5 Simple Sustainable Swaps for Your Home

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I’ve been working on moving towards a more sustainable, low-waste lifestyle for years, and I wanted to share some simple, sustainable swaps I’ve learned that are super easy to implement. These little habit shifts will make a positive impact on our planet, and they’ll also save you money in the long run. File that under #winwin.

Invest in a Reusable Cup

Saying “no” to single use plastics, such as water bottles and disposable coffee cups, is easy when you have a reusable beverage cup you love. I bring this insulated water bottle with me literally everywhere I go – from hikes, to yoga classes, to road trips. Bonus: It’s keeps my beverages super cold, and it fits in any cup holder. If you’re a coffee or tea drinker, I love this stylish and reusable portable ceramic mug. Investing in a reusable stainless steel straw can also help eliminate plastic use and unnecessary waste.

Swap Your Sponge

Most kitchen sponges contain micro-plastics that never break down and end up in our water systems endangering marine life. Ditch the sponge, and opt for a stylish and sustainable wooden dish brush. Bonus: You can remove the head and swap it out as needed without replacing the handle. For those stubborn messes, you can supplement with a copper pot scrubber that can be recycled at the end of its life.

Try Plastic-Free Portables

Whether packing lunches for yourself, your little ones, or for a family picnic or potluck, it’s easy to go plastic free. Our girls use stainless steel lunch boxes that are dishwasher safe, and for larger gatherings we use glass food storage containers or a larger stainless steel container. To reduce waste, you can also pack up your own washable cloth napkins and utensils instead of single-use plastic alternatives.

Say Sayonara to Saran Wrap

I used to think I couldn’t survive without plastic wrap for packing up food and leftovers, but I haven’t used it for the past year and it turns out I’m alive and well! We now use reusable silicone bags for snacks and cut up fruit, veggies, and herbs in the fridge, and we invested in stackable glass food storage containers for storing larger leftovers. This set is freezer, microwave, and dishwasher safe. We’ve also used up all of our press and seal plastic bags and now buy these compostable freezer bags.

Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB)

One of the easiest habit shifts to implement is simply to bring your own reusable cloth bags to the shops. I keep a few cloth bags in my trunk, and I always carry a compact version and these mesh produce bags in my purse, so I can opt out of the disposable bags that are offered at the grocery stores (and even department stores and boutiques).

Being more environmentally friendly doesn’t mean you have to make huge overhauls to how you live, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of effort or money. If you’re looking to invest in some stylish and sustainable goods for your home, my favorite sources are Àplat, Seed and Sprout, The Package Free Shop, Bliss Haus, and June Home Supply.

I’d love to know: do you have favorite sustainable swaps or product rec you’d like to share? Please post in the comments below.

Food for Thought: Fellow Substacker

Christine Koh

just wrote a brilliant post on purposefully curating a life with less choice. Read it here.

Recipe Club: We all know I don’t love complicated recipes, so this simple pantry-inspired lemon pepper pasta is saving the day! Recipe here.

On my Nightstand: Currently reading Take Back Your Brain - the debut book from my dear friend and colleague Kara Lowentheil. Linked here.

Love Love Love: The witty, gracious, and charmingly illustrated anti-consumer manifesto I wish I had written - A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy. Linked here.