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At-Home Sustainability Tips

Conscious Consumerism and Living

When it comes to living more sustainably, the choices you make at home and when purchasing is one way to shrink your ecological footprint. Everything that you purchase and use has direct and indirect impacts on the environment and the communities who make the products. It is important to recognize that some items and products have more detrimental impacts than others.

 

Tips for being more sustainable at home

  • Buy household items in bulk or in versions that have less packaging. For example, try using a shampoo bar instead of the regular bottled shampoo. Alternatively, shop from companies like Plaine Products (Links to an external site.) that reuse bottles and allow you to send them your empty ones.
  • Use green eco-certified cleaning products. View EPA's guide to identifying greener products and services (Links to an external site.).
  • Purchase recycled toilet paper, such as from the company Who Gives a Crap (Links to an external site.) that sells in bulk. Or better yet buy and attach a bidet for a cleaner and better experience.
  • Properly dispose of pet waste. Pet waste that is left out can add harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites to the surrounding land and local waterways.
  • Reduce pesticide and plant growth hormone use in your yard and garden as these can pollute the local waterways.
  • When planting, plant native species and avoid invasive species. Use King County's resource guide (Links to an external site.) for Northwest yards and gardens.
  • Help pollinators by planting flowers and trees that are most helpful to them. Learn about pollinators and all of their preferred plants in WA state with this PDF (Links to an external site.).
  • Don’t buy unless you really need it. Check your home or department if the item in question can be found. An easier approach to curb impulse purchases is to add the item to your cart and leave it there for at least a week before confirming the purchase.
  • Think twice about the Amazon Prime membership as members tend to purchase twice as much as non-members; this will avoid making a purchase for just one item as well as cut down the resources involved in the delivery of that one item.
  • Give items and clothing a second life by buying gently used items from thrift stores and donating your items that would otherwise be thrown away.
  • Avoid buying fast fashion as much as possible. The fast fashion industry depletes natural resources, is a huge producer of greenhouse gas emissions, and uses chemicals and microplastics that end up in our land and waterways (and food such as fish).
  • Shop for clothes second-hand at thrift stores and consignment stores online and in person; spend a little more on quality items that last longer (quality over quantity). Clothes made out of natural fibers like cotton, linen, hemp, silk, and wool tend to last longer than polyester varieties. 
  • Wash everyday clothes in cold water and only use hot water for whites. Air-dry clothes to last longer instead of using a dryer, and when using one; choose the lowest heat setting. Remove food stains from clothes using simple ingredients like baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap instead of expensive stain removers.
  • Shop for household items like furniture, bikes, toys, games, etc., in places like FB marketplace, Offerup, garage, and estate sales. Older pieces of furniture tend to be sturdier than the current inexpensive lightweight pieces.
  • Beware of “green-washing” which occurs when companies use marketing claims to make their company or products appear greener and more sustainable. If wary of a company, it is always good practice to research their claims and verify their validity.
  • Use bamboo toothbrushes instead of traditional plastic ones.
  • Use reusable and washable rags (or upcycle old T-shirts) instead of paper towels. The transition can be hard. To make it easier, try having a separate bin in the kitchen that you can easily throw used rags into and take to the washing machine.
  • Instead of buying individual cleaners for each cleaning purpose, basic ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, isopropyl alcohol, and dish soap will clean and disinfect almost everything. Using a dish brush instead of several dish sponges is a better alternative and is a money saver in the long term.
  • Having a bowl on the kitchen countertop to catch food scraps while cooking to add to the yard bin at the end of the day and a separate box to collect recyclables for washing and drying will reduce the size of your garbage bin along with the utility bill.

 

Supplementary material

View these bee-friendly gardening tips (Links to an external site.)

Pacific Northwest Plants and Birds that Use Them (Links to an external site.) PDF