Earth-friendly swaps in our home

Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! How cool! While I don’t think of myself as a traditional environmentalist (it’s just not one of the first labels that springs to mind when I think of myself!), I really, really love the Earth and think often about how I can keep her beautiful. We’ve talked about various efforts our family has made over the years, but today I thought I’d highlight a few in one spot (and I’d love to hear yours, too). If you, too, find a lot of the conversation around sustainability and eco-friendliness to be really discouraging and overwhelming, welcome. The power of little-by-little is alive and well here, and I’m excited to cheer each other on as we swap ideas today!

SUSTAINABLE SWAPS AND CHANGES WE’VE MADE:

Using cloth towels and rags instead of paper towels | I wrote about this 5 years ago, and I’m including it first on this list because it was a real aha moment for me: John was initially resistant to this swap, but I eventually realized even if he wasn’t onboard I could still change my own behavior. Half a decade later, we’re still going strong (with the same set of towels, ha!) – this change alone has saved us more than a thousand dollars! We’ve also used 100% cloth napkins for meals for years – our favorites are these from Ikea.

Reducing meat in our meals | Though we do have a few meatless meals in our regular rotation, something I’ve found to be even more doable in our current life stage is reducing meat instead of eliminating it entirely. In almost every recipe we make (aside from something like, you know, meatloaf), I’ll half the meat called for, and double the veggies or beans. This has been extremely successful for us – we still get the flavor and depth of meat, but our consumption has basically dropped by half. And I can still rely on my trusty stash of recipes instead of searching out all-new vegetarian favorites!

Buying secondhand, swapping with friends, and reselling or donating when we’re finished | 90% of our kiddos’ clothes is secondhand or a hand-me-down from a relative or friend. Likewise, most of our toys and kid gear is secondhand, passed down, or borrowed (as far as it’s safe to do so). When we’re finished with something, we aim to pass it on instead of trashing it, either through reselling at a consignment sale or on Facebook Marketplace or through donation!

Keeping things for a loooooong time | John and I both come from a hearty stock of thrifty people, and combined with our love for personal finance and hefty money goals, this is a no-brainer. Whether it’s a sofa or car we’ve had for a decade or a shirt we’ve worn since college, we simply don’t replace our things that often. And when we do, we almost always consider a secondhand option first.

Reusing wrapping items | Though I haven’t graduated to my grandmother’s level of folding and reusing wrapping paper, I use the same satin and grosgrain ribbon to tie things off year after year. I also store and reuse tissue paper, boxes, and gift bags, and wrap more things than not in recycled kraft paper (cheap and you can paint designs on it if you’re feeling crafty – fun with kids, too!).

Reducing packaging on cleaning supplies | After hearing rave reviews from friends, we bought the starter pack from Blueland (cleaning supplies and foaming hand soap you replenish with a tablet!) and can’t wait to get started! You can try it here with my referral link and get a free pack of refills with a new subscription.

Using a Lunette cup | I hesitate to recommend this, because I don’t feel like I’ve completely mastered it, but a few months ago I bought a Lunette cup after years of considering it. The waste from a monthly cycle adds up over the years, so I’ll keep experimenting!

Driving more than flying | Since having kiddos, we’ve done a lot more driving to destinations like Connecticut, Maine, and Michigan than flying. Though I don’t think this is perfect math, and we’ve made this swap firstly for other reasons than eco-friendliness, it’s a happy by-product.

Meal planning, eating leftovers, and using reusable containers | Pretty self explanatory, but all greatly help reduce food waste! We received a set of glass storage containers from our wedding registry (similar to these) and they’re still going strong 7+ years later – we use them to store leftovers and take food to and from work. June and Shep take their lunches to school in these bento boxes, which completely eliminate plastic baggies (we have 4).

Composting | The newest addition to our repertoire! I also come from a long line of composters, and it’s something I’ve wanted to try for several years – but I was intimidated by doing it on my own, and didn’t really want to allocate space for it in our small yard. Earlier this year, I had another aha moment: our neighborhood has a community garden with a compost barrel, and I could easily add our output to the community bin! I bought a countertop container in January and haven’t looked back. I empty it every 5-7 days when I’m already on my way out of the neighborhood, and it works great!

Loving the Earth and teaching our children to do the same | In How to Raise a Wild Child, the author makes the point that the best way to help the earth is to have a personal and deep connection to it – and to raise a next generation who does, too. We make a point to spend time in the beautiful places we love, both close to home and farther afield, to keep them close to our hearts. Many are pictured throughout this post.

Things we’d like to try next: using reusable bags at stores other than the grocery, shopping more at our farmer’s market, buying more of my own clothing secondhand, exploring refillable/reusable packaging for beauty products (like this deodorant), replacing Ziploc freezer bags, and bringing our own takeout containers to restaurants (feels so bold but I’m sure once we do it the first time it will be less scary!).

Friends, I’d love to hear: what Earth-friendly swaps have you successfully tried at home? What’s next on your list? I can’t wait to learn from your successes!

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