Small changes, big difference: making your home more sustainable
Making your home more sustainable can be very easy. Over the years we’ve made a few changes at our house in order to reduce waste and live more in line with our values. A lot of them are simple swaps we’ve made so that we can avoid single-use products. I’d like to share some of them with you today:
Kitchen
baking mats: instead of baking paper we now (re-) use silicone baking mats that are easy to use. A plus: we don’t need a lot of oil or similar when baking/making food in the oven.
reusable kitchen roll: I came across a great alternative to the traditional paper rolls a few years ago. The kitchen roll we use is made from cellulose and cotton. It can be washed and reused several times. The material is biodegradable so once the individual sheets have done their job for good, they go on the compost.
beeswax wraps: a great alternative to cling and tin foil. I dare to say that bread and fruit last longer when wrapped in them.
linen napkins: I don’t like eating without napkins but I had a real problem with using paper napkins and thus, creating more rubbish than necessary. A few years ago, we began to use linen napkins that we now reuse (we all have our own napkins of course) until they need to go into the wash.
jars to store dry food: instead of acquiring more plastic boxes we now use jars to store dry food and herbs. Some of the jars were specifically bought for that purpose, others were former honey and yogurt jars.
refillable coffee capsules & a reusable filter: when we still lived in the UK and Munich we had one of the famous capsule coffee machine. Instead of buying the single use ones, we bought reusable capsules that we filled with coffee we ground ourselves. That way we didn’t have lots of capsules ending up in the bin and could try out a variety of roasted coffee beans (most of them from cafes we loved). Now, that we have a filter coffee machine, we work with a reusable metal filter. It’s great!
metal straws: now and then I love using a straw e.g. for my smoothies, an iced drink in summer. The more sustainable options we have at home are metal straws. Not sure if it’s just me but I think drinks taste even better with them. On a side note, I’ve used bamboo straws too but found them harder to clean.
Bathroom
soap bars: when I was younger I used to love all the colourful shower gels & hand soaps and their fancy smells. What wasn’t great was that I always ended up with plastic bottles that were hard to clean and therefore, couldn’t go into the recycling container (but general waste). One of my friends re-introduced me to soap bars. We had them at my childhood home but over the years I had forgotten about them. Now, they’re my number 1 option. I haven’t warmed to shampoo bars yet (I simply haven’t come across one that works for my fine long hair) but I am open to get convinced other wise.
refillable bottles and containers made from recycled materials: soap bars don’t always work, e.g. for my face wash, toner etc. What I’ve been trying to do though is either go for glass bottles (some brands also offer refills now) or packaging that was made from recycled materials.
reusable make up remover pads: I’ve tried different ones but the pads I like the most are made from bamboo fibre. They’re super soft (even after several washes) and go gentle on my skin. A good alternative to remove eye make-up are facial cleansing sponges. They’re used when damp and are very easy to rinse off afterwards.
toothbrush: at home I have an electric toothbrush that I’ve owned it for a while. Last year I came across a brand from Berlin that offers toothbrush heads that go with my toothbrush but don’t harm the environment once recycled. When I am away for a long weekend, I bring my biodegradable bamboo toothbrush.
sanitary products: I changed my sanitary products a few years ago and am so happy with that change that I’ll never go back. Instead of pads and tampons, I opt for menstruation cups and period pants.
Baby/toddler
wipes: we love using fabric wipes for our son. They are gentle on his skin and easy to wash.
glass bottles: yes, they’re bit heavier than the plastic ones but it is easier to clean them. Also, it feels good to have less plastic in the house.
Cleaning/laundry
fabric cleaning wipes: instead of single-use ones, we use fabric wipes and sponges in our house. I usually wash them on a hotter spin.
natural cleaning products: luckily, it is easy to get natural cleaning products these days. One of my favourite ones is a bath cleaner that is made from recycled vinegar. If you’re super keen, you can also make your own cleaning products using baking powder, vinegar and lemon. I don’t do it a lot but if I do, I usually add a few drops of essential oils to make the house smell lovely.
washing clothes only when necessary: we tend to wash our clothes only when it’s necessary. In most cases it’s enough to hang a blouse outside or next to a hot shower so that it smells fresh again. If I need to wash an item (that is not necessarily one of the cleaning cloths I mentioned above), I wash it on a colder spin. Tip: denim hardly ever needs washing.
Food shopping
baskets and reusable shopping bags: like most other people, we avoid buying bags at the store but bring our own shopping bags and baskets.
containers: I tend to pack my own containers to buy cheeses/fruit etc before I head to the shop. That way I can avoid unnecessary plastic packaging.
plastic alternatives: if there is a chance I can avoid plastic packaging e.g. for milk, yogurt, fruit, I always do. It’s great that so many brands offer glass alternatives or similar these days.
I hope you’ve found my tips useful. Do let me know if you’re planning to introduce some of them to your household. I’d also love to hear from you if you already do the same or if you have sustainable practices that could interest me too.
Words & photo: Katharina Geissler-Evans, heiter magazine
