Tis’ the season for change and new beginnings. As New Year’s Eve approaches, people are preparing for the start of their new resolutions. This year our family’s resolution is to be more environmentally friendly.
This years goal is to reduce the convenience products that we use and purchase. Some examples of these products include… paper plates, sandwich bags, bottled water, plastic grocery bags and k-cups. Another perk to eliminating the convenience products from our home is that it should also help us save some money.
We do cloth diaper a lot of the time, but do need to get motivated and fully back on track with it and do it even when we are away from home. As a family we also decided that toilet paper is just not a convenience product that we are willing to eliminate. There are a lot of families that use “family cloth” and more power to them… we just aren’t there yet and maybe never will be.
The best way to succeed at a New Years Resolution is preparation. Having a plan and the tools to make it work are essential. Below are some items I purchased from Amazon to help me out along the way in my family’s journey to be more “GREEN”.
Tools to Help Succeed
Please note that this blog post contains affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase using one of these links, at no additional cost to you, I may receive a commission from those purchases.
Earthwise Reusable Grocery Bag Set Deluxe Collapsible Shopping Box with Reinforced Bottom (Set of 2)
These reusable shopping boxes are a great for grocery shopping. They keep me organized while in the store, help me self-bag quickly and also make it easy at home when putting the food away. Another bonus is that because of their box design, the groceries don’t roll around in the back of my car.
Earthwise Large Insulated Collapsible Reusable Box Shopping Grocery Bag w/ zipper top (2 Pack) by Earthwise
Like the reusable shopping boxes above, these making shopping, driving and putting groceries away super easy. The added bonus with these is that they are insulated which helps keep my cold items cold and hot items hot.
Bekith Set of 6 Reusable Produce Bags
Reusable mesh produce bags replace the plastic disposable bags found in most produce sections of grocery stores.
Bee’s Wrap 3 Piece Sustainable Reusable Food Storage
This wonderful product can be reused over and over again so long as it is cared for properly. I like to use these to wrap-up sandwiches and so much more.
YUMBOX TAPAS Bento lunch box
We are doing away with disposable zippered bags all together. My daughter packs her lunch every day and we needed to find a solution. I love this bento box for her, it helps her figure out what to pack and encourages her to make healthier eating decisions.
Contigo AUTOSPOUT Straw Ashland Chill Stainless Steel Water Bottle, 20oz
Replacing disposable water bottles with a reusable/refillable reduces waste and the crazy overuse of plastic. This insulated Contigo water bottle keeps liquids cold for up to 12 hours, making it great for Arizona summers.
Reusable keurig filters by Delibru
Switching from disposable K-cups to these reusable Keurig compatible coffee filters will help reduce waste. As an added bonus, I can make my own K-cups using any coffee I want.
NEW RECIPES 16 oz. Blue Glass Spray Bottle for DIY Cleaning with Essential Oils
Making homemade cleaner using all natural ingredients and a reusable glass spray bottle, not only saves some money, but is also way better for the environment. This blue glass bottle comes with “recipes” on the bottle to help you get the perfect cleaning combo for whatever job.
Perfect Menstrual Cup Starter Kit With 2 Cups & Silicone Wash Bottle by InvisiCup
As a woman buying feminine products each month can get costly, and create a lot of waste. Using a menstrual cup instead of tampons is not only safer for you but is also better for the environment.
We are also re-purposing old t-shirts and towels to make into reusable cleaning rags. I will also be making cloth napkins for the family, not the fancy formal dinner kind but more of casual daily use napkin. Stay tuned, I will post a tutorial soon.
Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and/or Facebook to see how our resolution is going.
What does your family do to have less of a negative impact on the environment? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.
As always, thanks for reading.
Staying eco friendly is definitely the key to success!
I’ve been meaning to try the beeswax reusable wrap! Sounds so much healthier. Plastic is so bad for us. Good luck getting cleaner in 2018 ❤️
So far the Bees Wrap is pretty neat, I already love it so much better than cling-wrap.
One of the things I need to do more is to actually BRING my reusable shopping bag haha
YES! This is totally me too, I always keep them in the car then when it comes to checking out that is when I realize that I left them in the car. These new reusable shopping bags/boxes are amazing, they make it so much easier for me to shop and put groceries away when I come home. I am very weird about how my groceries get bagged and these make it so much easier for me to have it done the way I like it.
I like to use the reusable kcup insert, you can add your own tea or coffee and not have the waste! I need to get some reusable sandiwch bags though, I love that idea!
I have some great re-usable sandwich bags made by Bumkins. They have lasted for almost 2 years so far and are super easy to clean and dry fast.
I love that most of these will help save money too, (especially the k-cups!) which helps give you an extra incentive for being environmentally friendly. Every little bit helps!
I totally agree, and it does seem that most things that are better for the environment are also better for your wallet.
I love DIY cleaning sprays! We use thieves oils around our house!
Plus the Diy cleaners tend to be way safer! : )
I really like those grocery bags. So many helpful products!
Love this! Love green! You brought up so many good and useful things to help reduce one’s environmental footprint. I wish more people,would be as ecofriendly!
Me too, I truly feel that even with minimal effort people can help our planet. Thank you so much for reading.
I cloth diaper full time and it’s the best decision I’ve made hands down. Be sure when you’re away from home to have a wet bag and possibly even double up on the inserts to increase the diapers longevity while you’re out and about. Good luck!
I do cloth diaper already but unfortunately have been slacking on it more than I would like, especially when out of the house. The plan is to get my husband back on track with it as well. I do appreciate your advice, I always like hearing from other mamas that cloth diaper : )