A slower and more sustainable life
Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item. Baking my own bread has long been part of my life. We bake about once or twice a week to have fresh bread. The part we have been …
Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item. When the days are getting shorter and the temperatures drop it’s time to get the comforter out. Unless you have one that can be used all year of …
Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item.
There are so many zero waste alternatives that it can be daunting to start thinking about it. But fear not. This helpful guide will show you the best alterative products for someone new to the zero waste lifestyle. These are meant to be easy switches and the list is by no means exhaustive. If you found any other easy switches comment below the blog article please!
The list below features the best ideas that I have incorporated early on and ideas I have collected from friends. These are really easy to do and you will find you will become more motivated the more of the alternatives you try. If you have tried other easy switches let me know I am always keen to learn more about other zero waste alternatives.
Once your liquid soap dispensers run out why not consider switching to a soap bar? We switched already in the bathroom and it looks stylish and neat. We are saving so much in plastic packaging since the switch! If you are unsure how to store your soap bars consider a nice porcellan or wooden soap bar holder. I bought mine from holiday trips to Hungary and Marrakesh. They are handmade and ensure there is a personal touch in our bathroom.
Shampoo bars are little less straight-forward then soap bars but well worth it! You may have to experiment with a few and find one that works for you. Your hair may take some time to get used to shampoo bars so remember there will be a transition period. There are even alternatives where you don’t need any shampoo and just rinse your hair with apple cider vinegar or baking soda to control the build-up of dandruff. But maybe that is the next step. 🙂
My friends swear by bamboo toothbrushes. I’m still using up my supply of toothbrushes I had purchased before switching to a more zero waste lifestyle.
Talk to your dentist if you have worries and see what they recommend.
These beeswax wrappers are great if you want to store your food without using cling film. You can either purchase them or make them yourself. There are vegan options as well if you would rather not want to use beeswax.
A travel termos bottle is my constant travel compangion. Whether I go to work or on a holiday I will always take one with me. This way I can take some hot tea with me when it is cold or have some cold water during the summer. It is also very easy to refill in many places. Here in the UK, there are more and more public water sources but you can also usually ask in a cafe or shop and they will refill it for you.
A Keep Cup is great for people who like to buy their coffee on the go. If you ever felt bad about the amount of non-reusable coffee cups you are using consider to switch. There are wonderful stylish glass ones or an alternative are reusable bamboo keep cups. If storage is an issue there are also foldable ones.
In addtion, I also have a stainless steel tumbler which keeps my drinks cool in the summer and hot in the colder months.
If you take your food with you to work a metal foodbox may be just the right thing for you. I love preparing my food at the weeekend and then take it to work or when I am out and about.
You can either use a cotton bag that you’ve purchases or try your hand at making one on your own. My mom has made this super handy bag for me with is great for produce shopping. Love this zero waste alternative!
Pick an ecological one that comes in a cardboard box if you can. Alternatively you can try your hand at making your own. For a few months now we are using a horsechestnut washing liquid. We collected a small amount in autumn last year. Of course we made sure not to collect everything so there were some for the animals left. I actually did several trips to different areas to ensure I only ever took a few in each location. Then dry them and use as needed.
These seem to crop up more and more and if you have one nearby check it out. These shops not only have the most basic food items but are stocked with great zero waste alternatives to explore. You will have to bring the containers with you. However, some of the shops have a container exchange so people who have too many can drop them off at the shop. They are really well stocked these days and most shop owners are keen to hear what you are looking for and will try to stock it if there is enough demand.
Do you have any other suggestions for easy zero waste alternatives? Comment below and I will include them in the overview.
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Lemon water makes a wonderfully refreshing drink in the summer. Just squeeze or juice a few lemons into still and sparkling water and you have a lovely drink with an extra boost of vitamin C! But what could you do with the leftover lemon peel? Would be a shame to throw it away! I collected a few ideas on how to use leftover lemon peel.
If you are looking for more ideas on sustainable living check out all my articles here.
I’m sure a few ideas will come to mind immediately if you think of leftover lemon peel. If you are a keen baker and the peels are organic you can make a wonderful lemon drizzle cake.
Cleaning products are also a good idea if you are handy with making them yourself. Always good to have a few natural options availble in your cupboard. I’m actually preferring them to the harsher store-bought versions.
Without further ado I am diving right into my favourite ideas to use leftover lemon peel around the house. I’m sure you will find a few ideas you can try easily and will love as much as I do!
Tip: If you peel your leftover lemon peel only use the yellow part. The white part is bitter and you most likely would not like anything flavoured with it!
Don’t throw away the lemon peel and save them from landfill to use them in your cooking and baking. You don’t want to bake anything now? No problem, just grate some lemon zest and freeze it for later! You can then use it in your everyday cooking or baking whenever you need it.
Oh don’t we all know it, after a while brown sugar gets hard and is really difficult to use when you need it! But there is a need trick that you can use to ensure it stays all nice and soft and ready to use when you need it.
Ensure that the lemon peel has no traces of pulp or pith and then just add it to your bag of brown sugar. It will keep it moist and soft and ready to use whenever you need it.
You are lucky and call a dishwasher your own? Lemon peel can help make it smell nice with a lovely citrus scent. Just add a few lemon peels directly in your dishwasher when you use it.
Best is to put it in a bowl and while the dishwasher cleans your dishes the lemon peel deodorizes your dishwasher and everything will smell lovely when you take it out! Alternatively just put it in the cutlery tray.
You might even notice a bit of an extra sparkle from your dishes when using this method!
You will need some wax, I recommend soja wax, to make these candles. Especially lovely as swimming candles outside for those warm evenings in the summer.
In winter time I love a good cup of ginger tea and that is even better with some lemon peel.
Pee the lemon and dry the peel and then add it to your tea when you fancy a lovely cup with some extra lemon kick!
Make your own all-purpose cleaner at home with this easy recipe. Put your lemon peels into a bowl and cover them completely with vinegar. Let this mixture stand for about 3 to 4 weeks. Remove the peels and you have a great natural all-purpose cleaner for those small mishaps at home. However, don’t use it on markble florring etc.
Peel your leftover lemon and dry them. Then use a spice mill to shred the peel and add this lemon powder to your dishes. Lovely in risotto for example! But really just add to your favourite dishes if you want a bit of lemonly flavour.
If you have a green finger why not use the lemon peel to grow some new plants? Just fill the lemon peel with soil and add your seeds to them. Then when your seedlings are showing you can just plant them like they are in your garden, yes, with the lemon peel!
Add some lemon peel to your ice cubes for a bit of a citrus kick in your chilled drinks. Why not use a peeler or knife and make long strips of the peel so they are a bit of an eyecatcher for your next summer party?
Use your leftover lemon peel in your trash bin or in your fridge. Over time there may be a bit of an unpleasent smell developping, especially in your trash bin. Just place a few peels in your trash bin or in your fridge for a lovely smell. Just exhange every now and then.
Which of these tips are you going to try? Or have you tried any of these before? What was the result? Did you like it? Any recommendations for other readers? Please put any thoughts in the comments below!
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Not only is oat milk very cheap and locally produced but it is also a more eco-conscious choice than say, almond milk. Making your own oat milk is surprisingly easy but storing homemade oat milk and cleaning the bottle afterwards can be a bit tricky so I wanted to shed some light on this in this blog article. For a while, I am making my own homemade oat milk. I usually prepare it at the weekend and store it in a glass bottle for the week.
I buy my oats in a cardboard box which is easy to recycle and easy to store. Only when I need the oat milk will I get my blender out and prepare about a litre for the upcoming week. That is enough for me as I only use it with my granola or every now and then to make a fresh batch of English breakfast muffins. You may need more if you also use it in coffee or for other recipes.
The best way to storing homemade oat milk is to store it in some glass container. Maybe you already have something suitable at home. Have a look around to see if you have a bottle that you can repurpose to store your oat milk. I have a glass bottle which I repurposed for this use. I’ve heard other people use Kilner bottles and that works well for them.
Ideally, find some sort of container with a large opening – it will make cleaning so much easier. The one drawback of the glass bottle that I currently use is the small opening which makes cleaning it a bit harder. However, there are effective solutions for this in case you also just have a glass bottle as I do. Read on to find out more!
If you don’t have either you could use any other container that makes it easy to pour the oat milk when you need it. Make sure it fits your fridge well so you can make the most of the storage in your fridge.
However, there is one problem, especially with bottles that I have experienced as well. How do you clean them effectively without any residue? It is pretty difficult to reach all areas of a bottle even with a bottle brush at times. I have that problem with the current bottle that I use so I had to find some easy ways of cleaning it effectively. Luckily there are quite a few options so I am sure one of them will work for you as well.
There are different methods but they mostly use the same process. Some water, washing up liquid and some dried rice (or maybe lentils or peas could work as well) and shake the mixture vigorously. Basically the grains will act as a scourer on the inside and bottom of the bottle or jar that you want to clean. Make sure you close the container well. I accidentally didn’t close it properly once and it was a right mess. Don’t add too much water when using this method as the rice should be quite concentrated in one place to be abrasive.
I’ve used this method in the past and it works really well. So happy that I found out about it!
Alternatively, you may want to use baking beans for the same effect. I’ve also heard that people use salt with some water but I have not tried it yet.
Did you try any of these methods? How did it go? Did I forget any good alternative method? If you have a great tip for storing homemade oat milk please comment below and I am happy to add it.
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