Your Guide to Sustainable Living: Easy Changes + Eco-Friendly Favorites
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
How Do You Start Living More Sustainably?
My sustainability journey started when I read Attainable Sustainable. Learning how to ferment, make sourdough, and more. We have a local marketplace that has multiple shops inside, it's like a mall but smaller. There is a store there called Zero Market. One day I was walking by and I really wasn't sure what it was. It was closed so I couldn't go inside to explore.
As I was working my way through learning herbs, I found that Zero Market had a small apothecary. When I visited to get some herbs I took a look around at what they offered and heard the term "refillery" for the first time.
Of course, when I got home, I googled refillery and found there are a few more refilleries around. About a year later, I was visiting local refilleries, swapped a few products in my home, and in this post, I'm covering my favorite products. Around the same time, my friend's shop, Aura Luna Collective, was getting some buzz around cream deodorant. I tried a sample and then made my first product switch! As luck would have it, my favorite refillery carries this in bulk so I can easily refill as needed.
Angie's Favorite Sustainable Products
Everyone's sustainable journey is going to be different. The products you choose to use will be based on what you use today, how open you are to swtiching brands and at times, if you are willing to pay a little more for your re-fillable product.
My favorite products include:
Swedish Dish Cloths
Lip Balm In A Cardboard Tube
Toothpaste Tabs
Mouthwash Tabs
Cotton Pads For Beauty Care
Little Seed Farm Cream Deodorant
Continue reading to learn the level of effort to swap products. I am not including things like swapping plastic for glass storage containers - that could be a whole post on its own!
How Difficult Is It To Swap To Sustainable Products?
As I go through my low-waste journey, I realized some things were "easy" and others took some getting used to. I am also including items I haven't swapped (yet!) and what I think the level of effort will be.
I have divided the products into the following categories for effort:
Level Of Effort:
Easy - products that take little to no effort to switch
Easy-ish - products that take little to no effort to switch but take some getting used to
Medium - products that require a little effort to make the switch and require some getting used to
Hard - products that require some level of effort to make the switch and take a lot of getting used to
Angie's Review Of Sustainable Products
Product: Poppy & Pout Lip Balm In A Cardboard Tube
Level Of Effort: Easy
Reason For Effort: Instead of winding up a tube, you just push it up! One of the easiest products to swap.
Where To Buy: Local Refillery/Sustainable Store, Amazon
My Favorite Way To Store: I keep mine at my work desk, under the sink in the bathroom, or in my purse
Product: Huppy Mouthwash Tabs
Level Of Effort: Easy
Reason For Effort: Instead of measuring and swishing a liquid mouthwash, I pop a tab, chew and swish! Leaves a wonderfully minty feeling & scent. In the mornings my breath doesn't feel as stale as it ussed to.
Where To Buy: Local Refillery/Sustainable Store
My Favorite Way To Store: A metal tin - makes it easy to open one-handed to grab a tab, also keeps it sealed from any water drips.
Product: Reusable Cotton Pads For Beauty Care
Level Of Effort: Easy
Reason For Effort: Instead of grabbing a piece of toilet paper or a cotton ball, I grab a cotton pad. Do whatever I need to do, then toss it into a laundry bag. When the bag is looking full, I toss it into my regular wash.
Where To Buy: Local Refillery/Sustainable Store, Amazon
My Favorite Way To Store: The cotton pads I bought came with a bamboo storage container, so I use that. It's got a slit in the front that makes grabbing a cotton pad easy.
Product: Swedish Dish Cloths
Level Of Effort: Easy-ish
Reason For Effort: I found that these took a little more force to scrub and work best when wet & wrung when cleaning up spills
Where To Buy: Local Refillery/Sustainable Store, Walmart, Amazon
My Favorite Way To Store: I prefer cutting mine into smaller, more manageable sizes for the kitchen, but I leave these whole for things like wiping the water off the shower. When I'm done using it, I wring it out and hang it over the sink or tub to dry.
Product: Huppy Toothpaste Tabs
Level Of Effort: Easy-ish
Reason For Effort: I use the charcoal mint flavor, and it's messier than my old toothpaste. Give it a try over your sink until you are used to it.
Where To Buy: Local Refillery/Sustainable Store
My Favorite Way To Store: A metal tin - makes it easy to open one-handed to grab a tab, also keeps it sealed from any water drips.
Product: Little Seed Farm Cream Deodorant
Level Of Effort: Medium
Reason For Effort: How much to apply and how to apply it takes some getting used to. After you learn how much and how to apply it, it's an easy switch. Pro tip: get the bamboo applicator & the silicone sleeve for the jar.
Where To Buy: Local Refillery/Sustainable Store, Amazon
My Favorite Way To Store: I store mine right on the counter of the bathroom, it's a fairly small jar. Previously I had a storage bin under the sink which also worked. When I buy refills from the refillery I put that into a larger glass jar, and then as my little jar depleates I refill using my larger jar. This saves me trips to the refillery.
Product: Reusable Toilet Paper
Level Of Effort: Hard
Reason For Effort: Seems cumbersome, smelly, and possibly could spread germs around.
Where To Buy: Amazon
My Favorite Way To Store: Looks like these come on a roll similar to how regular toilet paper comes. Just pop onto a toilet paper roll and you are good to go. Tip: maybe a 2nd toilet paper roll next to your regular toilet paper.
P.S.: OK, so this is NOT a switch I've made, but it's on the list, so I can share what I've learned. This article pretty much covers my biggest concerns. Other than E. Coli, my other issue is having to wash these on hot. For me, that means washing separately from my regular wash. One article I read even said to sanitize the washing machine after using (which I totally would have done anyway). Some articles said these are only for pee, while others were "all in". With all of that, am I really saving anything when I'm using all that extra water? This is a hard pass for me. Lots of extra effort needed. This article made me giggle and also reaffirmed my thoughts.
Sustainability Series
If you are interested in living more sustainably, I highly recommend reading my entire sustainability series. I cover topics such as where to shop (Denver Metro Area) or online, how to get started, recommended books/people to follow, and more.
When will you start your sustainability journey? Let me know in the comments below.
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