Use a Bamboo Toothbrush

Look for one that is biodegradable. Once you have finished with them, you can simply bury them in your garden and within 6 months, they have been composted naturally.

Ladies, Swap Your Tampons for Reusable Menstrual Pads (preferably bamboo or hemp) or a Silicone Menstrual Cup

I am a fan of the Cloth Pad Shop though there is an astonishing number of places that sell quality reusable cloth pads now. I have been using bamboo cloth pads for 4 years now. I will never go back to conventional pads. They are really easy to keep clean. I pop them into a soaking bucket for a couple hours, rinse out several times, spray with a natural enzyme stain remover and laundry spray and throw them in the wash. If I do not have a full wash, I will do a quick hand wash in a bucket, washing them several times over. Simple

Buy Bamboo Cotton Buds/Q Tips

These are brilliant. They come in a recyclable cardboard box and oftentimes, come with fabulous infographics. Simply bury the earbuds once you’ve finished using them. I’ve buried about 4 boxfuls now. Within 6 months, they are completely broken down. No joke. I found no trace of them at all

Use Metal or Glass Straws Instead of Plastic.

There is a plethora of fabulous reusable straws. You can even get cute little brush cleaners for them!

Use Your Own Takeaway Containers

I have a couple sets of 2 tier and 3 tier stainless steel tiffins, 3 large stainless steel soup thermos flasks, 2 stainless steel hot water thermos flasks and loads of glass containers. Whenever I go to conferences, workshops or seminars, I always bring my own food along. Being gluten & grain free vegan, there are not many meal options available for me. So, I happily provide my own. It also means I spread myself out to accommodate all my tins, containers, plates and condiments jars.

Bamboo Clothes Pegs

Yep. They even make bamboo clothes pegs. I bought two boxes of 24 pegs 6 years ago. They are still as strong as they were the day I bought them

Take Your Own Reusable Cutlery

Keep a set of reusable quality cutlery in the car and or your handbag. You can get them in a variety of materials such as bamboo, metal, recycled plastic, hemp, and corn. They can be as basic as a knife, fork and spoon or even have chopsticks, reusable straws, and straw cleaner too! There really is no excuse to have throwaway single use plastic utensils anymore

Buy a Reusable Travel Mug and Actually Use It Too!

There are some awesome heavy duty ceramic travel mugs or stainless-steel travel mugs. Remember to take it with you. Mine are with me with every single workshop, seminar, or event I go to. I recently tried out a couple bamboo fibre travel mugs and they were quite good. They are easy to wash out and keep clean

Stop Buying Bottled Water and Use a Glass or Stainless-Steel Water Bottle Instead

My last purchase of a water bottle was 6 years ago. I bought 8 water bottles for the family. My preference in Australia, is Eco Tanka brand. I have purchased a couple different ones here in the USA and they are all pretty good. Look for one with a handle on the lid as it will make carrying it much easier.

Don’t Throw Out Your Brown Paper Bags.

Use them to line your rubbish bins with.

You can use brown paper bags for just about everything. We pop a couple into the compost bin to help add a bit of carbon.

Avoid Getting a Receipt When Possible.

Did you know they are lined with a thin layer of BPA plastic? BPA is a nasty endocrine disruptor.

Environmental bags or make your own cloth bags for shopping.

These can be fun, sassy and even educational if you create your own cloth bags. There are so many stores selling variations of these now, or if you are lucky enough to know how to sew, make your own! People love to look at other people’s shopping. If you have something unique and different, people will notice. You can not only start a new trend, but maybe find a second income by selling your creations

Avoid Plastic Bags in the Fresh Food Aisles and Plastic Wrapped Produce

Why are we buying a single cucumber or cauliflower wrapped in plastic? I have noticed quite a lot of the organic produce is plastic wrapped, which is a huge hypocrisy!

Grab a Mushroom Bag/Brown Paper Bag Instead

The quantity of single use plastic bags littered on the side of the road, in the storm drains and, in the oceans, and waterways is astounding. These take hundreds of years to break down. Even the compostable plastic bags are not really ecofriendly. They also break down into tiny little microplastic parts and are not as compostable as you might think. Unless you are using ones made from corn starch and other genuine plant fibres. You will find out very quickly that these will break down even by sitting on your shelf. So while that is good in one way, it will require you to be strategic with your usage.

Buy in Bulk

It saves money, car trips, helps you with meal prep, there is less packaging waste as many places permit you to bring your own jars and containers (so keep those glass jars!) and it is more sustainable to purchase in bulk because you are not throwing away as much single use plastics.

Use Glass Jars in Your Pantry for Your Dry Goods

Use a Clothes Line

The power of the sun and wind to dry clothing is unparalleled. If you have the ability to put your clothes line under cover, that’s even better for darker clothing.

I still remember hanging off the Hills Hoist clothes line when I was a kid. Oh the fun, until I broke the wire………

BONUS: Switch to a vegan diet or at least a vegan meal once a week

Eating less animal produces generally saves water usage, land degradation, habitat loss. Admittedly, not all plant-based meals are equal. There is absolutely a lot of crappy food like items on the market. I highly recommend avoiding those. Consuming a diet rich in a rainbow of natural whole foods, maintaining a variety of nutrient profiles is best. Do not get stuck in the mono diets or starchy carby foods. They might satisfy a craving but they are not good for you or the environment. Experiment with cooking. You are going to have some fabulous experiences and some epic fails. That is the beauty of making your own food from scratch. Plus, you get to try a multitude of new recipes.