Quick Swaps & Additions to Your Routine for Greener Living

I’m a strong believer that creating a healthier home doesn’t mean it’s zero waste or nothing. There are a lot of small lifestyle changes you can make along the way to make new habits stick! We’ve been making a few changes over the years as we better understand our routines and today I’m sharing 5 ways we’ve been able to push ourselves into greener living.

Commit 1 Pantry Item to Bulk

It can feel overwhelming to try to go zero waste overnight. Instead, pick one pantry staple to buy in bulk to cut down on packaging waste. Some good ones to try out are flour, sugar, coffee.

It might be an adjustment to remember to bring your container to the store, but once you get the hang of one you can slowly, add more bulk items to your grocery list.

Grow Inside

You already knew this wouldn’t be an Earth Day post without talking about plants, right? Houseplants can help regulate the air quality and humidity levels of your home, helping your AC system keep steady. Besides houseplants, you can try your hand at indoor herb gardening to save yourself $5 and a plastic package every time a recipe calls for fresh herbs.

I mentioned last year how we’re using Soltech Solutions grow lights to keep plants in the darker areas of our house alive and we just got our hands on their new track system to keep our fern wall healthy (I also completely love how the track lights mimic sunlight and sometimes just keep them on to do work in the evenings 🌱). And now we can spread the love! Soltech Solutions agreed to partner up to giveaway 1 Aspect grow light in your size & color choice. Click over to Instagram to enter!

Host a Swap

Think outside of the traditional clothing swap and see if your friends would want to join in a home decor, power tools, or even a skills swap! Sharing resources is an amazing way to minimize your waste and is a fun excuse to shop each other’s homes.

Tackle that Mend Pile

We all know mending broken items instead of replacing them is the better option, but it does take a little mind-shifting. If that pile keeps growing, keep a running list on your phone throughout the year and schedule a recurring calendar event on Earth Day to go through and sew loose buttons, tighten any screws, . Planning ahead of time can help focus on what needs to be done instead of getting frustrated every time you see something else that needs to be fixed.

This for That

I debated having just a This for That post about product swaps we’ve made, but decided to talk about how we went about finding those swap opportunities instead (but of course if any of you are interested in a roundup post, I can put that together too ;)). This one will take a little introspection but can have a huge impact. Look for things you’re constantly throwing away and see if there is a reusable version.

For example, we noticed one of the things we throw away the most each week was… paper towels. For dish towels, food prep, wiping the dog down, cleaning, we went through way too many rolls for a two-person house. I happened upon these flour sack towels when I was looking for prop textiles and they’ve quickly become our replacement for paper towels because they’re absorbent, soft, dustless, and cheap! We keep a box of these under our kitchen island and toss them straight into the hamper once they’re dirty. And while we still do use paper towels for things like cleaning the toilet, we’re using substantially fewer rolls.