Simple Ways to Create an Eco Friendly and Sustainable Home

Looking for easy ways to lead a more non-toxic, eco friendly and sustainable lifestyle? I’m going to be sharing my favorite sustainable swaps for everyday items you have in your home! For the last few years, we’ve slowly been transitioning over to cleaner, more sustainable products and it’s definitely a process! We’re still making swaps and learning!

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In this post, I’ll share all the swaps we’ve made and some of our favorite brands to purchase from. But, don’t feel like you have to make all these changes all at once. Truly, the best way to start, is to make one change at a time.

To make it easier, as you run out of every day items, replace them with products that are toxin-free and made from more sustainable materials. And, do you research before you purchase!

Easy Ways to Create an Eco Friendly and Sustainable Home

I’m going to divide up this post into sections to make it easier for you to navigate! I’ll start with the Laundry room and share the products we use and then go into kitchen, etc.

Laundry

I had been looking for a better laundry detergent option for some time, and just struggled to find a nontoxic and sustainable detergent that I loved. Then, I came across these laundry detergent strips on Amazon and they completely changed the game for me!

beyond Laundry Detergent Sheets: These detergent sheets are GENIUS. For one thing, they’re so convenient and take up basically no space in your laundry room, unlike traditional liquid detergents which are so bulky and heavy. And since these strips are so lightweight, they’re easy to bring with you when traveling, to college, etc.

They contain zero plastic waste (they’re packaged in recyclable cardboard) and are free from chlorine bleach and added dyes. I love that they’re so easy to use too! I just tear off a strip (I’ll add two if it’s a large load), throw it in the washer, and then add my clothes. It’s really that simple and it eliminates any measuring or messes in the laundry room!

Use Wool Dryer Balls: If you find yourself frequently using dryer sheets, swap them for some wool dryer balls instead. They’ll reduce wrinkles in your clothing, speed up drying time and work as a natural fabric softener.

Air dry your clothes: If you can, air dry your clothes as much as possible! It’ll reduce your energy consumption and actually make your clothes last longer. Tumble drying can cause some wear and tear and reduce the lifespan of certain pieces!

Kitchen

There are SO many eco friendly and sustainable swaps you can make in your kitchen! So many that I could probably dedicate an entire post simply to kitchen swaps. But, I’ll try to keep it brief and list some my favorite sustainable products that we’ve been using in our kitchen.

Reusable Bags: Next time you’re heading to the grocery store or Target, pack some reusable grocery bags. This way, you won’t have to bag your items in plastic bags at the store. I keep a few in my car and a few near our door at home so I can easily grab them on my way out!

Over the past few years, I’ve tried really hard to reduce the number of single-use items that I use. Plastic bags being the number one thing that I want to cut back on. They’re terrible for our environment and marine life and take hundreds and hundreds of years to break down, and even then they don’t fully degrade.

Reduce Food Waste: There is a huge food waste problem here in the United States. Approximately 30-40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted. So before you go to the store to buy more food, use up what you already have in your fridge/pantry.

Reusable Water Bottle: replacing plastic bottles with a reusable water bottle instead was probably one of the easiest swaps I’ve made! Now, my go-to, everyday water bottle is this leak-proof stainless steel insulated tumbler. It fits perfectly into my car’s cupholder, keeps my drinks cold for up to 12 hours (or hot for up to 7), and comes with a stainless steel straw and silicone straw tip.

Use Cloths to clean up spills: Instead of constantly reaching for paper towels to clean up messes in your home, opt for some microfiber cloths instead. They absorb so much more than paper towel and they’ll save you money. I just keep a stack underneath our sink!

I also really love these European Dish Cloths from Hardeman Home! They’re super absorbent, dishwasher safe and last up to 9 months.

Biodegradable Sponges: If you’re looking to ditch your typical yellow and green kitchen sponge for a greener alternative, these 100% plant-based compostable sponges are awesome. They’re quick drying, resists odor build-up and doesn’t scratch your pots and pans!

Silicone Baking Mats: These silicone baking mats from Amazon are so good! I got a few for Christmas a while back and they still look brand new. You’ll be able to replace so much parchment paper and aluminum foil for these and they’re super easy to clean – just rinse with soap and water.

ZipTop Containers: These reusable, food-grade silicone bags are an awesome alternative to plastic sandwich bags! They’re freezer, dishwasher and microwave safe, they’re durable and (one of my favorite features) they can stand on their own and stay open! This makes them really easy to clean, and/or fill with snacks or leftovers. ZipTop even offers silicone cup-sized bags that will fit in the cupholder of your car – perfect for on-the-go!

Personal Care and Beauty Products

Organic Tampons: These are my favorite organic tampons, I just get them at Target! They’re made of 100% organic cotton and are free of fragrances, pesticides, chlorine bleaching and any toxic chemicals!

Cocofloss: I actually came across this eco-friendly floss on Instagram! It’s dentist-designed, made from eco-friendly materials and is toxin free. Cocofloss even offers refills in compostable packaging!

Reusable Makeup Remover Pads: After switching to these dual-sided makeup remover pads, I’ll never go back to cotton balls or makeup wipes (which are actually terrible for your skin and can cause irritation, fine lines and wrinkles). I’ve been using these exact makeup remover pads for about 3 years now and I love them. They’re so gentle on my skin and remove ALL my makeup and sunscreen with just water. It’s actually pretty crazy!

They’re dual-sided too! The black side removes your makeup without staining the pad and the white side can be used to apply your toner or moisturizer!

Deodorant

Native: I’ve been using Native for years. It’s one of favorite deodorants and I love that I can pick it up at Target! It works SO well and is paraben and aluminum free. Native also came out with a 100% plastic free version too which I’m so excited about!

If you’re curious about how long it lasts, I typically only have to apply it once in the morning and it’ll last me all day long.

Edible Beauty: I also really love Edible Beauty’s Vanilla and Coconut Natural Zero Waste Deodorant. It’s made with organic ingredients, has no plastic packaging and is sensitive skin friendly. I will say, I was a bit skeptical at first because I had never used a deodorant bar before. BUT I was so impressed after using it for a few months! It works great for me and lasts me all day long.

I use Edible Beauty’s and Native’s deodorants interchangeably because they both work so well.

Natural Deodorant vs. Traditional Antiperspirants

If you’re wondering what the main differences are between traditional antiperspirants and natural deodorants, I’ll give a super brief overview here. Traditional deodorants/antiperspirants have ingredients in them that block your sweat glands and actually stop you from sweating. On the other hand, natural deodorants do not stop sweating, but instead fight odor.

Just so you know, sweating is a good thing! It’s natural and needed for our body to eliminate toxins, cool us down and maintain a healthy body temperature.

Cleaning

I have a few non-toxic and sustainable cleaning brands that I absolutely love and have been using for years that I’ll share below. This was one of the first swaps that I made when I started focusing on finding more toxin-free, eco-friendly products because there are SO many toxic chemicals in your typical every-day cleaners.

Force of Nature

One of my absolute favorite toxin free cleaners is Force of Nature. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I talk about it A LOT. I use FON to clean almost everything in our home – our windows, sinks, toilets, countertops, door handles, sports equipment, pet supplies, my makeup brushes, even my toothbrush – that’s how clean it is!

Force of Nature is an all-in one cleaner, deodorizer, sanitizer and EPA-registered disinfectant that’s kid and pet-friendly, free from fragrances, phthalates, bleach, and dyes and kills 99.9% of germs. I love it because not only does it replace all my other kitchen, bathroom, glass cleaners, disinfectants (and bleach), but it also saves me so much space under my kitchen sink. I don’t need all these different cleaning products because FON does it all. And it’ll save you money.

I even fill up travel-sized containers with Force of Nature and keep a few in my purse and car so that we can use them when on-the go. I regularly spray down my car’s steering wheel, door handles, cupholders and center console. You can get 40% off your Starter Kit with code CASSIE40.

Branch Basics

Branch Basics is another toxin-free cleaning brand I love that makes it really easy for you to replace all your traditional cleaning products with their Concentrate model. When you purchase the Starter Kit you get a bottle of concentrate which you use to make your all purpose cleaner, bathroom cleaner, streak-free cleaner, foaming hand wash and laundry detergent. Super easy to make and these will last you a while!

I use their Oxygen Boost on a daily basis. It is the BEST stain remover I’ve found! I’ll sprinkle a little oxygen boost directly onto the stain, spray the BB all-purpose on top of it, and use a toothbrush to gently scrub the stain. I’ll let it sit for about 10 minutes and then throw the item in the washing machine. The stain comes out completely every time. It’s seriously like magic!

Koala Eco

I came across Koala Eco more recently, and I love it! They’re a family owned, USA and Australia based brand, that creates sustainable and plant-based products for a safe, clean and toxin free home. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I love supporting small businesses, especially ones that truly care about making a difference and have a positive impact on the world.

With Koala Eco, not only do they focus on using toxin-free, all natural ingredients, sustainable practices and eco-friendly packaging, but they also give back. When you buy from Koala Eco, they donate to One Percent for the Planet! Their refillable plastic bottles are also 100% post consumer recycled, so no new plastic is created!

I LOVE their natural floor cleaner and Fruit and Vege Wash. I use both weekly!

Miscellaneous

Candles: I’m obsessed with these hand poured all-natural soy candles! They’re free from phthalates and toxins and the vessels are absolutely beautiful!

Switch to paperless billing: You may have already done this, but take a second to switch all your bills to paperless. It’s easy to do and will reduce all the paper clutter in your home.

Use less water: Take shorter showers, turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth, run the dishwasher less, use your washing machine for full loads, etc.

Wrapping it up!

I hope you found this post beneficial! Creating a nontoxic, eco friendly and sustainable home all starts with making better choices. And it doesn’t have to be difficult (or more expensive). Instead of buying that 24 pack of plastic water bottles, opt for an insulated tumbler.

When you run out of your Tide laundry detergent, why not try these zero waste laundry detergent strips? Or when you go to buy more multi-purpose cleaner, carpet cleaner, or Febreze, how about trying Force of Nature, which is powerful enough to replace all of those, including bleach!

There are so many different ways that we can reduce our carbon footprint and make the world a better place for future generations. Just start small! I will continue to add to this blog post as we find and incorporate more eco friendly products into our everyday life. So, save this post so you can refer back to it!

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