10 Sustainable Things I Do At Home
(bonus, a few I don't do)
Written by Jordan Fyfe
This list was actually pretty hard to write because so much of this is second nature to me now, I had to walk around my house trying to analyse what they might be. A lot of them took some effort in the beginning but I barely think about now. I suggest starting with one or 2 at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed.
1. Eco Dish brush
I use a brush for most of my dishes and I have some compostable loofahs for really stuck on things. They work pretty well, although I would say they sometimes take a little more effort than their not-eco options, however I am happy to scrub a little harder in order to use less plastic. I get mine from Seed and Sprout.
All images: Seed + Sprout: https://seedsprout.com.au/
2. Washable Cloths
I use re-usable bamboo cloths for all my surface wiping. Once I removed all the paper-towel and sponges from my house this wasn’t a hard change. However, I make sure I have at least 5 of them, because I want to wash them every 2-3 days. This took me longer to get a handle on, I’d leave them too long and they’d be gross but now I have a bag for them in my laundry and I just chuck them in on towel day.
3. Less Power
This one was drilled into me from a young age, the simple act of turning off all the lights in rooms you’re not using, opening windows to let in light, or unplugging things from the power when I’m not using them. I don’t go as far as to unplug my tv or computer as that would require crawling under my desk, but I do make sure they are always shut down and not in sleep mode.
4. No Berries
This one makes me a little sad. My local shops only sell berries in plastic, so I just don’t buy them, there are other fruits out there that are also delicious and come package free. Same goes for continental cucumbers, I’ll only get the lebanese ones because continental always has plastic.
Our boss-lady Morgan does buy her berries at a local farmers market and they accept the packages back to be reused each week.
5. Canvas bags
I am so glad that WA accepted the no-bag policy. I know there are still people that buy a bag every time they go to the shops however, all those people who were on the fence about it have come to the green side! I still forget my bags sometimes but if I do, I either carry it all with my ridiculously long arms or I take the trolly of food to my car, unload it and then put it in a box or a bag to unload when I get home.
6. Face wipes
I use little face wipes for my make-up and a flannel for the shower. Face wipes are a mixture of Seed and Sprout ones and cute crocheted ones from my Grandma-in-law. You can also make them from old towels.
Image: Seed + Sprout: https://seedsprout.com.au/collections/care/products/make-up-remover-pads
7. Parties
I’m a typical Gemini and I love to host a party. We never buy plastic cups or plates, instead we borrow them, get them from op-shops, rent them or even just make sure we serve food that doesn’t need a plate or knives and forks if it’s a large amount of people. We try to minimize food wastage by not over-catering, I know this can be super tricky though so another solution is having containers ready so people can take food home.
8. Bulk Buying
We go to Swansea Street Markets, while not specifically a waste-free market, it is affordable for us and we can buy all the things we need from rice to flour to spices.
9. Food Scraps
We keep all our food scraps and either compost them or re-plant them. We’ve had the most success with spring onions and garlic.
Image: Modern Parents Messy Kids: https://modernparentsmessykids.com/15936/
10. Plastic Wrap!
This has been a point of contention in my family, we moved to beeswax wraps and I made everyone a set for Christmas but they came back after a few months saying they weren’t effective enough. However, now we’ve moved past that and onto just putting things in containers. I haven’t bought plastic wrap or used a beeswax wrap in over a year. Everything seems to last just as long when you just put it in a jar or a container. HINT: buy a bunch of the same containers so they stack easily and are easy to store.
What I don’t do
Everyone has their limitations, and I am no exception. I think it’s important that we don’t push ourselves to a point of being unhappy because that leads to resentment and ultimately (in my opinion) people stop trying at all.
1. Eco Friendly Soap
This is my big guilt. I have very sensitive skin and I have tried so many eco-friendly soaps thinking they would be great because they have no nasties, but I’d just end up in itch town and make my partner use the rest of it. So, I have this one brand of soap I know doesn’t make me itch and I use that. GOOD NEWS THOUGH. After years of guilt, the brand itself has recently made a change to 100% recycled packaging.
2. Keep all my different kinds of waste
I know I need to start doing this and I’ve just moved house so I’m going to set up a system. But currently, I don’t keep all my different kinds of waste (soft plastic, electrical etc) and take it to the appropriate recycling places. It goes in the recycling or the compost or it goes in the bin.
+ Many other things that I may or may not be aware of.
Please, tell us what sustainable practices you do.