5 Swaps to be more Eco-Friendly in 2022

Happy New Year friends! I hope you’re doing well.

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions but I do always have new goals I’m working towards each year that are just continuous goals. Those goals may change as I reach a certain goal or change that goal.

One goal I’m working on this year is to swap out some un-sustainable products for more sustainable and eco-friendly products.

My husband and I stopped using plastic water bottles years ago and switched to Brita Pitchers in our fridge. Not only did this save us money from buying plastic water bottles all the time, it takes up less space and creates less trash. So that’s one thing we’ve been doing for years! I recently found out about Epic Water Filters though, so I’m making the switch to them because they filter out way more toxins and chemicals than Brita does. I received their vacuum insulated stainless steel water filter bottle to try and I love it! It’s especially perfect for traveling because you can use any water and it will filter it for you. (unless you are using outdoor water like when hiking or camping…then you want to use their water filter specifically made for outdoor water filtration)

So, now onto the swaps I’ll be working on changing this year:

Ditching the plastic laundry containers for eco-friendly laundry pods from Dropps Laundry. I’ve been using non-toxic laundry cleaner for years, but I must admit, the plastic bottles are a pain in the butt! Not only are they heavy to ship but they are still made out of plastic and not eco-friendly. Dropps laundry pods completely dissolve in cold water and get those sweaty workout clothes clean! They even have dishwasher pods I may try next. They also now have Dryer Balls.
Rags or cloths instead of paper towels. This one is tough..to be honest. I grew up using paper towels for EVERYTHING. I’ve definitely cut back on my usage but haven’t completely given them up yet. I have started using an old dish towel to wipe up messes on the floor which I used to always just grab a paper towel for.
Period Underwear or Diva Cup… I recently switched to organic cotton pads/liners but I’ve been really considering switching to period underwear or possibly a diva cup, but I’m leaning more towards period underwear. I never really thought about how wasteful and how much trash is created with us women using pads, liners and tampons all the time. My goal is to make this switch this year… thinking of maybe trying Knix period underwear. Comment below if you’ve tried them.
Less food waste! My husband and I are terrible at not eating our leftovers and I end up with too many overripe bananas on the regular. I usually will try and ask a family member that likes to make banana bread if they want my overripe bananas…but from now on I plan on putting them in the freezer to use in my smoothies. I’m also trying to make less food or make sure we clean up the leftovers in the fridge before making more food.
Buy as much locally as I can. Getting mangoes to eat anytime of the year is delicious but really not sustainable. I want to buy more local and in-season foods this year. We recently started buying local meat instead of purchasing at the grocery store (except for ground turkey which I haven’t found locally yet)

Here are a bunch more ways to be eco-friendly (most, if not all, of these we have been doing for years):

Reusable water bottle. I love my Coldest Water bottle which literally keeps my water ice cold all day long! Even if I keep it in the hot car in the summer. I also love using my stainless steel shaker bottle. I used to have so many plastic shaker bottles, but now I only need this one!
Reusable shopping bags. I’ve been using reusable bags for quite some time now. You can usually buy these directly from your local grocery store for like .99 or you can order them from amazon. If for some reason I don’t have my bags with me, I save my plastic grocery bags and return them to my grocery store to recycle.
Eco-friendly and non-toxic cleaning supplies. Like ones from Grab Green or Force of Nature. Attitude, Better Life and Aunt Fannie’s are also really eco-friendly choices.
Reusable “Ziplock” Baggies. I found these at Target and I love them! They are super easy to keep reusing and stop all those baggies from going into our landfills. Plus they save you lots of money. More varieties of storage bags on Amazon. Stasher is one of the more popular silicone storage bags.
Refillable hand soap and body wash. I like to try and buy my hand soap and body wash in larger containers so I can refill my plastic bottle or my glass hand soap bottles.
Use leftover sauce jars for draining grease or for using as leftover containers. I love using old jars for my overnight oats or greek yogurt parfaits.
Reuse boxes for organizing your closets or garage.
Reusable coffee cup for hot or iced coffee. I love using a stainless steel reusable coffee mug when traveling or making my iced coffee in a glass jar.
Sign up for a meal delivery, produce subscription or smoothie subscription to help you reduce your food waste.
Reuse gift bags for the next time you need to give a gift to someone.