9 Ways To Make Less Trash At Home

Growing up in a household of 5, I saw trash bag after trash bag being filled. Ever since moving out on my own, I pledged to choose a different approach and be more mindful of my trash buildup. For anyone looking to do the same, here are the 9 simple ways that I began making less trash :

1. Ditch paper towels & napkins , swap it out for towels! Towels are reusable – duh! I also like to reuse old shirts for cleanup towels rather than the kitchen (which I bought some cute ones for)
2. Buy re-usable dish sponges! You can put them in the washing machine or dishwasher.. talking about dishwashers, buy re-usable dishes! They work just the same.
3. Stop buying zip lock bags and invest in Stasher bags! They are made out of silicone and you can put them in the dishwasher, freezer, microwave, use with hot food, cold food, etc.
4. Use recyclable toothbrushes! (literally if you type ‘recycled toothbrush’ into Amazon, a gigantic list of options comes up!, I personally use this one because you can keep the bottom half and just replace the brush end!) PS: Did you know that In the United States alone it is estimated that over 850 million toothbrushes are discarded and end up in landfill every single year!
5. COMPOST, most of our trash is made from food scraps, and you can avoid that by composting! Here’s an easy guide to help you start. Because I had roommates up until 5 months ago, they did not want a composting bin in the house, so I bought a ceramic compost jar where I put all my food scraps in, and when it filled up I went to my local WholeFoods and dropped the bag off in their composting bin.
6. Opt to buying fruits and vegetables that are not wrapped or sealed in plastic when available!
7. BYOB PEOPLE (bring your own bag) why? When plastic bags are thrown away they usually end up in landfills or in waterways and oceans. Reusit.com reports that in a landfill, plastics may take up to 1,000 years to degrade and they break down into tiny particles that contaminate our soil and water…yea…sooo…. BYOB!
8. Cancel any magazine and newsletters mail that you don’t even read & opt for electronic mail for the other letters you get if possible such as your bank & phone statements, etc. (reduce your recycling trash as well, not to mention SAVE THOU TREES!)
9. For those who have cats – buy litter that is safe to flush!

So, those are the 9 things I began to do in order to make less trash at home, none were huge drastic changes, and all super simple to accomplish and get used to! Hope this list helps you make less trash at your home as well!