TL;DR

To save the Earth and your cash at the same time, forget single-use items and think reusability! Think of it as an investment with short/mid term positive returns, as you buy something once that's a bit more expensive than usual, and use it for way more time than you would your single-use equivalent.

Hello everyone, as you may know if you've been reading me for a while, I'm really concerned with what's happening in our world today, and I'm trying to do my best to reduce my impact on the environment. Unfortunately, I know everyone does not feel concerned by climate change, either because of beliefs, lack of care or sheer laziness, not wanting to change their comfortable habits. And how many times have I heard that going "zero-waste" or being more "eco-friendly" was an expensive hobby...

The good news is that most of these people are actually willing to consider changing their minds when I show them how much cash they save each month when they start integrating environmentally friendly practices, even the smallest ones, in their everyday life.

So that's why I decided to give you this little list of very easy changes you can make in your home and outside. Not all of them make you save a ton, but none of them make you lose any money, and they definitely all have a true impact on the planet!

In the kitchen

• Paper towels - Let's start simple with something that most people have and use daily in their homes. And yet, it's one of the easiest things to get rid of. You use paper towels as napkins? Buy a couple sets of cloth napkins and you're covered for years. You use paper towels as cleaning rags? Buy a cloth rag, or even better, cut a couple yourself from an old shirt you're never wearing or this old towel you were about to throw away. You use paper towels to drain bacon fat? Cook it in the oven on a cooling rack. Trust me, after using these alternatives for a few weeks, you'll wonder why you even bothered buying and carrying around big packs of paper towels your entire life.
  • Estimated yearly savings: Depending on what you use them for and how many people live in your household, you can easily save up to $200 a year if you stop buying these.
• Paper plates - Okay, this one is easy too. Anything reusable is a good option here, and every time you eat in a ceramics plate or even a plastic reusable plate (even though that's not the best option), you can think of those 5 to 10 cents (average price of one single use plate) you're saving by not throwing away your plate when you're done eating.
  • Estimated yearly savings: 5 cents is not a lot, sure. But 5 cents, times 1 to 3 times a day, times whatever amount of people live with you, times 365 definitely starts adding up, to a good $50 to $200 a year I'd say.
• Plastic containers - You cooked or ordered too much food for one night? Keep it in a glass container, not a plastic one. It's sturdy, you can put it in the fridge, in the oven, in the micro-wave oven, take it to work... Sure, they're a bit more expensive than their plastic counterparts, but they won't break, bend, melt, stain, etc, so it's definitely an investment yet again.
  • Estimated yearly savings: You can't really estimate savings for this one, as plastic containers are not something you buy every other day. Just keep in mind, for the next time you need to buy some, that their glass alternatives will most likely be used far longer and for more things.
• Mineral water - I won't judge you if you don't or can't trust your tap water. But, in most cases, getting a water filter, like the ones Brita makes for example, is a more than enough alternative to get access to cleaner water from your tap and stop buying packs of bottled water. Don't trust filters either? You can always boil your tap water to cleanse it from whatever bacteria might be swimming in there. Boil it, bottle it, fridge it, and you're all set without having spent a single cent. And, when you're going out, carry with you a reusable bottle to make sure your thirst can be dealt with without having to stop by a store and buy a bottle.
  • Estimated yearly savings: Did you know you could get a water filter for as low as 20 dollars? Now think about all the bottled water you buy every year? How much does that add up to? $200? $500? I'll let you do the math...
• Sparkling water/sodas - If you fancy sparkling water more than still water, you can just make it yourself in the comfort of your home! Systems such as what Sodastream offers cost around $80 and allow you to make your own sparkling water. And you can even buy pre-made soda mixes to spice it up, and make your own lemonade, cola or dozens of other flavoured sodas. You will save time, money and energy, while reducing your impact on the environment.
  • Estimated yearly savings: That also depends on your daily consumption of such products, but it can easily go up to $500 if you stop buying sparkling water and sodas to make them yourself just by putting water in a bottle and clicking on a button.

In the bathroom

• Soap and shampoo - If you're using liquid soap and shampoo, switch to their solid alternatives! Some are packaged in cardboard or paper, rendering them truly zero-waste. And if, for some reason, you truly hate bar soap, did you know you could buy refills of liquid soap instead of a whole new bottle? More and more brands, such as Sanex, are selling refills in packaging that uses less plastic than an actual new bottle. And, in some stores, you can even fill your soap bottles directly from a "soap tank", thus eliminating any extra packaging. And don't worry, these refilling techniques are always cheaper than buying a new bottle. Or you can even buy bar soap and convert it to liquid soap by grating it and adding it to boiling water so it melts.
  • Estimated yearly savings: This is not where you'll save the most, as bar soap is usually just slightly cheaper than liquid soap and, depending on your consumption and the brands, it can come up to about the same. But if you can save the future of mankind without spending more money, why not try it? And, for the most motivated of you, I will be posting recipes to help you make your own soaps and shampoos at home in future posts, and then we'll talk real savings.
• Toothbrush - The most eco-friendly switch you can make here is to start using bamboo toothbrushes instead of plastic ones. And if you can't stand having a wooden stick in your mouth and you miss plastic too much, know that there are plastic toothbrushes with replaceable heads.
  • Estimated yearly savings: Okay, granted, the bamboo toothbrushes are usually a bit more expensive than their plastic counterparts. But if you want to move to a more eco-friendly life and don't really know what to do, this is a good place to start.
• Ear care - A good alternative to plastic and cotton "q-tip" swabs is a bamboo ear cleaner/wax remover stick. You can get them for as low as $1 a piece and use them for an insane amount of time considering the low investment. And if poking your ear with a wooden stick isn't your thing, you can always get eco-friendly q-tips made from bamboo and cotton, for about the same price as the plastic ones.
  • Estimated yearly savings: $10 to $20.
• Personal care - Did you know that a woman will use between 10,000 and 15,000 tampons during her lifetime, and can easily use 200 to 300 a year? Using a menstrual cup and/or period underwear that you can use for several years (such as the ones made my Thinx), instead of using tampons and/or pads, will make a significant impact both on your bank account and on the planet.
  • Estimated yearly savings: Around $100.

Going out

• Transportation - Okay, that will sound obvious, but using your feet, a bike or public transportation as much as possible is obviously a great choice when going out. If you don't have a choice and have to use your car, try to make the most out of your trips and do everything you have to do in the same outing (grocery shopping, going to the bank, getting gas...). This will save you gas and time so, it's definitely a win-win!
  • Estimated yearly savings: Hard to estimate but it's definitely there.
• Plastic straws - It is estimated that Americans use about 500 million straws a day. A day. Just in the US. That's an insane amount of plastic that's too small to be recycled and just ends up in landfills or in the oceans. If you like drinking out of a straw, there are a lot of alternatives you can consider, but reusability is often key. Metal straws, usually stainless steel, are a great thing to carry around when you're going out to a restaurant or a bar, or if you want to sip on your smoothie at home. Join me in the club of people who always end their order with "and no straw please" when they go out.
  • Estimated yearly savings: Again, hard to estimate but I'd say it ranges from $5 to $30 depending on your usage.
• Leftovers - When you go out to the restaurant, bring your own containers in case you have leftovers. That won't save you any money, but it will definitely be appreciated by Mother Earth (and the restaurant's supply of boxes), and you'll end up with less trash to deal with at home.
• Grocery bags - More and more stores are either completely removing plastic bags or charging you for bags when you go grocery shopping. The easy option is to get reusable bags, either cloth or plastic, and have some lying around where you might need them (in your car, at work, in your purse, at home). That way, you're covered every time you go shopping and you won't have to worry about not having a bag or having to pay for one. Also, while you're shopping, try to keep an eye out for items with less packaging ;)
  •  Estimated yearly savings: A few dollars during your lifetime, but you're saving up on convenience.

Bonus

• Electricity - Turning off the light when you leave a room and unplugging appliances (micro-wave oven, toaster, coffee maker, tv...) when you're not using them are all little things that quickly become habits when you start thinking about it, and that can make you save a significant amount on your electricity bill after a while.
  • Estimated yearly savings: Probably up to $100 depending on many factors (number and age of appliances, type of light bulbs...)
• Thrifting - When it comes to furnishing and decorating your home, think secondhand! Find a thrift store, Goodwill, Emmaüs, Habitat for Humanity restore, any kind of store that sells secondhand items. Remember that someone's trash might be someone else's treasure, you can always find great deals in there, and even sometimes brand new items that people just discarded! Cutlery, glasses and plates, picture frames, kitchen appliances, pots and pans, tables and chairs, cabinets, beds, clothes... My wife and I decorated our home and filled our kitchen drawers mostly with Goodwill items and we never looked back.
  •  Estimated yearly savings: At least a few dozen dollars a year if you go little, but definitely hundreds or even thousands if you get decide to furnish your home there.

Little changes can go a long way, and you can easily save hundreds to thousands of dollars a year without feeling the need to use items you were once used to. Trust me, I've been there. And let me tell you that, when Covid and lockdowns happened, I was happy to be self-sufficient when it came to everything I just listed above. Now, I still have a couple more tips to finish this list nicely.

Do NOT rush to the store to buy a bunch of new things and throw all of your existing items away as soon as you're done reading this. For example, if you already have plastic containers in your kitchen, keep them, and keep using them until they really need a change, and only then can you change them for glass ones. The point is not to fill up the trash bins with perfectly usable items, but to consider getting a better alternative when the time comes to change. And keep in mind that more and more housing districts actually charge you for your non-recyclable trash when it's picked up, so limiting the size of your trash could also help you save dozens if not hundreds more a year.

Again, this list is just showing some of the easy ways you can change your habits without it even feeling like you're changing anything. I'll write more posts for the most motivated of you, with changes that can take some more time getting used to, and I can also share with you my favorite "recipes" for homemade soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, household cleaning products, so on... So you can give me a follow if you want to be notified when these new tips arrive!

And, finally, I saved the best for last: the one best thing you can do for the environment is to spread the word, talk about it, share this or any other list or advice with your colleagues, friends and relatives. And remember, if they don't seem to care about the planet, they'll probably feel attracted to the money saving aspect of saving the world.

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