5 Low-Waste Resolutions to Make 2021 a Good (and Greener) Year

Happy New Year to you and yours! (Better late than never?) We hope you’ve started off your year with a lot of joy and hope, plus a little bit of intention sprinkled in there for the days to come. Maybe, like us, you’re resolving to be less wasteful and more conscious with the products you buy and use on a daily basis. Ready to start? Here are five easy and thoughtful ways to make your daily rhythms more earth friendly. Don’t be overwhelmed by the idea of making big, sweeping changes to your habits. Just choose one or two things that excite you and take the first step without any pretense of perfection. Remember: small changes can make a big impact!

Begin Your Bulk Journey

We know your heart pitter-patters when you scroll by a photo of a rustic wood shelf, perfectly lined with glistening jars of nuts, flours, and seeds. The aesthetic appeal of bulk buying cannot be denied, but it can sometimes feel a little out of reach if you’ve never tried it before. This is why we recommend doing a quick audit of your everyday essentials before diving in.

Make a list featuring laundry detergent, face wash, dish soap, granola, whatever you reach for on the daily. Next, assess where you can find local refills (we carry everything from olive and coconut oil to shampoo, dried flowers, borax and more), then look around your home for glass containers to have on standby when you’re heading out the door to shop. You only need to start with one or two bulk items to get into the swing of things. Pretty soon, you’ll be a bulk-buying pro.

Overhaul Your Oral Hygiene 

Floss then brush. Twice a day, morning and night. It’s a simple routine, sure, but how simple are your products? 

Plastic toothbrushes, plastic containers for floss, and chemical-packed toothpaste that’s packaged in (you guessed it!) plastic… that’s a lot of eventual waste sitting in your bathroom drawer. Reevaluate your output and focus on finding new products that will reduce your footprint and do double-duty for your wellness, like charcoal-infused toothbrushes, refillable dental floss in a glass container, and minty fresh toothpaste tablets; all better for you and the planet. 

Save Your Scraps

We are all guilty of producing too much food waste (and eating a little too much takeout… but hey, we’re living through a pandemic). One way to minimize what ends up in the trash bin is to save your veggie scraps for making a wildly easy and virtually free, low waste stock. Designate a container to live in the freezer; preferably something made of glass to temper any stinkiness. Every time you chop up veggies, instead of tossing the onion tops or carrot skins away, throw whatever’s leftover on your cutting board into the freezer. Soon enough your container will be filled to the brim and you can dump it all into a pot, cover it with water, toss in a few spices or herbs, and let it simmer. Strain after thirty minutes (or more for extra richness) and you’ll have a delicious stock ready to sip or to use for making soups and sauces. 

Try Some New Towels

While using cloth is the planet-friendly ideal for tackling everyday messes, it also means bulking-up your laundry basket, and if that’s a bit too daunting for 2021, we get it. Little steps in the right direction is much better than no movement at all. That’s why we adore Swedish Dish Cloths; one cloth can replace seventeen (!) paper towels.

They are ultra-absorbent, quick drying to keep smells at bay, and can be tossed right into your compost bin when you’re done with them. The cute patterns help too, don’t you think?

Use it Up

While it may be tempting to throw out that half-full shampoo bottle and snatch up the organic bar shampoo you’ve been eyeing for a few months, take a beat before making any purchases.

One of the best things you can do for your environmental footprint is to make the most of what you already have, which means using your remaining plastic q-tips before purchasing a reusable swab, or washing those ziplocks between uses until they truly need to be tossed. 

We promise, our low waste products will be here when you’re ready to take the plunge and it will be that much sweeter to press the “checkout” button once you’ve truly used what you already own. Nice thoughts to have while munching on carrot sticks from your new, reusable snack bag! 

Bonus tip! 

Need help remembering to buy low-waste replacements instead of making auto-pilot purchases during your grocery run? Keep a scrap paper note on your bathroom mirror or your pantry door. List the products you use everyday alongside the low-waste replacement that you’ve been eager to make. When you’re running low, cross it off the list and head to our products page to buy the item for which you’ve been (oh so patiently) awaiting.