Mindful consumerism that helps your bank account and the planet
Being a hundred percent perfect at zero waste can feel like an unachievable task. The good news is that it’s ok if we’re not a hundred percent at it. If a lot of us just do what we can to minimize waste, it can make a significant impact on the earth.
Some action is better than no action at all.
A few of these tips may help the planet and your wallet as well.
By making your own beauty products, you are not only helping the environment by reducing waste of plastic containers but also saves you a fortune. It costs literally pennies to make an abundance of beauty supplies.
Use coconut oil as makeup remover, lotion and deodorant. Makeup remover wipes can cost a fortune and they are also very wasteful. You can use coconut oil as your make up remover. You can also use it as deodorant, mixed with some baking soda. You can also make a lotion by mixing coconut oil with shea butter and your favorite essential oil.
Don’t use single use baggies. Most families go through zip lock baggies like water with all the school lunches and leftover storage, etc. You can make a switch to glass containers with airtight lids for these same purposes. You can also use silicone reusable baggies that are spill proof and last for years.
Most of us use the disposable plastic razors that don’t last very long and add so much waste. You can use a metal shaver. It costs about $20 and you can just order the razor blades that come in packs of 25, 50 or 100 so it lasts a lifetime.
Every year, Americans throw away over 100 billion plastic grocery bags that take over a thousand years to break down. By just getting into the simple habit of bringing your own grocery bags to the store, it can save on the plastic that is going out into the environment. When buying produce, opt out on using the plastic produce bags. You can either use the bag that you brought from home or just let it be loose. Either way you are reducing on something you’re bringing home and just putting it into the garbage.
Using the all natural, biodegradable cleaning supplies sold in the market can be pretty expensive but using a less expensive cleaning supply usually has a lot of chemicals in it. You can make your own hand made cleaning supplies out of a few simple ingredients. It costs pennies to make, lasts a really long time, kills bacteria, feels great and you wouldn’t be putting any more chemicals into your house or any more plastics into the environment.
It’s estimated that over one million plastic water bottles are purchased every minute globally. All that plastic is sitting in our landfills and filling up our rivers and streams. Making the switch to a reusable water bottle you are saving yourself money by not purchasing more water bottles and you would not be contributing to any more plastic water bottles into the environment.
Making the switch from a dish sponge to a reusable organic cotton or a bamboo dish cloth helps save on the environment and you’re also not purchasing new sponges which can hold quite a bit of bacteria.
Avoid food waste by simply making a weekly meal plan and creating a grocery list and sticking to it. Not only does this really help out your budget for the month which helps you save money. You’re also not purchasing those impulse items that typically will just be wasted or thrown away when they go bad.
Also, shopping in second hand stores for household items to mix in with new items helps the environment as well as your pocket.
We don’t have to be perfect at zero waste and recycling as long as we are all doing what we can to help the environment which, in turn, also helps us to save money.
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