Are you looking for ways to reduce single-use plastic in your home? The bathroom is a great place to start. Other than the kitchen, it’s the one area of our homes where we have the greatest opportunity to reduce waste and live a greener life. Today, I’ve got 21 simple eco-friendly bathroom swaps to help you get started.
If you’re looking for some eco-friendly kitchen swaps, check out 21 simple kitchen swaps to be more eco-friendly.
So much plastic!
Have you ever stopped to look around your bathroom? If you do, chances are you’ll see a lot of personal care and cleaning products in plastic packaging. Much of that plastic packaging isn’t recyclable so it goes straight to the landfill.
But, there’s good news! In my quest to reduce waste and live a greener life, I’ve found the bathroom to be one of the easiest places to find alternatives to single-use plastic and other disposable items.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
21 easy plastic-free swaps for your bathroom
- When it’s time to replace your shower curtain and liner, buy fabric curtains.
- Use unwrapped bar soap instead of liquid soap.
- Swap your shampoo and conditioner bottles for bars.
- Replace your moisturizer and 11 other personal care products with a single jar of coconut oil.
- Use face and body lotion bars.
- Unwrapped deodorant bars are a great alternative to plastic.
- Swap your non-recyclable toothpaste tubes for toothpaste tablets or powder.
- Use microfibre cloths and window cloths for cleaning.
- Make your own DIY toilet cleaner in 5 minutes with 4 simple ingredients.
- Ditch your razors and look for low-waste hair removal options.
- Replace your shower pouf with a loofah or scrub mitt made from natural fibre like hemp.
- Take shorter showers.
- Wash your hair less often. Most of us can get away with washing our hair only once or twice a week. You’ll save on hair products and use less water. And, it’s better for your hair too!
- Replace cotton swabs with a reusable swab.
- Remove makeup with a washcloth instead of disposable cotton pads.
- Make your own DIY body powder with 4 common kitchen ingredients.
- Replace your plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush.
- Use reusable cups instead of disposables.
- Buy your liquid soap and body wash in bulk.
- Replace your wipes with reusable washcloths.
- Ditch your plastic air freshener. Make your own DIY room spray instead.
Not only are these swaps good for the environment, but many of them will result in less clutter and a simpler life. What’s not to love about that?
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My bathroom pet peeve
One product that continues to irritate me (no pun intended) is toilet paper! I am baffled that companies that make paper products continue to package their products in plastic. I’m hearing of paper-wrapped toilet paper readily available in supermarkets in the UK. When will our Canadian companies follow suit?
I did find a local industrial supply company that sells paper wrapped toilet rolls in cardboard boxes but the quality isn’t the greatest. I’ll keep searching.
Have you made any of these eco-friendly bathroom swaps? Do you have other suggestions for us to try? Let us know in the comments below.
I’d never heard of reusable swabs. Thank you, Michelle!
Yes, reusable swabs work pretty well.
These are great ideas Michelle. It is staggering how much plastic is in our bathrooms, reading your post made me realise just how much. I hope more and more companies start using eco-friendly and plastic-free packaging, as it does make all the difference x
Thanks Jaclyn. It is scary the amount of plastic in our personal care and cleaning products. The worst part is, much of it is not recyclable.
Michelle, I bought a loofah and didn’t care for it. I think I probably purchased one that wasn’t as good quality as others. But I just bought a sea sponge that came from the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Florida. I bought it from Etsy, and I just love it!
I know what you mean about loofahs. They can get kind of crusty. I have a loofah mit that is softer but does the same thing.
I need to get green toilet paper.
I think you have more options in England than we do here in Canada. 😀
So may good ideas, as usual,, Michelle. I tried your coconut oil and love it. I agree with you on TP here in the US so much wasted plastic wrap.
Thanks Judy. Glad to hear you like the coconut oil. The toilet paper drives me crazy. It makes no sense to me that there aren’t better options.
Great list. I have been working on reducing the plastic in my bathroom too. This post, as well as some of your others, have given me great ideas! Thanks!
Thanks Suzanne. I love it when people get new ideas from my posts. 💚