6 Habits To Reduce Waste & Save Money!

We have been long-time advocates for waste reduction here at Clean My Space and while the past year has certainly strained our focus on this topic, we think Earth Day is a perfect time to talk about reducing the waste in our homes and saving money along the way! #EarthDay #WasteReduction #TruEarth

This video was sponsored by our friends at Tru Earth.

SAVE 10% off of your purchase with the code: CLEANMYSPACE

0:00 - Introduction
0:47 - Replace Disposables
2:22 - Composting
3:07 - Reduce Packaging
5:02 - First In, First Out
6:23 - Upcycling
8:49 - Plastic Bag Alternatives

Comment Question: What waste reduction habit can you start today?

Questions? Comments?
We'd love to hear from you - say hello down below!

[tlfocht]

If you can't use resuable bags in the store yet, you can always just load everything back into your cart bagless and bag it up at your car!

[jeaniekaeding]

Hi Melissa, I buy cloth covers for my bowls. My kids bought me a bidet! I love it. I already compost, and refuse to use plastic water bottles, I recycle, I save and clean a lot of jars that food comes when I grocery shop -I don’t have to buy baggies bc of the the jars. I normally bike to the grocery store to pick up items, but I recently broke my shoulder during a walk, so my husband (he’s 77 w/a heart condition) has to drive me. I’m a big advocate of saving the earth, even at our age. Oh! I’ve been using laundry sheets for about (maybe over) a year. That’s the name on the boxes when they come in the mail. SHEETS
Thank you for all you do!

[geoneatokate]

Best tip for plastic shopping bags: put laundry baskets in the trunk of your car and load the groceries from your cart into the baskets. I swear by this!!

[cosytidyhome]

I bought a shampoo bar instead of a bottle of shampoo, and it washes my hair really great! less waste!

[donatapluskota]

I am from Poland where you have to pay a lot for a bag so it is completely normal to take with you a reusable bags. At home we almost didn’t have any plastic bags.

[kimberlynewsom]

We had been using our own shopping bags pre-Covid but have been using the plastic ones since, so next time I go to the store I'm going to bring my reusable bags and see if they'll let me use them - if not I'll ask if they can just put the items back in the cart and I'll bag them at the car. (thanks for those in the comments who suggested that). We had gotten really good about reducing our waste in the last several years - cloth napkins for over a decade now, reusable chop sticks, been using Dropps for our laundry for over a year now, etc. Oh and I'm also going to start looking into shampoo bars or other alternatives for shampoo for when my current stash is used up. Thank you for the inspiring video!

[sitharasimhalan]

Mam you changed my life. Me being a very messy and lazy person,
Is now a little better person. Your simple tips and tricks for lazy people
like me is like a magic potion. Your DIYs are amazing. Thank you, thank you very much.

[kathryncooper]

I have to accept plastic bags with grocery pickup service, so I donate mine to thrift stores, so they can reuse them to pack purchases for their customers. I don't use ANY single-use paper products. I've made my own laundry soap (58 cents a gallon) for years, and it's the very best I've ever used -- even removes marinara stains from my placemats and white dinner napkins. My daughter saves her giant plastic orange juice jugs for me, and I use them to add a designer look for my detergent and homemade fabric softener on the shelves in the laundry room. No phosphates, no sulfates, no noxious perfumes, no wasted plastic. I do use Oxy Clean in my wash, and the plastic tubs make wonderful storage bins for kitchen, bathroom and sewing room supplies -- just paint to coordinate with a room's decor, and add a label to the side. They stack very nicely, and help save cabinet space. I gave up giftwrap, since it's not recyclable or compostable, so I stitch up gift bags for most things, or decorate & reuse brown paper bags to wrap presents. Saving money and saving the planet-- works for me!

[carmgitto]

I'm in Canada the Loblaw grocery group Superstore, No Frills, independent grocer, Zehrs etc. sell a plastic bin with a nylon strap/handle that you can bring into a store, place in the cart, fill up doing your shopping. Once you unload your items at the cashier, you fill them up, load them into the car and home.
No fussing with any bags and zero waste when also using reusable produce bags
Not to mention it is MUCH faster in and out of the store

[zerluv]

Actually during this past year I've gotten really into visual mending, so I'm actively trying to patch clothing instead of chucking and buying new. I have 2 pairs of leggings that I love, but my thick thighs have rubbed holes in so I'm patching them and continuing to wear them.

[mmmstitch]

Would you consider a video on getting started composting?

[mjones]

We turn those plastic laundry jugs into hand wash stations when we are our camping. I also carry one in my car so I can wash my hands after pumping gas or running errands. I use a spray bottle with soap and the spigot to rinse my hands and dry them on a towel.

[wendybelfry]

I've been using Try Earth for over a year; shampoo bars from Lush, cotton bags for produce and making DIY cleaners for a long time now.

[Oceans]

We found a bulk store that has more natural alternatives to many cleaning products. So we keep our bottles and have them refilled. So far I love every product I have tried.

[terrimayle]

Melissa you should do a whole video on recycle and environmental issues and solutions. We recycle all plastics and anything else we no longer need in our home. How do you go completely trash bag free. I don't see that happening in my house! Any ideas? Love your videos use lots of your hints and tips in our home.

[rh]

Thank you for posting, I am on a low waste journey! Progress not Perfection

[CountryloverCountrylover]

I’m going to try replacing tissues with cotton handkerchiefs, I’ve replaced all cotton wool with bamboo/cotton pads so this is the next step

[bernitaleadbetter]

Wow, I just had an idea when I went to check if I have any old cloth napkins with tablecloths I hardly ever use. I could use leftover cotton fabric from when I was making masks to make napkins! And while I was typing this, why not take those tablecloths that I never use because they are too big for my downsized dining table and downsize them to fit my table and make napkins out of the leftover material.

[gregsgirlau]

I Crochet my own dishcloths, Dish scrubbies and face scrubbers. I get creative with leftovers and only buy what we need at the supermarket. I turn bottles of dish liquid, shampoo etc upside down to get every last bit out and I use bar soap instead. My husband is great at sewing so he made me reusable sanitary pads instead of disposable ones.

[alexandrapate]

I’ve gone to using reusable ear swaps and cotton pads when removing makeup. I’ve also gone to reusable paper town which can be laundered and reused.
Super easy to make the sustainable choices.

However, the paper straw does deteriorate in my drink, hence, now the metal straws, which are my now go to.