Categories: Lifestyle

10 Environmentally Friendly Alternatives To Check Out For Your Home

Everywhere around the globe, people are paying more attention to the environment, and their effects of the planet. Everyone has a part to play when it comes to saving the planet, so do your part! Stay educated on simple changes that could be made to make your house more environmentally sustainable.

1. Reusable Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are a thing of the past. Many people pack their lunches in plastic bags every single day. That is an astronomical amount of plastic that is only being used one time. Try switching to reusable plastic bags. This will save so much plastic waste. Buying reusable plastic bags will save money, since one-time use plastic bags will not have to be bought constantly. Reusable plastic bags have been known to keep food fresher longer, since the seal on the reusable bags is better than a typical plastic bag.

2. Wool Dryer Balls

Dryer sheets are a household item, that most households use weekly, if not daily. Thus, tons of dryer sheets are used all the time, and then thrown in the trash to rot in the dumpster. There is a eco-friendlier option that is available for purchase. Instead of dryer sheets, switch to wool dryer balls. Wool dryer balls are reusable, and more cost effective in the long run! Wool dryer balls are a little bit pricier upfront, but can be used for years! Another benefit of wool dryer balls is how quickly the dryer balls allow for the load of laundry to dry, which is sustainably quicker than normal dryer sheets.

3. Metal Straws

Who does not like to drink out of straws. For some reason, drinking out of a straw makes an individual drink faster. This is a great revelation, except when realizing that normal straws are so harmful to our environment. There has been a big movement towards metal straws to save the sea turtles, but the new thing is to use metal straws to save the turtles. There are crazy amount of statistics showing how many straws are used daily, and how much damage they can do to our planet, so make the switch today.

4. Reusable K-Cups

K-Cups are used for their convenience factor. It is convenient to be able to just pop a pod into the coffee machine, and not fill up a coffee filter with grounds. That is why Keurig are so successful! However, what people do not factor in are the damage that K-cups may be doing to the environment! If everyone uses a K-cup a day, that is a ton of K-cups, and K-cups are made from plastic. There is an environmentally friendly alternative to this issue. Try using the reusable K-cup that can be purchased at almost any store!

5. Reusable Towels

Paper towels should be canceled in 2020. There are much better environmentally friendly alternatives out there. Instead of using paper towels, try the more sustainable idea of using just normal fabric towels. The current reusable towel trend is bamboo towels. Besides being reusable, the towels are made from a sustainable source. Think about all the potential money you could be saving on paper towels in the long run. Plus, reusable towels are much more absorbent.

6. Reusable Water Bottle

There are people in the world who do not drink tap water, or even filtered water from the faucet. Some people drink bottled water only. Bottled water is not a sustainable way to live. Bottled water is one of the largest contributors to single-use plastic. This environmentally friendly alternative is something so simple that could be changed easily, and would have such a lasting impact. Reusable water bottles keep water cold for a long time due to the materials they are made from. Bottles like Hydro Flask keep water cold for over 24 hours, which is insane. Why would anyone want bottled water, when they could have water bottle that keeps water cold the whole time they are drinking it?

7. Reusable Grocery Bags

Several grocery stores have begun to make the switch from plastic grocery bags, to brown paper grocery bags. Brown paper bags are a much environmentally friendlier alternative, but still leaves a lot of trash to be recycled at the end of the day. The better option would be switching from plastic or paper bags, to mesh grocery bags. By having a customer bring their own reusable bag, stores would save so much money that they would no longer need to spend. If everyone brought their own mesh grocery bag, it would make such a big impact. This is one super important environmentally friendly alternative we could make easily.

8. Glass Food Containers

Plastic food storage is great, and is by far better than zip lock bags, but after while it can be hard to repurpose plastic containers. Glass containers are the environmentally friendly alternative to plastic food storage. Glass containers are recyclable, and last forever. Glass containers are microwave safe, so they are perfect for reheating left overs.

9. Safety Razor

A safety razor is a great alternative to a disposable razor. Most females use disposable razors, which is beyond toxic for our planet. Over 1 billion razors are thrown each year. When thrown away, the plastic disposable razors sit in landfills for years. Disposable razors are not recyclable. A safety razor is special because of the material it is made from. Safety razors are made from steel, which is recyclable. Once the initial purchase is made, then there are only the blade replacements that need to be purchased for continued use.

10. Bamboo Products

Bamboo products are an environmentally friendly option for many different household items. However, bamboo is way better than its plastic counterpart. Bamboo hairbrushes and toothbrushes are a great place to start when it comes to purchasing bamboo products. Bamboo is made from a natural and sustainable product. Bamboo grows extremely quickly. Bamboo is recyclable, which is another great reason to switch to this more environmentally friendly product!