People usually think my sustainable lifestyle is extremely expensive. They think of buying expensive eco-products when they think of a sustainable lifestyle. However, a sustainable lifestyle is usually about think you do not do. Stop buying new stuff, stop flying, stop eating meat, etc. I would argue my eco-positive lifestyle has saved me a lot of money. With that being said, today I am sharing 5 things I no longer buy due to this eco-positive lifestyle.
Minimalism
A long time ago I wrote about the 5 R’s of zero waste. But more than half of this pyramid does not only apply to zero waste, it also applies to a more sustainable lifestyle in general. The first three steps are refuse, reduce and reuse. I follow these steps all the time. And since I am writing about stuff today it also applies here. With most stuff I first think if I can refuse it. There’s more stuff that you can live without than you think. Minimalism is key. I’ve shared 5 things I no longer buy once before. Today I am sharing 5 more thing I no longer buy because I can simply live without.
1 Flowers
Never in my life have I bought flowers for myself. It was always a gift for somebody else. But I decided to stop. Why? Because I don’t support the system. Flowers are usually grown in countries which do not offer a fair wage (which is why fair trade flowers exist). Also, there are tons of pesticides used when growing flowers (which is why organic flowers exist). Flowers give us joy for a maximum of 14 days and then we get rid of them. Flowers are a single-use product and that’s such a sin. I think organic plants or dried flowers are great alternatives. They can last extremely long if you treat them right. Now that I no longer gift flowers I gift organic food instead.
2 Wrapping Paper
Buying paper just to throw it away is insane if you think about it. I don’t buy wrapping paper anymore. Using a towel is a great alternative for wrapping paper, but you need to ask for the towel back which I find a little uncomfortable. Therefore, I choose to re-use old paper as wrapping paper. Right now, I use the wrappers from The Good Roll toiletpaper I buy. I need toilet paper anyway and so I choose to buy the most sustainable brand which is packed in paper (instead of plastic). I then re-use these wrappers for gifts. It’s a win-win.
3 Fabric softener
I have to be totally honest here: I have never ever bought fabric softener. Therefore, it’s not something I no longer buy. It’s something I have never bought. I just don’t see the point of it. I wash my clothes and use laundry detergent (which I buy in bulk) to clean my clothes. That’s the point of washing them: to clean them. Why would I want to add something else to make the clothing softer? I think that the more chemicals we use, the worse we’re off. Most people use laundry softener to have a nice scent to their laundry, but then I’d say: choose a different laundry detergent. I personally don’t like a very strong scent. And I definitely don’t like wasting money and resources on something which I don’t need.
4 Air Freshener
As I said before: I try to limit the chemicals I use inside my home. Because I believe they can’t be good for my health and because I simply don’t need most of them. Air fresheners consist of only chemicals and so I don’t use them. Also, I don’t try to make my apartment (if you can call it that, I live in a student flat) smell a certain way. The only thing I use is fresh air and so I open the window every single day. However, there is one exception and that’s the bathroom. If someone has pooped, I do like something to mask the smell. However, I do not buy air freshener for that either. I have a very simple recipe to make it myself. I will share that DIY recipe very soon!
Note: I can imagine that people do like air fresheners when they have a lot of animals inside the home. I don’t have them (yet). But I understand. However, I still wouldn’t recommend air fresheners. I would try a diffuser. Those run on water and essential oils.
5 Cotton Swabs
Back in the days I did buy cotton swabs, but I quit. I used them for 2 things. 1. To clean the inside of my ears. 2. To remove make-up if I mess up. Right now, I just use my fingers if I mess up my make-up. I no longer clean my ears with anything because a friend of mine who is a doctor advised me so. She told me that if you try to clean your ears you’ll actually push the dirt back in. Ears have a self-cleaning mechanisms so it’s really not necessary either.
These were the 5 things I no longer buy. That’s it for today! Do you buy any of these things still?
Yours sincerely,
Romee
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