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I’m not an eco blogger or eco perfectionist by any means, however making small sustainable changes is definitely something that’s very important to me. I know that a lot of people want to make some changes but find it hard to know where to begin, so I decided to put together a few simple Eco Swaps that anyone can make.
I was very hot on this a few years ago before my daughter came along, but I’ll be honest, in the busyness of motherhood, eco living has definitely taken a back seat, and I do feel a bit guilty for that. However I am still very mindful of our consumption and waste, and try to shop sensibly. I’ve also made a few changes that relate directly to being a parent, because I’m even more aware now of the huge impact raising children can have on the planet.
One thing that’s always been a driver for me in this area, was a quote I read a few years ago – “we don’t need one person doing zero waste perfectly, we need millions doing it imperfectly”, and that really stuck in my mind about how important it is for all of us to make changes, no matter how small.
I think when it comes to being eco friendly, it can be really overwhelming, because there’s so much to consider, and so much we could potentially change. Because of that, sometimes it can feel like making tiny changes won’t make an impact on the bigger picture, but obviously every little helps, and we all have to start somewhere.
I also find that once you start making changes, you sort of get “the bug” and it makes you want to make more and more conscious choices. When you start thinking from an eco friendly point of view, it sort of changes your mindset, and you start to question a lot of things you didn’t even think about before. Sometimes this can lead to some eco guilt, because being “eco perfect” is an unobtainable standard for most people (sorry if that sounds defeatist but that’s just my opinion), but we do need to congratulate ourselves for every little change we make.
Most of the changes I’ve made don’t involve any huge initial outlay, as I’m very aware that that can be a barrier for some people who maybe can’t afford to invest in lots of eco friendly products. Some of them involve a modest initial cost, but generally you will save money in the long run, for example investing in a period cup rather than buying sanitary products every month.
There’s also a bit of a crazy idea that we should get rid of a lot of the stuff we own and replace with more eco friendly versions. If we consider that consumerism is one of the biggest threats to the environment, this is definitely counter productive – if we have things that are perfectly good we should continue to use them, even if they are not considered to be eco friendly – it’s more single use stuff that is the problem.
I hope you’ll find these tips helpful, and that they will inspire you on your planet saving journey.
Kitchen roll
This was one of the very first things I gave up, because quite simply I found it quite unnecessary and therefore easy to get rid of. Being a paper product it’s probably not the most obvious switch to make, but if you take into consideration that it’s single use, comes wrapped in plastic and also the impact of its production, then its a good, simple place to start. I previously would just use it for mopping up little spills or grabbing a piece when I was eating a small snack like a slice of cake, but I realised I could easily cut it out and use a cloth or a plate instead. I went to Home Bargains and bought a bunch of cloths. Just the cheap flannel type ones, I’m sure they were either 10p or 30p each. I bought about 20 of these, and I keep them in a little basket under the sink. Even Poppy is great with mopping up little spills or messes using them.
Reducing Baby Wipe use
It’s a bit of a sobering thought to consider that every baby wipe you’ve ever used is still on the planet somewhere. Even the so called biodegradable ones will only biodegrade in the right environment so aren’t actually much better at all unless you’re going out of your way to dispose of them correctly. Obviously these are a staple for parents, but I’ve always tried to use them sparingly or use a cloth instead. I know it’s easy to reach for the wipes and end up grabbing out 3 or 4 at a time whether you really wanted that many or not, but I’ve always been strict about using only 1 for a wet bum, and starting out with 2 for a poo-ey bum, and only getting more if its really needed. It actually became a bit of a challenge against myself to see how well I could clean up with only 2 wipes.
I also avoid using wipes unless its for bottoms. Again for sticky fingers or faces it’s just as easy to use a damp facecloth. When Poppy was younger I had colour coded cloths so I knew which ones were the face ones and which were the cleaning up ones, but now they’re all just one and the same haha. ( I do always ensure I get a freshly washed one for cleaning up dirty faces)
If we’re lucky enough to have another baby I think I’ll definitely invest in a set of cheeky wipes from birth like these ones here.
Face wipes
As with baby wipes, face wipes are another threat to our planet (and our skin, I cringe to think that I used to use a wipe and call it a day 🤮). I gave up face wipes years ago initially switching to better skincare products and cotton wool pads, before finally switching to reusable wipes a couple of years ago. I now mostly use a bamboo cloth along with my tropic cleanser, but I also have a stash of some cotton wipes which I love. My friend Jenny over at Sew Braw (previously Braw Masks) has these lovely ones which are made from cotton and bamboo.
Reusable water bottle / coffee cup
Self explanatory one here, as we all know that plastic single use water bottles or coffee cups are problematic. I personally don’t drink hot drinks but I’ve just included that one under this paragraph for those of you who do. This is one of the simplest swaps because water bottles and coffee cups can be bought really cheaply. For longevity I personally would go for a metal option, which might cost a little more but it will last longer and likely feel more secure and sturdy.
Bamboo Toothbrushes
Another simple one, and not expensive either if you shop around. In supermarkets the new bamboo options from Colgate and the likes are around £3 or £4 a pop, but I got a pack on amazon for about £7. It was a mix of childrens and adult ones so I shared them with Poppy.
I can’t find the last box I ordered on there anymore but these are similar, and I’ll probably order these ones next. Bamboo toothbrushes.
SMOL Laundry Tabs
This one I can’t really take credit for, as it was actually my husband who signed us up for a SMOL subscription, mainly because he was fed up of running out of laundry detergent haha! But I was very impressed due to the fact that the packing is entirely packaging free. We have a subscription for the washing capsules and the dishwasher tablets, and we never run out. They also do some other refillable products, but we haven’t tried any of those yet. You can click here to get a FREE trial of smol products.
Second hand toys
Any parent will know that when it comes to toys there can be a LOT of ugly plastic toys that will come and go, especially in the baby and toddler stages, some of them only being used for a few months before being outgrown. For this reason, when Poppy was small, I vowed to only buy the plastic toys second hand. We’re really lucky that we have a great children’s charity shop really close to us, where we buy from and then donate back to, but even general charity shops are usually good for baby and toddler toys. Facebook marketplace or bartering groups are also a great place to get things cheap or even free. Now that Poppy is a little older, she’s obviously requesting specific toys so it’s harder to get them from charity shops, but she does still love a little rummage and we sometimes pick up puzzles and books or little pocket money toys. For something more specific I’ll always have a look on Facebook marketplace a good few times before buying new.
I got this little bundle of stuff when Poppy was small and it cost about £25 for all of that stuff. The same stuff bought new would have been at least double that.
Menstrual cup
I’m still exploring this change myself, and getting used to the switch, but I have decided to try out a menstrual cup. I got the Lily cup (buy it here) and I’m still trying to build my confidence in using it, so I’m also partially using disposable products. I’m a little nervous of leaks, so I’m also going to invest in some period pants, to make sure any leaks will also be safe. I’ll report back once I’m using re-usable 100%. Eco blogger, Emma Reed has done a lot of posts on this topic, here’s a link to her post Plastic Free Period.
More general shifts –
These are not specific swaps, just more about changing your mindset and questioning things a little more.
Avoid anything single use that’s not necessary
This is one of the biggest mindset shifts for me. I said earlier how you seem to get the bug, and when you start making conscious choices you will find yourself questioning and noticing a lot of things that you didn’t even think about. Little things I would never have noticed before, you start to realise how wasteful they are. A few examples, using a plastic ziplock bag once before throwing it away (a lot of children bring snacks to school in them and throw them away), using unnecessary products like plastic liners for a slow cooker to save you cleaning it, using a puppy pad as a disposable changing mat for a baby instead of the usual wipe clean ones. I’ve never used the liners or the disposable mats but I’ve seen these suggested online. It might be convenient (saving a few seconds or minutes at the most), but is convenience worth sacrificing the planet for?
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle ( in that order)
What I mean by this, is that instead of focusing on what we can recycle, the best thing to do is to reduce what we purchase in the first place.
Re-use as much as possible. Recycle whatever is left.
Buy more mindfully
As per above, to reduce how much we’re consuming, I try to be much more careful with what I buy, and go for better quality where I can afford it. I avoid buying things just because they’re cute and cheap – I’m ashamed to admit that in the past I’ve had things from Primark that I’ve got rid of years later with a tag still on, or only worn once or twice. I try to avoid seasonal aisles that lure you in with pretty decor and accessories but that we don’t really need, or are actually just tat that will be fun for 5 minutes.
Some more things I want to swap soon
Plastic free deodorants – I’m considering trying the Wild deodorant, if anyone has any thoughts?
Safety Razor – I’d love to ditch the plastic razors, and I’m considering investing in one of these, in pink of course.
I hope some of these suggestions will be useful to you, and might inspire you to make some simple swaps! After writing this I feel really inspired to make some more changes!