Sustainably Surviving Quarantine: A Mother’s Perspective

In Emma’s recent article about household products, she highly recommended Cleancult‘s all purpose cleaner.  My question is, with what can I distribute this cleaner?  Well, I have the answers, but first we need to understand the issue with plastic.

What is the issue with plastic?

Every year, Americans use millions of tons of plastic just once, before throwing it away – and much of it ends up in our oceans. Together, we can change this habit and find better solutions to reduce our reliance on plastic.

Environmental Emma’s research landed her on a company in the United States: Well Earth Goods. It’s a small business owned by a family that cares about the future and health of the earth. They’re 100% plastic-free and they ship sustainably.

While the use of plastic probably won’t completely disappear, reducing your use of it will not only help you, but also the environment.  As Environmental Emma often says, it’s a “win-win.”  Here are a few facts that will hopefully make you think twice…

The Dirty Facts:

• Nearly all plastic ever produced still exists. That’s disturbing.
• The equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic is dumped into the ocean every minute. Yuck!
• By 2050, it’s projected that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean (by weight).
• One in four fish tested contains plastic.  This plastic is entering the food chain and ends up on our plates. 
• Plastic is linked to cancers, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption, and other ailments. This is not okay.

So… what does this all mean?  Plastic that ends up in our bodies can cause major harm.  Plastic that ends up in the ocean can cause major harm. I want to make the 2050 prediction wrong!  Let’s do our part to find plastic alternatives.

Well Earth Goods has done some of the work for us, and I’m highlighting a few of their products that I’ve tried so far.

Alternative to Paper Towels

Is anyone having trouble finding paper towels?  I have some left, but I am seriously thinking twice before using what I have because I can’t always find a replacement in the grocery store.  I used to just grab paper towels and wipe down my kitchen counters, bathroom sinks, etc.  Not anymore.  I am now using Not Paper Towels. 

The great thing about these is that they come in a pack of 12, so I have enough to last a few days and then, I can just clean them and use them again.  While the initial purchase of $29 is not cheap, I consider it an investment.  A roll of paper towels is around $3, so by the time I go through 8-9 rolls, I have paid for my investment AND I no longer have to buy as many paper towels AND I’m helping the environment. The “Not Paper Towels” have a soft, flannel side and then a smoother, cotton side.  I decide which side to use based on the type of surface I’m wiping. These are not thick towels.  They really mimic actual paper towels in their thickness. There’s a nice looking wooden holder for your kitchen counter that holds the Not Paper Towels and it comes with 18 of the towels.  It’s expensive ($119), so for now, I’m just storing them under my sink.

Paper towels can’t be recycled, so about 6 million pounds of paper towels end up in landfills every year. Think about it- paper towels also come wrapped in plastic! Not good.  If the “Not Paper Towels” are too pricey, consider using your dish towels to clean rather than paper towels.  

Is anyone else’s house messier than ever?  As much as I love my kids and my husband, I am constantly cleaning up after them, despite my nagging!  My bathrooms need to be cleaned more often, as well as the toilets.  The great part is that I made my 3 kids sit and watch me clean the bathroom so they know what to do and can take turns cleaning them weekly. They just loved my demonstration. *Sarcasm

Cleaning Tools

I am a big fan of the wooden scrub brush and my kids love the opportunity to use it too! *More sarcasm  I also love my new wooden toilet brush.  I will say that, for some reason, the kids don’t seem to mind cleaning the toilet.  A bonus for me AND for the environment since they’re using the wooden brush!  The bristles on these brushes are sharp so, they work really well.

Bandages

I have three teenagers and I thought I did a decent job of teaching them how to ride a bike.  Apparently, not so much.  Since quarantine, 2 out of 3 have had some pretty bad falls with lots of scrapes.  Until I researched, I never thought of the waste associated with bandaids.  Well Earth Goods has Natural Bamboo Bandages, plastic- free, of course AND 100% compostable.  I wish we weren’t going through so many, but on the bright side, at least my children are being active.

In the Kitchen

Who feels like a short-order cook? Well, I do, and a family of 5

does a really nice job using a lot of dishes.  Our house rule is: if you cook the dinner, you don’t have to do the dishes.  This is where the No Plastic Dish Brush comes in.  It makes cleaning so fun- just ask my kids!  Well, they might not be having fun, but at least we’re not using a plastic scrub brush.

I’m changing my ways to help save money and am using products that are actually available during this pandemic, but I plan to continue with these new habits of using sustainable products from now on. I realize that it’s not just an investment in my family’s well-being but also an investment in our environment and the health and future of the earth.  Peruse Emma’s tips page for more in-depth information about the problem with plastic.

Click here to check out Well Earth Goods’ site and please comment below if you decide to try anything.  I’d love to hear what you think.

Thank you to Environmental Emma for letting me share some of my ideas and top picks.

*This post is sponsored by Well Earth Goods.  It contains affiliate links.