What are your best eco swaps?

[SimpleComforts]

I'm particularly worried about single use plastics, as we seem to have completely abandoned all the work that was done over the last few years with the need for single use PPE and disposable cups etc for hygiene purposes. Some schools, for example, seem to have banned reusable water bottles.

I'm happy to pay a bit extra to do my bit, but I'm not made of money so it needs to be cost effective too. I just looked at getting milk from the milkman but it's almost 4 times the price of milk in a plastic carton from the supermarket!

Things I have done:

Canvas shopping bags.

Chillys water bottle

Reusable coffee cup

Weekly organic veg box that comes with only paper or cardboard packaging and the box goes back to be reused.

A delivery from the fishmonger, which comes wrapped in paper in a plastic crate that goes back. I freeze it in Tupperware.

I get a similar delivery from the butcher but he uses polystyrene trays and clingfilm or plastic bags.

I've ordered the trial of Smol DW and laundry tabs. Does anyone have an an opinion on their other products?

Looking at my recycling, it mostly seems to consist of yogurt pots (I buy the big ones and do reuse in the freezer, but there's a limit to how many you need), cleaning products and toiletries, plus plastic packaging from online orders.

What are your most successful and/or cost effective swaps?

Changed to Faith by nature bath and shampoo products, as they are organic and local eco shop refills them.
Milk from the milk machine in the village, bought glass bottles with rubber tops for it.
Buy all my cleaning products at the Eco shop, as they only sell refills.
Staples like rice, oils, pulses and grains all bought there too. You have to bring your own receptacles for them. I have glass jars from IKEA.
Friend makes organic soaps so use them for hand washing.
DDIL makes hand creams, so she filled a china pot that was my mothers for me.
Only use refillable cups, water bottles and such. We have metal straws.
Made our masks so all are washable. We have 6 each so can all be washed easily.
Bought silocone bags and lids to use instead of clingfilm. Best thing every.
We have silicone baking tray liners as well.
Think the bags have been the best thing. Have three different sizes. DH uses some for sandwiches, the bacon and cheese go into them in the fridge.

In my experience, one of the biggest eco swaps you can make actually saves you money. Going vegetarian reduced my food shopping bills.

Mooncup
Milk delivery
Smol washing tabs
Cloths instead of disposable surface wipes
Biodegradable baby wipes

I've also started making my own cleaning products, vinegar and water is amazing (although the smell admittedly isn't great) and Castile soap and water can be used on everything that I can't put vinegar on. I do still use bleach for the sinks though 🙊

Oh and silicon lids instead of cling film, we haven't used any for about 2 years.

I can’t get my silicon lids to fit anything. It’s very frustrating

I am wondering where you all live to have these refill shops?!

I've never heard of silicon bags. Are they from Lakeland, or online somewhere?

Cloth sanitary pads and liners, bar soap and shampoo and no longer buying any single use baby wipes/face wipes/kitchen cleaning wipes etc.

@EvilPea

I can’t get my silicon lids to fit anything. It’s very frustrating

I am wondering where you all live to have these refill shops?!

I'm wondering the same re refill shops, I would love to use one but my closest is over an hour away.

My adult kids have a serious Cola addiction so I invested in a soda stream. They don't like the cheap syrup though so I bought a short dated bulk box of post mix Pepsi syrup. I decanted it into bottles and stored it outside in a dark shed and they have enough syrup for about a year. Water is one card box and a plastic liner and tap. Doesn't matter if it's short dated as it won't go off. So now I just pay £20 a month for gas and have loads of space in my plastic wheel bin.

I use soap powder instead of liquid. Have cut back on meat consumption quite a lot. We get milk , eggs and OJ from the milk man and it's £25 a month by dd. I love my non cup and will be getting my youngest daughter onto reusable sanitary stuff when she starts her period. We forage fit Guinea pig and tortoise food instead of buying it ( where we can). Bar soap is so much cleaner feeling than shower gel and I seem to smell less. We use salt block deodorant.

For me the biggest new thing is decorating or buying a piece of furniture and choosing it because I love it and will be keeping it long term rather than buying cheap to follow a trend. My kids are older now so less destructive. I recently bought a beautiful vintage Art Deco bedroom suite and will be keeping it for as long as it is fit for purpose. I am getting rid of the shitty laminate in my room and sanding back the floor boards and keeping those. I need new sofas and am hoping to buy two really good quality pieces that can be re upholstered in the future..... or maybe even buy vintage and re upholstery them myself now.

Those of you who make your own cleaning fluid ... I've been doing this for about a year now and that's an easy win as it does costs pennies. I use bicarbonate of soda, vinegar and water with a few drops of lavender of tea tree oil. Does anyone else find though that before you get to the end of your (recycled from old plastic spray bottles which I refill each time!), bottle of fluid the spray stops working? I'm wondering if the bicarbonate although it's a small amount is perhaps "blocking" the inside of the squirt mechanism.

I also use Ecover washing up liquid (buy it when it's on offer) in the spring/summer months when I'm needing to water pots and plants. It's chemical free so providing there isn't any food debris in the bowl once dishes are done I empty the bowl either straight into my watering can or into a bucket if it's full. My plants have been perfectly happy with this arrangement 😊.

Those of you who se silicone lids, if you buy coffee like Millicano or Azera they have reuseable lids which fit over some containers/cups.

Just realised I sound like a grumpy headmaster with "those of you..." sorry

I know, about the refills, we don't even have farm shops. We're a deprived area and apparently there's no demand, seems counter productive to drive out of area for them.

What has been a boon during Covid is firms that usually supply the restaurant trade, who are based on our (cheap) industrial estates, starting home box deliveries. That's how I now get my fish, veg and meat. Much better quality than the supermarkets and, although not cheap, not over expensive either and with far less packaging. Although, the butcher has some work to do, it's still less than the supermarket.

I keep my shampoo bar in a little plastic dish with the lid off so it dries out in between washes and doesn’t make a mess. The dish is a repurposed hummus container

Re PP and the furniture. My sofas are 21 years old from John Lewis and were bought just before DS1 was born, so they've survived 2 toddlers and everything that followed. I have them cleaned every 4/5 years and honestly they look new, although dated but I don't care about that. They weren't cheap but what good value? I'm not sure the same purchase today would last so long though

I don't think I've ever thrown out furniture just because I don't like it. And I never replace anything until I can afford to do it with something quality that I love. I hate the way peope buy cheap stuff knowing they will only use it short term.

I try to do the same with clothes, but you need to be stronger willed!

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz

Those of you who make your own cleaning fluid ... I've been doing this for about a year now and that's an easy win as it does costs pennies. I use bicarbonate of soda, vinegar and water with a few drops of lavender of tea tree oil. Does anyone else find though that before you get to the end of your (recycled from old plastic spray bottles which I refill each time!), bottle of fluid the spray stops working? I'm wondering if the bicarbonate although it's a small amount is perhaps "blocking" the inside of the squirt mechanism.

I also use Ecover washing up liquid (buy it when it's on offer) in the spring/summer months when I'm needing to water pots and plants. It's chemical free so providing there isn't any food debris in the bowl once dishes are done I empty the bowl either straight into my watering can or into a bucket if it's full. My plants have been perfectly happy with this arrangement 😊.

I make mine and heard that vinegar and bicarbonate cancel each other out when they're mixed together making them less effective (bicarbonate being base and vinegar an acid). Apparently the cleaning action you get from mixing the two is from foaming of the initial reaction.

I've reused an old method bottle about 10 times now and it's still going strong.

I use a wire rack in my shower for soaps and shampoo, that stops them going soggy.

For sinks, I made some mats using parcel string (wool is too fluffy) so they absorb any excess moisture from the soap. When the mat gets soggy I use it to wipe the sink down then throw it in the wash. (I made spares).

Soap bars, shampoo and conditioner bars (from a place called KinKind). You need to be careful with shampoo bars, they aren't all good.

I used to put things into plastic bags in the fridge or freezer, but have reduced this a lot, by reusing the plastic tubs that takeaways come in (not that we have many, but the tubs get reused).

I recycle fabrics. Stuff that is not good enough to charity shop gets cut into cloths for the kitchen, or reused in other projects.

I've still got sprays, etc for cleaning, but I am working out what I'll be doing once these are used up.

For sinks, I made some mats using parcel string (wool is too fluffy) so they absorb any excess moisture from the soap. When the mat gets soggy I use it to wipe the sink down then throw it in the wash. (I made spares).

I like that idea. I can crochet, so will try something like this after I've finished making some make up remover pads.

Squirel bugger, really?! If that's true I don't actually want to think about the state of my house hopefully over zealous use of tea tree oil may have compensated a bit.

Can you tell me what solution you make? Ta.

Just use vinegar and water with your teatree, and for stubborn cleaning mix bicarb and water into a paste and scrub then wipe down with your spray

@MulticolourMophead

For sinks, I made some mats using parcel string (wool is too fluffy) so they absorb any excess moisture from the soap. When the mat gets soggy I use it to wipe the sink down then throw it in the wash. (I made spares).

I like that idea. I can crochet, so will try something like this after I've finished making some make up remover pads.

Yep super easy, I just made rectangles using rows of treble. Bigger hook than strictly necessary to give it a more open texture.

My biggies were changing to Octopus and eating far less meat

I was brought up fairly thriftily be a wartime generation mother, so quite a lot of stuff is ingrained second nature to me.

My DMum had one of the mould thingies for squishing together ends of soap. I've not found similar recently (and would get quite nostalgic if I did), but using tights just hadn't occurred to me and I'll be doing that.

And there's quite a lot you can achieve by just not doing stuff - don't buy aircon or a patio heater, don't use a tumble dryer (unless you have no outdoor space or it's set to chuck it down for days in a row, and wash clothes less often (other than undies obvs) - only when actually grubby or beginning to smell, not just because of number of times it's been worn.

Brilliant thread!
We're a pretty long standing"Reduce, Re-use, Recycle " family, but recently been put through our paces by daughter (returned from university due to pandemic)and her efforts to be plastics-free.
It's been cathartic to get back to some old habits with new ideas.

Cheers trog > sobs at germ pit house must have become