This is the last chapter in the 5 Disposables to Ditch in 2020! If you haven’t check out the other two, make sure to catch up on Personal Care and In the Kitchen!
If you have any other tips or tricks to reducing household waste, I would LOVE to hear them!
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Packaged Snacks
I will be the first to admit, prepackaged snacks are super convenient for lunches or on-the-go. Unforntualtely, they come with a lot of packaging waste and generally don’t have the best nutritional value.
To reduce both packaging and food waste, every shipment we get from Misfits Market gets prepped for snack and cooking use as soon as possible. The jars that are dedicated to snacking are placed in the refrigerator where they are easily accessible by our three year old. Veggie snacking is not regulated here! They can eat as much broccoli as their little hearts desire.
Make sure you are utilizing your scraps as well! I collect ours in a widemouth mason jar until we have enough to use for vegetable broth or add in with bone broth!
I use widemouth mason jars only with plastic lids. Make sure to check them before you take them out of the freezer! If you store any liquid in them and freeze they could possibly break on you. I don’t use mason jars for liquid freezing any longer.
Tissues
Early this fall we all came down with respiratory illness that lasted for over 2 months. It was miserable. Having to resort to using toilet paper for our drippy noses when tissues ran out for the 856th time, I finally had the brilliant idea to make them! I scrap flannel we had been given, cut them in lengths that felt right for my hands and sewed them together. I using pinking sheers to try and keep the edges from fraying (didn’t work very well, they fray, but are still totally functional). I was in a rush while making them, so if I were to make them again, I would definitely hem them properly.
If you don’t have a sewing machine or the time to make your own, there are some great handkerchief options on Amazon!
Diapers
Anyone who has been around infants knows they go to the bathroom. A LOT! And with all the potty-ing comes a lot of diaper waste. Using disposable diapers is literally like pooping in your wallet and throwing it in the landfill. (Too far? Sorry.) It’s estimated each baby will use between 2,500 – 3,000 diapers in it’s first year alone. That’s not including wipes! Financially, using disposable diapers can cost anywhere from $500-900 in the baby’s first year. And will wreak havoc on our environment for who knows how long.
Cloth diapers and cloth wipes are a completely viable option in today’s society. They aren’t the cloth diapers of yesteryears. Contemporary cloth diapers come in a variety of sizes, fabrics, and prints. They’re functional, economical in the long run, and don’t pile up in the trash.
I definitely recommend starting with a few, inexpensive diapers to test them out and get familiar with them. We started out with several different brands, but in hindsight I would tell others to start with Alvas.
Full disclosure, there is a whole cloth diaper world out there, and it could be a whole series in itself. If you’re interested in learning more about cloth diapering – stay tuned for future posts!
Laundry Detergent
The laundry room is definitely an area where a lot of waste can be produced. Not only is there a lot of waste, but the fragrances and chemicals used in many laundry products can be harmful to you and your family.
Some simple changes would be to use the Beron detergent balls. These have worked SO great for us! I use them with every load except my husband’s work clothes and cloth diapers. These laundry balls are good for up to 1500 loads of laundry!
Pro Tip: Follow the directions! Only fill your washer with the recommended amount of clothes per load. Overfilling doesn’t allow the balls to move around the drum, therefore not allowing them to function properly.
Fabric Softener/Dryer Sheets
For your dryer, cutting out the dryer sheets and fabric softener is a definite change ASAP (in my opinion!) Wool dryer balls will reduce waste and leave your clothes soft while helping to dry them faster. You can add a drop of essential oil to a woo ball during the last 5 minutes of your dry cycle if you prefer scented laundry.
Pro Tip: If your clothes come out of the dryer with lots of static, it’s because they’re too dry.