front of mind when we’re going about daily life, we have to remember the WHY at every step of the way.
What’s easy: tossing things in the trash, single use, works really well because potentially toxic chemicals are the first ingredient.
What’s better: investing in one higher quality reusable thing, finding the balance between natural and what works, paying more for something with a good conscience.
“Doing the right thing” needs to be part of who we are.
Ways I’m living greener
Silicone food storage bags
We were storing our frozen bananas, occasional bagels, etc. in big Zip Lock gallon bags. These bags were getting re-used, but they weren’t very dirty and ended up the trash just because they had taken a beating.
So we invested in some silicone food storage bags, particularly for using as freezer storage. Stasher bags are the top of the market cool (I need the Mega bag that stands up on its own for bananas) but we ended up with a starter set of these instead at a lower cost.
Low Tox Cleaning Products
My cleaning products were all over the place, some of them conventional, some of them pure, and some of them greenwashed brands (I’m learning more about greenwashing). I have found that one of the keys to making living greener easier for me to pick a brand and jump all in. (Like I did with Beautycounter). Any way I can simplify my life is a step towards sustainability.
So after reading lots of rave reviews, I switched over to Branch Basics cleaning supplies. I have dabbled with concentrates before when I used Shaklee for a while. I stopped using Shaklee because I was dazzled by some of the brands at Target. But I was always running out of those brands and the waste from the bottles was driving me nuts. So back to a concentrate it was.
Branch Basics uses plant and mineral based ingredients with no fragrance. I add a few drops of peppermint essential oil for a nice scent – because a clean scent is still very important to me! I’ve checked out the surfactants they use, and feel good about the ingredient lists, which are free of fragrance, parabens, bleach, dyes and more.
I recently discovered the Made Safe site, which has a large list of banned ingredients (like Beautycounter’s Never List). It’s a good place to check against your household products.
You can use the code KATHEATS for 10% off of the Branch Basics starter sets.
Taking a reusable water bottle
I do pride myself in carting around a reusable water bottle. It pains me to buy or drink bottled water, even if I’m at an event where its provided. (Not lately!)
For the longest time I was carting around a giant 32 ounce Hydroflask that wouldn’t fit in any cupholders – the car, the bike, the side of my gym bag. I got a smaller bottle for everyday (and save my huge one for soccer days) and the everyday cup-holder size has been LIFE CHANGING!!!! It’s by Thermoflask and is at a much better price too. #strawlidforlife
Moral of the story: find a reusable bottle that is easy to carry around.
We have also cut back on the Gatorade plastic bottle consumption (which was not so much me but the boys/men of the house) but getting a variety of Nuun Sport tablet flavors.
Cookware
Another change I’ve been slowly working towards is our cookware. It’s not cheap or reasonable to replace everything all at once, especially since we have some very nice cookware, but I wanted to swap in one everyday, all purpose pan for primary use.
Our Place sent me one of their nontoxic ceramic pans – the Always pan – and I’ve been loving it. Not only is it gorgeous enough to leave on the stovetop, but the ceramic interior is truly nonstick. The material is made without potentially toxic materials like PFOAs, PTFEs, other PFAs, lead, cadmium, toxic metals, and nanoparticles.
You can fry an egg without minimal butter, and we have literally crusted char into the bottom that came out with a sponge and soap.
It’s also shaped so there are so many uses – fry pan, saute pan, steamer, skillet, saucier, saucepan, non-stick pan, spatula, and spoon rest. My only complaint is that the exterior of the pan, which is coated aluminum, is showing food stains that I haven’t quite figured out how to get off!
If you want to replace just one of your everyday cookware pots, this would be the one to get.
Supporting B corps
My favorite way to live greener is to vote with my dollars. Some of my favorite brands are B corporations:
- Allbirds(I just ordered their running shoes!)
- Bombas (they just introduced underwear!)
- Patagonia
- Athleta
- Beautycounter
- Seventh Generation for laundry and dishwasher
I find it satisfying and simple to choose brands to support and shop within them.
Other Sustainable/Greener Favorites we use
- Who Gives a Crap toilet paper and paper towels (100% recycled)
- Seventh Generation Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent (I’ve been loving this kind, but I confess I really miss those strong scented Tide Pods)
- Seventh Gen Dishwasher Pods
- Our garden. Hoping to expand it a little more this year now that Birch is older.
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
I’m trying to live a bit greener too – every little bit counts! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
June says
Such an informative post! I love the silicon bags too. Now that my kids are older, I can send them in their lunches to school (when they go) and they come back. And I always have some almonds in my bag now because they can keep in the bag without it tearing.
Question because its a new one for me – what is a B corporation?
Kath Younger says
It’s a certification for businesses that are putting people and planet before profit. Things such as sustainability, a traceable supply chain that does not exploit questionable human labor, transparency in business, etc. You can read all about it here: https://bcorporation.net/. Looking for the B Corp logo and favoring those brands is great way to shop!
ellie r says
Thanks for sharing this, Kath – I am also trying to be a responsible consumer and make sure that I’m doing my (admittedly) small part to contribute to the broader sustainability movement. I use concentrated cleaners — and honestly love the look of my “neat” glass bottles — and I’m trying to reduce my paper towel usage as much as I can. Also, 10/10 would recommend the Stasher bags; I was able to get a kit at 30% on one of their sales! That, lots of recycling, better lightbulbs, and reusable shopping bags are about as far as I’ve gone. I’m telling myself that every little bit helps!
One of the things that I’m having a hard time with breaking is my dependence on services like Blue Apron (and honestly, I really want to try Daily Harvest!) and my default to online shopping because pandemic and being afraid to spend too much in a store right now. Any advice on how to reconcile that?
Kath Younger says
All good swaps!
While the cardboard part of recycling the boxes isn’t the best, there are other reasons these direct-to-consumer deliveries are sometimes more efficient. Saving a trip to the grocery store for one is saving gas, and the truck that takes all the food to the store and then you drive it all home is another.
That said, the best choice would definitely be shopping at your local market (and walking or biking there!) This time of year, and particularly with the pandemic, that not a reality.
I also think it’s cool to have a hybrid approach – fresh berries from the market and frozen in the freezer ONLY to be used if you are out of fresh and can’t get more that day (that’s kind of the rule I have in my house in the summer – freezer food is a backup plan).
Melissa says
Great ideas, Kath! I’ve been meaning to purchase the reusable silicone bags, because I find I use way too many plastic sandwich bags, when I could easily reuse them.
Audrey says
Honest question, is it really greener to buy new (“green”) pots to replace current (less “green”) ones? I’d love to hear what other readers think.
p.S, – there are a couple of typos that made it hard to understand your message at first. I say this with grace as we all try to work from home with kids afoot <3
Kath Younger says
I agree with you – I wouldn’t replace perfectly great ones just for the sake of a greener choice. But as your older ones need replacement, getting a green one makes sense. Our everyday skillet’s surface was deteriorating so it was time for an upgrade. And thanks – I fixed the typo.
Katie says
My favorite clean product are the tru earth brand laundry strips. They have a nice scented one too- fresh linen scent. It’s packed in cardboard and the winning part is no soapy laundry shelf, I hated that! Just take a strip off and throw it in, no mess or measuring. Love it
Kath Younger says
Oh nice! I haven’t heard of these.
Katie Peter says
They’re awesome! We use their dryer balls too. It’s a canadian company but it’s available world wide!
Lily says
I would like to use some type of fast dry cloths to replace paper towels. Any recommendations, Kath?
Kath Younger says
Who Gives A Crap came out with something like this but they sold out because they were so popular! We use microfiber clothes for most easy spills.
Mo says
I use bar mops—they are white terry cotton towels that get used in professional kitchens and can be cleaned with the kitchen towels (or bleached if you prefer). Can find them at pretty much every grocery store here in Ontario, I assume it’s similar in the US.
Hannah says
Question! Do you still use Molly Suds or have you switched to the Seventh Generation above?
Kath Younger says
I’ve been using both! I got the 7th Gen as a free sample (from Beautycounter actually!) and found the second scent at Target and am using up the Molly’s we have on hand. I haven’t decided which I like better, but I think they are both effective at cleaning.
Louise RD says
Some great suggestions in this post! Only thing that keeps me from doing silicone reusable bags is thinking it would be too much of a pain to clean after use – lazy, I know! I have same complaint as you on the Always pan, which is also kept on my stovetop. I’ve had some luck with barkeepers friend soft cleanser, but you really need to scrub. Makes me wish I’d went with a darker color pan:-( (got taupe- beige color). Currently researching best water filtration pitcher, at least a 7-cup size. Any suggestions out there? 🙂
Kath Younger says
They are really annoying to clean…. I turn them inside out!
Amy Illingworth says
Thank you for this post! I’ve reflected on lot on how to be more green at home. I work in an amazing schools district that focuses on a variety in green initiatives that we teach students and positively impact our community,
Rachel says
Thanks for this post. I appreciate some of the recommendations. Wanted to chime in with one of my own. I use Force of Nature for cleaning, disinfecting (I have little ones), etc. and microfiber clothes. That’s it! Simple, safe and relatively inexpensive. I gifted my sister a Force of Nature starter pack one year for Christmas and she said it was hands down the best gift ever – lol!
Kath Younger says
They just emailed me about a sample!
Andrea says
I’m terrible at this. I find myself going for convenience or effectiveness rather than “green”. Its overwhelming not knowing what is actually harmful in minute concentrations (easy to say something is harmful in huge concentrations – aspartame for ex) but much harder to prove in once in a while type situations. If there was really solid data that x ingredient in x concentration is 100% harmful I would be more prone to invest the time / money in “green” products. I should definitely look into the recycled paper products though!
Maddy says
My experience- the B Corp is part of green washing
Stacey Smith says
Stasher bags are awesome! I am trying to stop using so many ziplocs too!
I will say I love me some bleach- especially during covid!
Jess says
Thank you for sharing! For what it’s worth, I’ve been using the Young Living Thieves cleaning concentrate for the last few years and love it! Plus a few different products from Dr. Bronner’s (Sal Suds!) and we really haven’t needed anything else for cleaning purposes for the entire household–inside and out. This last year I also finally took the plunge and tried reusable menstrual cups and I can’t believe how positive the experience has been and how much waste that has saved.
Kath Younger says
The reusable menstrual cup was the best invention of our lifetime : )
K~ says
Great post kath. Thanks K~