easy ways to live more sustainably

happy late earth day

Earth Day just passed this week, and I feel like I didn’t hear much about it. Perhaps it’s because of all the climate doom and such, but I think it’s important to share optimism as well. A little different than usual, but this week I’m posting about easy swaps I’ve made to incorporate sustainability into my routine. I know what you’re thinking: it’s mostly corporations and the ultra-rich causing the problems (a large oversimplification, but the sentiment is there). Still, it’s always good to get into the practice of sustainability and reusing things.

I’ve recently learned in class that it would take the supply of about 5 earths to allow everyone to live how the average American does, so even if everything was perfect and the rich weren’t ruining the environment, it would still be necessary for us to cut down. Another statistic that’s stuck with me is from a 2022 report which stated that everyone should only buy 5 new garments of clothing to stay within the 1.5C degrees of warming target. That number was kind of crazy to me given how normal it is to buy even more clothing than that in one shopping spree.

Now that we’ve established that it’s still important for everyday people to participate in sustainability despite the fact that, as individuals, they aren’t contributing massively to the harm, here’s some tips on how I’ve cut down some of my own consumption. (Also, a lot of these options tend to be less toxic/harsh to humans)

Refillable containers for soaps/snacks/etc.

I personally use a delivery service, but there are stores that supply this service as well. Basically, you get your soap in a reusable dispenser or your snacks in something like a mason jar, and once you’ve used it all you go back to the store/delivery service to refill that specific dispenser/bottle/jar/etc. It helps a lot with plastic waste because the goods were never in a plastic container to begin with. It’s like a step above buying a huge container of whatever you need and slowly filling a smaller, reusable container. This cuts out the plastic middle-man. These types of stores or delivery services aren’t everywhere, but I’d assume there’s at least one in most cities.

an example of a refillable store in Philly

Reusable cotton pads

I got rid of my makeup wipes a long time ago because of how they irritated my skin and replaced them with micellar and a cotton pad. However, I felt guilty about using these single-use pads so often. Then I found out that you can get a bundle of reusable cotton pads, and I’ve loved them. They still work just as well with the micellar, arguably better because they aren’t going to disintegrate if they get too wet. They didn’t work as well with taking off nail polish, so let me know if you have a good replacement for removing that! I don’t really use pads to apply skincare like toner, but I’m sure they’d work for that as well.

this is kind of what mine look like. source

The one issue I will admit to is that they can be hard to clean. Generally, just using my hand soap gets a decent amount off the cotton pad and hasn’t irritated my eyes, but it won’t get everything off. I’ve found that putting the pad in hot/boiling water occasionally seems to do a good job in addition to regularly cleaning it with soap. It only takes a few more seconds to have to clean the pad, so I think they’re worth it.

Compostable bags (sandwich bags, gallon bags, etc.)

Another waste I felt bad about was plastic bags, like sandwich bags or gallon freezer bags. However, it felt hard to just not use them because they’re really useful for food. I do have reusable bags, but they can be stiff and annoying to clean (especially if you’re like me and living without a dishwasher at the moment). You might like the reusable bags instead, but I prefer the compostable bags. I feel a little less guilty throwing these out knowing that they’ll have an easier time breaking down as waste and aren’t releasing toxins. Their main flaw is that they can be a pain to open or close, but I think it’s worth it to feel better about the waste I create.

this site goes into depth comparing different types of compostable bags

Thrift more than just clothes — books, kitchenware, etc.

This one might be obvious, but it’s always a good reminder. I love website like ThriftBooks that allow you to browse and buy used books. Also, if you’re in a city, there’s probably quite a few used book stores near you. Creating new books can be a strain on the environment, so it’s good to just reuse an old book that needs a new home. Most of my books are thrifted at this point, and it can be really fun to find people’s notes or old bookmarks. One bookmark I’ve found was a salad recipe that the person said was “good enough to turn them vegetarian,” although vegetarian was misspelled.

It can also be nice to thrift fancy glasses, mugs, or baking dishes that someone doesn’t need anymore. Buying used electronics can be a bit trickier because they may not work or be electrically safe, but other kitchenware can be good thrifted. However, if something seems especially old, it would be useful to have a lead testing kit on hand to ensure what you bought is safe to use.

Sustainable Hygiene

I use a bamboo tooth brush to brush my teeth, and I have these biodegradable picks/flosses that I use as well. I feel better about throwing out the bamboo rather than a plastic toothbrush, and having biodegradable picks makes me feel better about throwing out single-use products. These may seem obvious, but they’re small things I use everyday. I didn’t know that biodegradable picks existed and was previously using plastic ones, so I thought someone else would find this information useful.

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This list was a bit shorter than I anticipated, but I really do use everything I’ve talked about on a daily, if not weekly, basis.

—My hand and dish soap are in reusable containers that I can return to my delivery service to get freshly refilled soaps whenever I run low. Some of my snacks, like pretzels, cookies, and chocolate-covered almonds, come in mason jars that I return to the delivery service once I’ve finished with them.

—The cotton pads are part of my skincare routine whenever I wear makeup, and I’m sure that people who use pads to put on toner and the like would also find them useful.

—I use the compostable bags to store food in the fridge or freezer, and I also use them to keep my silverware clean when I bring a fork or spoon to work for lunch (instead of using a plastic one).

—Like I said earlier, most of my books are not new, and I’ve gotten a good pyrex container to use for baking things in the oven from a flea market.

—Hygiene is something people do daily (hopefully), so it’s always great to find more sustainable toothbrushes, floss, picks, and so on. I feel better about my consumption of these tools by choosing more sustainable options.

Let me know if there’s anything else you think would be a good addition to the list :) Talk to you next week.