.png "Laundry strips, shampoo/conditioner bars, bag")
1. Switch to solid shampoos and conditioners. There are a growing number of high-quality shampoo bars and conditioner bars available. These bars eliminate the large plastic bottles and reduce the need to transport water. I have thick but dry, hair that tangles easily. I use a moisturizing shampoo bar from J. R. Liggetts and a moisturizing Hi-Bar conditioner. While not cheap, the Hi-Bar conditioners are less expensive than the creamy conditioner I used to use. I purchase both locally because ordering from Amazon and all the accompanying packaging would defeat the purpose.
2. Buy in bulk and bring your own containers. My local co-op Mississippi Market and the local zero waste store Tare Market allow customers to bring their own containers for dry goods. I regularly shop the bulk bins at both stores, weigh the containers before filling them, mark the tare weight and buy exactly the quantity I need.
3. Turn old clothing into rags. Reduce the need for paper towels by cutting up old clothing and towels into rags. Place them in the wash when you are done. Or if you use it for a heavy-duty job such as oiling a cast iron pan, simply throw it away.
4. Bring your own containers to restaurants for leftovers. When we eat out, we bring our containers to the restaurants to bring home leftovers. We also rinse out the thicker zip lock bags that granola or frozen fruit come in. I often tuck a bag that I have rolled up and secured with a twist tie in my purse so that I can use that as a takeout or bulk bag when I don't have a container.
5. Use laundry strips and wool dryer balls. Like shampoo bars, laundry strips eliminate plastic bottles and water. As an added bonus, they take very little room to store. We use unscented Tru Earth strips. In the warmer months, we often hang our laundry out to dry. In the colder months, we use wool dryer balls instead of fabric softener. Our dryer balls have lasted a decade.
And for a bonus, please check out my blog post on normalizing reuse.
