More Sustainable Low Waste Swaps I’ve Made

It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that I’ve been on a journey towards reducing the amount of single-use (mostly plastic) items in our home. Even though the Netherlands have a pretty good waste disposal system where most of the waste is recycled or incinerated and landfills are barely used any more, I still like to reduce the amount of resources I go through to spare the environment. Also, of course, to make sure I lessen my contribution to the amount of waste that needs to be processed. Even though we’re doing quite a good job over here, there’s still a lot to improve and a long way to go to an ideal situation. Not to mention having reusable items saves money, and the trouble of having to replace things all the time. A while ago I uploaded a video to my YouTube channel where I talked about some low waste swaps I’ve made around the house, where I’ve replaced single use items with more durable and sustainable ones.

In case you can’t watch a video with sound right now, don’t want to, or have already seen it, here’s a little recap of the items I share in this video:

Kitchen

– Reusable shopping bags instead of flimsy, plastic, single use ones
– A reusable water bottle filled with tap water or home filtered water
– A stainless steel thermos to carry warm or cool drinks
– Reusable travel mugs to get coffee or tea on the go
– Loose leaf tea and reusable strainers instead of conventional tea bags
– Reusable food storage containers instead of plastic (ziploc) baggies (glass for at home food storage, BPA free plastic for taking food on the go)
– A reusable cotton sandwich bag instead of plastic or paper sandwich bags
– Reusable containers to store halves of fruit and veg in the fridge
– Stainless steel straws instead of plastic straws
– Reusable baking sheets
– A wooden dish scrubbing brush with a replaceable head instead of plastic ones

Bathroom

– A menstrual cup and cloth pads instead of single use pads and tampons
– Reusable, upcycled cotton rounds (find the DIY here)
– A microfiber makeup removing cloth instead of bottled makeup remover and cotton rounds or makeup wipes
– Bar soap instead of liquid hand soap
– Beauty products in glass containers or large containers that will last a long time

That’s quite a list already, but since then I’ve discovered more items around the house that could’ve been added to this list and bought a few new replacements. I think it’s time I shared a little update! I’m going to use the same division by room or area in the house as I did in the video above.

Kitchen

Sillicone Cupcake Liners

I’ve had a bunch of sillicone cupcake liners for a few years now, both the traditional round ones and a set of rectangular ones. I even have a few that are shaped like plant pots. They work great for baking muffins and cupcakes, but also little pies and pastries. You can also use them as dividers in lunch boxes. Just throw them in the dishwasher when you’re done and they’re ready to be used again!

(Bought from Xenos)

Wood & Cork Wine Bottle Stopper

Robbert and I don’t drink much, and we’ve never finished a bottle of wine in one go. I’ve found most wine bottles come with screw-on tops that you can close again after opening, but the ones that come with a cork we usually didn’t really know what to do with. Embarrassing as it is, we’ve ended up sealing the opening with cling wrap a few times. Oh my. It was about time I got us a proper, grown-up wine bottle stopper, and I ended up choosing one made out of wood and cork. You could use a stainless steel one as well, but those usually come with a sillicone ring and I like the look of this one better. This will not only save us from using plastic wrap to close a bottle of wine (THE CRINGE), but also from wasting wine that could’ve lasted a little longer.

(Bought from Dille & Kamille)

Glass & Bamboo Food Storage Containers

I’ve been meaning to replace the plastic food storage containers we use at home with glass ones after the plastic ones reach the end of their life span. Even though there are lots of good glass food storage containers on the market, most of them still have a plastic lid. I had my eye out for a good low-on-plastic option for a while when I ran into the new food storage line at IKEA. They now offer glass containers with various lids, so you can mix and match, and one of the options is a lid made out of bamboo. Not only is bamboo a great sustainable material, the containers look wonderful and the lid doubles as a pot holder to place the glass container on if you’ve used it in the oven. They’re also stackable. I’m in love and determined to replace my plastic container set with these when they’re due to be replaced. I already have one tall round container from this line and I can’t take my eyes off it.

Cooking From Scratch

When it comes to food, I’ve found that the easiest things to find with minimal or no packaging are the basic, unprocessed ingredients. Cooking from scratch is one of the easiest ways to dramatically reduce the amount of single use plastic and packaging you go through. I’m always horrified by the amount of plastic you get when ordering take-away, so I try to keep ordering in to a minimum. When I do, I always ask them to wrap the food in as little plastic as possible and no cutlery.  It doesn’t always help, but asking is better than doing nothing and it might at least raise some awareness with the restaurant. We also never get drinks with our order, we have plenty at home and it saves a plastic bottle.

Reusable Chopsticks

Speaking of no cutlery, I’ve “invested” in some nice bamboo chopsticks that can be washed and reused. I say “invested” because they really weren’t that expensive, haha. There’s no need to be getting single use chopsticks every time when you can just as easily use (or bring) your own reusable ones!

(Bought from Dille & Kamille)

Wooden Travel Cutlery

Along the same lines, I’ve gotten a set of wooden travel cutlery that I always carry in my handbag. This way when I end up eating on the go, I don’t have to use plastic single use cutlery. I used to always carry a plastic spork in my bag, but when that broke I decided to replace it with this wooden set that should last me a bit longer.

(Bought from Dille & Kamille)

Sillicone Kitchen “Sponge”

Recently someone commented on one of my videos that they use a sillicone scrubbie instead of a kitchen sponge. I’d been meaning to somehow replace my kitchen sponges with something more sustainable and hygienic but I wasn’t sure how, and this seemed like the perfect solution to me. I looked up some reviews online and found very mixed opinions. I decided not to order one, but on a recent shopping trip Robbert bumped into one in a store and we decided to give it a go anyway. When you have another tool for the heavier scrubbing (we use the wooden brush I mentioned before), it’s actually really nice and works just fine. The trick is to squeeze the dish soap onto the scrubbie directly and foam it up first. I love that this can be reused for a long time, it’s not a sponge so it doesn’t hold on to and breed bacteria, and it can easily be thrown into the dishwasher to be cleaned. Yay!

(Bought from Sostrene Grene)

Bathroom

Safety Razor
There’s only one item in this category really, so I’m not sure it needs its own section, but hey :)
In the video I talked about wanting to try a safety razor. I’ve since gotten one and fallen in love. It’s really easy to use and gives the best, closest shave ever. It’s made completely out of stainless steel so by all means it should last a lifetime. In case you’re interested, I have a whole video about my safety razor and how I use it here:

(Bought from Bol.com)

Miscellaneous

Fjälräven Re-Kånken Backpack

When I first got this backpack as a birthday gift from my parents, I wrote a little post about it here. I’ve had it for a few years now and am still as much in love with it as I was on the first day. It’s made completely out of recycled plastic, dyed using a more environmentally conscious technique, and simply gorgeous. It serves me well and still looks as good as new. I can highly recommend this backpack as a great sustainable option!

Rechargeable Batteries

I’ve been meaning to get a set of rechargeable batteries for a while, and finally bit the bullet a few weeks back. I simply don’t see the sense in throwing away loads of batteries when I could just as easily be recharging them, so now I have a set of batteries I can keep using over and over again for a long time. They’re a bit more expensive when you first get them, but will save money in the long run. And toxic waste, of course.

(Bought from IKEA)

Fleece Bedding For Rats

For a long time I used paper towels as bedding in the rat cage. After a while I became fed up with the amount of waste that produces though, so I decided to switch to fleece bedding. I cut a few inexpensive fleece blankets to size, which I now clip to the cage. It’s super nice and soft for the ratties’ little feet, it absorbs pee nicely, and I can keep reusing it until it falls apart or they chew it up (which they haven’t had the tendency to do so far, knock on wood). I have a few sets that I rotate and when they’re all dirty I just wash them all at once on the highest heat setting with some organic detergent and a good splash of vinegar. I’m much happier with this solution and the rats love it as well. It should be noted though that fleece isn’t the best material when it comes to sustainability: it’s made of tiny synthetic fibers that release microplastics into the water every time they’re washed. When this fleece is used up, I’m going to try and look for an alternative fabric to use.

(Bought from IKEA)

That’s about all I could think of for now! If I come up with more swaps to make around the house, I’ll keep you updated. For now, I hope this list has inspired you to maybe make some changes around your house as well. Every little effort counts and it’s never too late to start! :)