Moving is a great time to reset your shopping habits. It may not seem like it at the time as the lists keeps growing and your credit card is getting a workout to put your trainer to shame, but it’s an opportunity to really look at where your money is going.
With our latest move, I knew I wanted to start shopping with sustainability in mind. Packing up our place in NYC, pulling out all of the disposable and plastic products we were using, I realized a new home and a new year were the right time to change things up.
In my pursuit of more sustainable shopping habits, here are the 5 Great Buys I’ve been loving this past month:
Stasher Reusable Bags
One of the most obvious things I wanted to replace were our collection of plastic storage bags. Whether it was to hold a snack or a half of a cut lemon, once quarantine kicked in and my cooking ramped up, I was going through a lot of them. When I first saw the price of these platinum silicone bags, I wasn’t sure I wanted to bite the bullet, but then I remembered what one box of disposable bags costs in NYC and immediately grabbed one of the starter bundles. The stand-up versions are my favorite and they’re all easy to use and clean.
KinTor Wool Dryer Balls XL
I honestly don’t know why I waited this long to quit dryer sheets. I figured out a couple of years ago they can contribute to body acne, so I made the switch to unscented. It helped, but now that we have a tiny washer/dryer, I’m doing a load almost every single day and that’s way too many dryer sheets to burn through. These 100% organic wool balls provide all of the same benefits and can be reused hundreds of times. I only use two of the six at a time so I’ll basically have them forever.
Who Gives A Crap
We all remember the TP hysteria of last year. With two of us working from home, we were going through more than usual and I wanted to find a better option. This organization sells plastic, ink, dye and scent-free 100% recycled toilet paper at a great price, with 50% of their profits going to help build toilets in needy communities. You gotta love the name, too. I also picked up some of their paper towels (I know, I’m working to break this habit) as well and both were delivered to my front door in a couple of days.
Homethings Keep It Clean Kit
I was a big fan of Blueland back in the states for their reusable bottles and convenient cleaning solution tablets. Sadly, the bottles didn’t survive the move and I needed to replace them. I prefer the Homethings bottles (which I found on the awesome site Wearth) because they are glass and have a silicone sleeve to protect them from clumsy people like me. You get three in the set — multipurpose, glass and bathroom — along with a tab of each corresponding cleaning solution.
Green Estate Reusable Makeup Remover Pads
I love my Muji cotton squares, but with all of the potions I use, I was going through a lot of them. I actually bought these reusable microfiber rounds months ago, but needed to use up all of the disposable stuff I had first. I’ve been using these them for a couple of weeks and so far, so good. They apply toners nicely and remove eye makeup well. I am worried I will go through toner more quickly since they’re a bit more absorbent, so we’ll see about that. I will also probably keep some cotton squares on hand for nail polish removal.
Main image is from the top of Primrose Hill. See last month’s 5 Great Buys here.
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