When you’re a busy parent, life can be really hectic. So chances are there are times when your intentions to be more green and eco-friendly are side-lined by your need for convenience. So you wipe up spills with kitchen roll and grab items from the shop that are packaged in single-use plastic because, at that moment, it makes life easier.
The thing is, there are some eco-friendly swaps you can make that can actually make family life even easier in the long run.
You don’t have to worry about running out of things when you buy reusable versions. As long as you take care of them they’ll all last ages and always be there when you need them.
So if you want to start living a more sustainable life, here are 7 eco-friendly items for busy families that are perfect for getting you on your way.
1. A reusable water bottle
This is one of the easiest and most useful swaps you can make to start being more eco-friendly.
Stop buying drinks in plastic bottles when you’re out and about and start taking a reusable water bottle with you instead. We have some brilliant water bottles from Super Sparrow that we were given to review a while ago and we take them with us any time we go out for a walk.
You can also get bottles that you can fruit to, to flavour the water if you don’t like it plain. Or you could just put squash or whatever other drink you like in there.
Reusable plastic bottles are fine, but the most sustainable options are metal water bottles.
Once you’ve made this eco-friendly swap you can go one further and get a reusable coffee cup to take out with you. Most coffee shops will happily fill these up for you instead of giving you a disposal cup when you get a coffee to drink on the go.
2. Dryer balls
The most eco-friendly way to dry our washing is out on the line, and in an ideal world that’s what we’d all do.
But when it’s cold and wet outside it’s not always possible. So there’ll often be times that busy families need to use their tumble dryer to get everyone’s clothes dry and ready to wear again.
Using dryer balls in the tumble dryer can help make the process that bit more eco-friendly.
They save you time, electricity, and money as they can apparently reduce drying time by 30%. They also help to naturally soften your clothes, so you can reduce the amount of fabric softener you use too.
3. Reusable straws
Every parent out there knows how much children love to use straws with their drinks.
Single-use plastic straws are being phased out all over the place by companies looking to do their bit to protect the environment, and making the swap to a more eco-friendly alternative is nice and easy for families to do at home too.
You can get a set of brightly coloured silicon straws to use at home, like these from Amazon that also come with a cleaning brush to make washing up really simple.
If you want to be able to take your own straws out about with you to use instead of the paper ones that are often given out now, then you can get a set like these that are still silicone but that collapse down into a fab, portable little carry case.
4. Shampoo bars
Another brilliantly simple way for busy families to become more eco-friendly is to ditch the plastic bottles of shampoo and give a solid shampoo bar a try.
There are loads of benefits to making this switch, including creating so much more space in your family bathroom. You’ll also find that your shampoo lasts 2-3 times longer when you swap to a solid bar, so you won’t have to replace it as often.
And you won’t be adding to the piles of plastic bottles that get thrown away each year.
5. Reusable face cleansing pads
When you’re a busy parent you don’t always have time to do a proper cleanse at the end of the day, so chances are you quite often reach for a face wipe to swipe away your makeup before bed.
A really easy eco-friendly swap you can make is to washable face pads.
You can use them with a cleanser like micellar water or just use them with water from the bathroom tap. I don’t wear that much make up so just use mine with plain water and my skin always feels so clean afterwards.
Once you’ve used them you just pop them in the washing machine to clean them, ready to use again another day.
6. A shopping bag
If you’re still buying plastic bags each time you go out to do the shopping, then it’s time to make a change.
Depending on the type of shopping you’re doing, any of these options would make things easier and greener:
- a fun tote bag
- a sturdy backpack
- several jute bags for life
- a foldable shopping bag to pop in your handbag for unexpected shopping
7. Washable cleaning cloths
One thing busy families are likely to get through a lot of is kitchen roll. Whether it’s for cleaning up spills, wiping messy hands, or quick cleaning jobs around the house, it’s something we all tend to reach for a few times a day.
Using washable, reusable clothes instead though would be far more eco-friendly.
A pack of microfibre cloths can be used for all the things we use kitchen roll for and will last such a long time before needing to be replaced.
Have you already made any of these eco-friendly swaps? Which of the things on this list do you think you’ll try next?