Sustainable Blog Edition #39.
We all love to play interior designer, especially when we get a new home or apartment. Refreshing our home can brighten our moods and help us live a cleaner and more organized lifestyle. The truth is, a lot of home goods and cheaply made and not built to last. Additionally, keeping a clean home is often tough of the environment, with harsh chemicals and single use plastic packaging. Luckily, many brands have been working to reshape the home industry. We have pulled together 5 ways for you to start you journey towards a greener home.
1. Reusable Containers
One of the biggest sources of waste in our home is single use packaging. Not only is it wasteful, it is usually harmful plastics that are non-biodegradable and sometimes non-recyclable. You can solve this by implementing reusable containers all over the home, whether its in the pantry, in the bathroom, or just keeping water bottles that you can take with you. Reusable containers also allow you to buy in bulk, reducing waste of many smaller packaged items and less trips to the store.
2. Reusable cleaning products
Having a clean home is important, but the cleaning industry is extremely problematic. Harmful chemicals and wasteful packaging or all we see at the supermarket and the solution is not obvious for many. Reusable cleaning products can allow us to cut drastic amounts for waste from our home, and are often more affordable than the alternative. Adopting refillable products in reusable containers is a holistic solution. There are many brands popping up like Public Goods or Dropps who take this to heart and offer autoship subscriptions that send you refills in sustainable low waste packaging for all your home goods needs. Here are just a few changes you can make in your day to day cleaning.
- Public Goods has it all from reusable containers to ramen for the college dorm. They offer a membership based autoship service that provides all kinds of home, cleaning, food, and pet products.
- Dropps refillable laundry items and wool dryer balls instead of single use containers and dryer sheets. Their products ship in paper packaging with carbon neutral shipping.
- Ecophant beeswax wrap instead of single use food storage. Lazy Hype also sells a variety of other sustainable Ecophant products & children's toys in our store!
- Blueland reusable cleaning cloths instead of paper towels. Their clothes are made with cotton and plant cellulose and double as not only paper towel alternatives but a dish sponge to use while cleaning. They are as easy as throwing in the dishwasher or putting in boiling water to sanitize and use again.
- Biom plant-based/biodegradable, refillable cleaning wipes instead of big brand disinfectants.
3. Upcycle your existing decor
If your decor is feeling a bit stale there are many ways to freshen your home without throwing away old items or buying new ones. If you have an old couch you hate, buy a XL sheet or canvas drop cloth and cover it to make a draped studio look. Bedroom looking old? You can wrap a fun throw blanket around your headboard for seasonal refreshment. Maybe just move something around, your layout is not permanent! Maybe something made sense when you moved in but now that bookshelf would look better in your bedroom.
4. Thrift!
The number one way to reduce waste at home is to not buy anything new at all, it can also save you a boatload of money. If you need a new piece of furniture, check you local marketplaces to see what other people are getting rid of. Chances are you can find real quality designer items at a fraction of the price. These pieces are also more likely to last the test of time than fast furniture that will break down in a year or two.
5. Support small artists!
Instead of buying mass produced art or dishes, look around in your community for skilled artists that can provide you with more original and sustainable goods. Not only does this keep money out of the hands of massive corporations but it invests in the community around you!
P.S. Bring the Green Indoors!
Adding plants is a great way to brighten up your home without buying wasteful decor that you don't need! You could even try an at home herb garden which reaps benefits in the kitchen as well. Taking care of some houseplants will surely spark more joy than a mass produced tchotchke.