I’m working my way through the house and the products that I use regularly to see if there is a better option for these things. Coincidentally, I started with food stuff and the kitchen in January and moved on to the bath in February. This chart showed that too so I might use it for a template, but we’ll see.
A Year of Zero Waste chart by Green Indy
I’ve been “greener” for a long time with lots of products (some met my modest needs, but just can’t withstand the more in depth cleaning requirements of cats and boys, so I had to switch to something with more oomph and less green…sigh) Method’s cleaners have done great for a long time for me, not being too toxic to have around kittens that lick everything, but I’m starting to see if I can get away with less packaged products. They did a good job with selling refills and not making it a total PITA to get. Selling it at Target was helpful, however Target changes up its lineup occasionally which throws a monkey wrench into the works. In any event, I’ve been looking around to see what I will be able to change to with confidence when my pantry runs out.
Something concentrated that I can dilute is good. I do use Castile soap for a lot for things as well as vinegar with orange peels for some other things (but not all things). I’m hoping this will be enough for the general cleaning.
I want my cleaning basket to look like this (spoiler alert; it won’t LOL):
Image credit: Michelle at nnuulloo
For the bathroom, I’m finishing up my existing stocks of shampoo, toothpaste and soap while inserting a test product in the mix as I find things to test. Face soap is the one that makes me a bit nervous. Dove plain white soap is great on my skin, but it comes in a box with plastic wrapping. Sigh. [EDIT: the single bar packages are in compostable cardboard so I can get a single bar at a time plastic-free! Excellent!] I’ve heard some good things about goat milk soap and I think I saw some available in bulk at Whole Foods so I’ll get a bar and use it to see how it works on my skin. (Bonus if B likes it as well. His skin is even more particular than mine so swapping a known working item can be tricky. If you swap to something greener and have to buy all sorts of medicine to counteract its effects, you’re doing it wrong.)
Shampoo bars I’ve talked about, but conditioner bars I haven’t found locally so I might have to order and test that.
Toothpaste tabs are on the way and I need to work my way though the tubes I have left. I can’t wait! I read somewhere that there are mouthwash tablets, too, excellent!
I’m headed out on a quick trip in a couple of weeks, so all my non-liquids will make it easier to pack. Very pleased!
fredlet 