When it comes to creating a more eco-friendly, everyday home, it’s the small steps that all add up. Those simple, sustainable household swaps that once you get hooked on, you never look back. Here I’m sharing a few of the changes I’ve implemented in my own home, from everyday cleaning essentials to considered homewares. Perhaps you’re already doing all of these, or maybe you’re just starting your journey to a more mindful, sustainable way of living. Either way, I hope these six swaps give you some food for thought and inspiration to take away.
1. Swap plastic wrapped toilet roll for bulk bought bamboo toilet roll
This is one of the simplest sustainable household swaps and one that also makes life way easier. Instead of buying plastic wrapped cotton toilet roll every time you go to the supermarket, get a bulk delivery of sustainable, wrapper-free toilet roll delivered straight to your door. We signed up to Who Gives a Crap last year and then Bumboo this year, and haven’t looked back. We receive a big box of about 48 rolls at a time and they last us a good few months; no getting to the last roll and screaming ‘who forgot to buy the loo roll?!’
Who Gives a Crap and Bumboo are both plastic free and made of 100% bamboo. Bamboo is naturally sustainable and as anyone who has it in their garden will know, it’s incredibly fast growing. A bamboo plant can grow to full size in a few months, a tree on the other hand takes over 30 years to reach maturity. It also doesn’t require any pesticides and fertilisers or indeed irrigation. Bamboo toilet paper is generally free from inks, scents or dyes, or de-inking agents, formaldehyde and BPA that can be used in the paper recycling process.
Plus, Who Gives a Crap donates 50% of their profits to help build toilets for those in need, while Bumboo plants a tree for every box of toilet roll purchased through Eden Restoration Projects. So you can wipe your bum and feel virtuous!
48 rolls of premium bamboo toilet roll, £40, Who Gives a Crap
48 extra long bamboo toilet rolls, £38.00, Bamboo
2. Swap plastic scrubbing brushes and sponges for eco-friendly versions
Not only are plastic scrubbing brushes pretty ugly things, they’re also not all that sustainable, readily recyclable or biodegradable. Far better to spend a little more and have some scrubbing brushes that you don’t mind having out on display, nay, that you want to show off in your kitchen for days and months to come!
So swap those naff brightly coloured brushes and single-use sponges for beautiful wooden brushes, coconut scrub pads, hemp scourers and natural bristles. They’ll look good and be naturally better for the planet too, not ending up in landfill or polluting oceans with micro plastics. *The brushes below were a press product from Object Story
Dustpan and brush, £16.99, Trouva, [affiliate link]
Dish brush, £8, Object Story
Goldrick – Linen Dish Cloth, £10.50, Zero-Living
Twin pack of coconut scourers, £5, Trouva [affiliate link]
Iris Hantverk everyday brush, £5, Object Story
3. Swap plastic cling film and kitchen foil for beeswax wraps
Single-use cling film and kitchen foil, while handy and convenient, only ends up in landfill. Beeswax wraps offer a planet-friendly alternative. Beeswax wraps are made by coating (sometimes organic) cotton sheets in a mixture of food-grade beeswax, coconut or jojoba oil (to help make them flexible and soft) and resin (to allow them to be mouldable and easy to seal). They’re slightly tacky to touch and can be moulded around dishes, containers or food to keep them airtight. Beeswax is breathable, helping food stay fresher for longer. You can also get vegan wraps too.
The wraps are simply washed with water and soap after each use, and can last up to a year. You can make your beeswax wraps at home or there’s lots of lovely designs on the market to help brighten up your kitchen. *the beeswax wraps pictured above were a press product
Harris & Hall terrazzo beeswax wraps pack, £19.50, Trouva [affiliate link]
Beeswax Food Wrap set, £19, Trouva [affiliate link]
Emma Bridgewater Toast & Marmalade Print Beeswax Wraps, £10-£30, The Beeswax Wrap Co.
4. Swap plastic soap bottles for refillable glass bottles and bar soap
A kitchen sink can easily become cluttered with hand soap, washing up liquid and cleaning products. Streamline everything for a simpler look by swapping mis-matched plastic bottles for sleek refillable amber glass bottles. Even better, replace that pump soap dispenser with a soap bar, it’s just as effective, but without all the packaging waste. I love the fragrant scents of French Marseille soap. Top tip: get a pretty soap dish and your newly stylish sink will instantly thank you.
I usually fill up my glass bottles with cleaner and washing up liquid at the local zero waste store, but you could also have a go at making your own surface spray (there’s a recipe here on the Guardian). I’m yet to try this but it’s on my list for a rainy day. No nasty harsh chemicals, you add your own essential oils, such as lavender and peppermint, to create a safe, sustainable scent.
Frama Apothecary hand wash, £36, The Conran Shop
Drip handmade soap dish, £29.50, Object Story
Iris Hantverk round cork soap dish, £8, Trouva [affiliate link]
Marseilles Soap cube, £6 Trouva [affiliate link]
Amber Glass Bottles Kitchen and Dishes Set, £18 Clean Natured
5. Swap harsh chemicals for eco-friendly cleaning products
Indoor air pollution in our homes is over three times worse than outdoor air pollution, found a study commissioned by the Clean Air Day campaign in 2019. This mainly comes from cooking and stoves, but also from cleaning. Those bleach-based products and pungent cleaners may do their job, but they’re also releasing toxic chemicals and harmful phthalates (that are used to give a product its fragrance).
Natural, often plant-based, cleaning products mean less chemicals, artificial fragrances and additives. As mentioned above, you can make your own with vinegar, baking soda and essential oils. But there’s also some eco-friendly cleaning brands to take note of.
Tincture create natural cleaning products in Norfolk using 100% natural ingredients, including natural essential oils. Their bottles are recyclable and their packaging biodegradable. Humdakin is a Danish brand that makes eco-and allergy-friendly cleaning products using natural Nordic ingredients including sea buckthorn, chamomile and salvie. Humdakin’s cleaning products come as concentrates in plastic bottles, meaning you get more in one bottle. Just a teaspoon of solution is needed for 500ml of water to create a cleaning spray or floor cleaner.
I also like Fill, which I get from my local zero waste shop. They make a range of refillable eco-friendly laundry and household cleaners in their family run factory in Northamptonshire. Their products are vegan and cruelty-free as well as free from dyes and harsh chemicals.
Humdakin universal cleaner, £16, Humdakin
Fill Bulk purpose liquid, 10l, £33, Wearth London
Starter cleaning set, £19.96, Tincture
6. Swap plastic wrapped fruit and vegetables for rescued wonky veg
It’s amazing the amount of unnecessary packaging you find yourself with after unpacking a food shop into the fridge and kitchen cupboards. Supermarkets have a long way to go but there are plenty of box subscriptions offering fresh produce without the excess plastic.
We’ve been using Oddbox for about a year (my first box was a press product, but I soon signed up myself after being suitably impressed!). During their research Oddbox found that 20-40% of produce in the UK is wasted before it even leaves the farms and gets to the supermarkets, partly because they now hold such high standards. Oddbox is on a mission to rescue wonky and surplus fruit and vegetables from farmers and producers that would otherwise go to waste.
For £15.99 a week, we get a wonderful variety of nine different vegetables and four types of fruit. The boxes are seasonal and far more affordable than when we used to shop at the farmer’s market. The odd aubergine might be a funny shape but there’s nothing wrong with any of the produce as far as I can see, from shiny apples and juicy clementines to crunchy carrots and vibrant purple sprouting broccoli.
OddBox are certified B Corp and they’ll pick up your cardboard box for it to be recycled again. They currently deliver boxes in London and the South East, and will soon be expanding to Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth and Milton Keynes.
If you don’t have a vegetable box service near you, you might have a zero waste store you can use to fill up glass containers with dry goods and cut down on plastic waste.
I’m no saint and I still have a long way to go in my own sustainable journey, but I think these six sustainable household swaps are all fairly accessible and easy to commit to. Have you made any of these swaps? Are there any other swaps you’ve enjoyed making in your own home?
![Sleep soundly with a sustainable, natural bed from Button & Sprung – a review [ad]](https://i0.wp.com/catesthill.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/catesthill-botanical-green-bedroom-makeover-4.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
