7 Practical Ways to Minimize Single-Use Plastics in Your Daily Life
We all know that single-use plastics are not great, but cutting them out of your life can feel overwhelming. When we walk into the grocery store, we are inundated with single-use plastics in many forms. Every food item seems wrapped in them, whether just a plastic bag, sheet, or bottle.
The idea of riding your life off single-use plastics can feel cumbersome and impossible. While I share all of the above sentiments, there are a few ways in which I have slowly tried to shift my impact that you may find helpful. I’m sharing with you 7 practical ways to minimize single-use plastics from your day-to-day. Change can be hard; take it slow, one swap at a time!
📌 Pin this and save it for later!
Get a plastic bag dryer stand.
They are about $13 on Amazon. If you use plastic bags to pack lunch or store food, you can clean and reuse them.
Reusable silicone food bags
You can take it a step further and invest in reusable silicone food bags. These are a great alternative to plastic bags and will also fit on your new plastic bag drying rack! I bought a set at my local grocery store, but you can also buy it on Amazon. Stasher is a popular brand, but many other brands are just as amazing.
Begin using bar soap
Bar soap has come a long way from the dried-out and dirty-looking bars one may associate with mechanic shops. Many companies are making beautiful handmade soaps with thoughtful and organic ingredients.
Body washes are trendy, but all bar soaps with more water added. My favorite bar soaps are Vetiver Charcoal Soap by Vetiver Farms Hawaii, any soap from Magic Fairy Candles, and Lavender Fields Forever by Jukebox soap company.
Hair care swaps
As with bar soap, I have swapped out my bottle of shampoo and conditioner for bar shampoo and conditioner. I bought organic shampoo and conditioner bars at the local grocery store and recently found the Earthing Company. I love their products, and I don’t see any difference in my hair since I have switched to bar soap and conditioner. If anything, I now have more room in my shower.
Beeswax Wraps
Reusable beeswax wraps are a great addition to the kitchen. I love the company Meli Wraps. They are made on my home island of Kauai and in fun tropical prints. They are a great alternative to plastic wrap!
Reusable Menstrual Products
Reusable menstrual products for the femme’s time of the month. I love the brand glad rags and have used them for years. I know many people will be disgusted by this, but it’s from your body; once you get past that, it is not so bad. I wash them immediately after I have used them, then put them straight into the washing machine.
You may do a couple of loads more laundry the week of your period than normal, but period pads are plastic and sit in the landfill forever. Think about how many people have their period on this planet and how much trash that adds up. If you don’t use pads, no problem, Moon Cup makes a silicone menstrual cup that you only need to buy once and is easy to clean.
Baby Products
Have a baby? Consider reusable diapers. This disgusts me a little as well, I am not going to lie, but in most major cities, you can find a diaper service that will mostly deal with the mess. I understand that babies poop and pee a lot, and the plastic single-use diapers are always there for you if needed in a pinch.
Diapers, like menstrual products, also are made of plastic and sit in landfills forever. The statistic is that a common disposable diaper will take 500 years to break down fully. Yikes. Green Mountain Diapers make some pretty cute ones to buy, but if you live in a city, I highly recommend looking into a service.
Those are some of the easiest tips I have come up with to try and reduce my impact. I am not always perfect; sometimes, I use a disposable bag and throw it away, but for the most part, I try to tackle the problem by being as intentional as possible in my daily life. I hope some of these tips can resonate with you!
Until next time!
Dr. Danielle Reghi, DACM, LAc
Holistically Driven Wellness ✧ Instagram ✧ Threads
