Heard the Term 'Zero Waste' and Curious? This is How We are Transitioning to a Zero Waste Home
Have you seen the term 'Zero Waste' being used quite a bit lately?
We started to make the transition to a more eco-friendly home several years ago, but this past year I wanted to take things a bit further and make more of an impact. Not just for the environment but also out of a desire to live more simply.
I was getting sick of having to remember all the different cleaning products I needed to keep up with purchasing and refilling. There were products for the bathroom, products for the kitchen, products for the laundry. Then there were all the other products for hair, makeup, skin care... It was all just getting to be so overwhelming, not to mention there were more empty bottles than I knew what to do with. I needed to make a change.
I love following Anita from @rocket_science on instagram. She gives the best advice on reusing and recycling all sorts of items in your home. She also has some great zero waste cleaning supply recipes that only require 2-3 ingredients that you can use for so many different areas of your home and life.
All I need to purchase these days are industrial size bottles of:
- White Vinegar (We use about 1 of these bottles a year, we live in a 4 bed/3 bath home with a finished basement to gauge use for amount).
- Dr. Bronners All Purpose Cleaner (We use about 1 of these gallon bottles a year)
- Baking Soda (We go through about 1-2 boxes a year).
- Your favorite essential oils. My favorites are tea tree, wild orange, and peppermint from doTERRA. (This lasts quite a bit longer, I get a few years for each 15ml oil).
I made a one time purchase of the following items:
USE + RECIPES
Kitchen
Dish Soap
- 1:10 Dr. Bronner's All Purpose Liquid Soap to Water
- 1-2 drops essential oil of your choice. I love to youse lemon oil for the kitchen scent.
- Reusable glass pump jar.
Hand Soap
- 1:5 Dr. Bronner's All Purpose Liquid Soap to Water
- 1-2 drops essential oil of your choice. I love to have lemon oil for the kitchen scent.
- Reusable glass pump jar.
All Purpose Spray Cleaner
- 50:50 White Vinegar to Water
- 2-3 each of Tea Tree Oil + Wild Orange Oil
- Glass spray bottle
Bath
Hand Soap
- 1:5 Dr. Bronner's All Purpose Soap to water.
- 1-2 drops of essential oil of your choice. I love eucalyptus oil in the bathroom.
- Reusable glass pump jar
Face Wash
- 2-3 drops Dr. Bronner's Liquid All Purpose Soap on wet hands, applied to wet face.
Mouthwash
- 2-3 tablespoons of bicarbonate soda
- 250 mL of water
- 5-10 drops of peppermint or spearmint essential oil
Laundry
- 1:7 Dr. Bronner's all purpose liquid soap to water
- 2-3 drops essential oil of your choice. I love rose or lavender.
- You can store this in a clean recycled glass juice jar.
- Use 1 cup of mixture per load.
Find tons more recipes + uses for Dr. Bronner's All Purpose Liquid Soap here.
Replacing habits is my favorite way to make long term life changes.
Zero Waste doesn't mean your life will be any less luxurious. You can have your delicious daily coffee and save the planet!
We love our daily ritual of making coffee and tea. Nick makes a mean cold brew coffee and tea that we keep in stock in glass jars in the fridge weekly. We gave up Starbucks years ago to save money but also because we just weren't satisfied with the quality. We joined a monthly coffee club that sends us ethical + sustainable coffee from all over the world each month.
We are both busy business owners and so most of the time our coffee is on the go.
Recently Starbucks finally came out with a cold reusable tumbler ($3 lid and straw included) to go along with their hot reusable cups ($2 lid included). I stocked up on both of these because they are nice lightweight options for us as we are running out the door on our way to work.
Our coffee bar is probably our favorite part of our home and kitchen.
In the mornings we sit for a minute making coffee and talking before we head off on our way, and at night this is where we catch up about our day and have tea before bed.
I just recently found these awesome waste free sandwich bags! Next on my zero waste agenda is to tackle meal prep and reusable food containers for lunch at our new office space. I am hoping to make Friday our Vegan Ice Cream Social Days.
I will keep you posted on my progress!