Resourceful Homemaking: 5 Ways To Create Sustainability In Your Home

Today I am sharing how I create sustainability in my home as a resourceful homemaker!

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Hello friends! As many of you know, I try to be as thrifty and intentional as I can be with my home decor. I try to be minimalistic in my approach when it comes to decorating my home, choosing pieces I absolutely love for the best possible price I can find. I often try to reuse or recycle pieces before I purchase new ones, and when I am no longer using a decor piece, I will donate it so it can be given new life in a new home. This is just one small way I implement sustainability practices in my home.

As a stay at home mom, being resourceful is so important to my lifestyle. I am always looking to implement sustainability practices to save money and reduce waste in my home. These practices go beyond just materials and furniture. It now includes eco-friendly cleaning supplies, water filters, and alternatives to single-use plastics like glass. I know the subject of our environment’s condition can be debated, but the importance of reducing waste in our homes is vital as a resourceful homemaker.

Not only is reducing waste good for our environment, it is great for our overall health and well being, minimizing the use of harmful chemicals, and choosing long-lasting, sustainable alternatives. Reducing household waste is also great for our wallets as we spend less money on single-use products and consume what we make or grow.

Today I’m sharing five ways I reduce waste in my home:

1. Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products
2. Water Filtration System
3. Glass And Stainless Steel Containers
4. Reusable Cleaning Cloths
5. Natural Air Purifiers

Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

If you have followed my blog for a while, you know I try to use non-toxic, chemical-free cleaning supplies. I aim to use plant-based, natural ingredients, which reduces the impact on the environment and improves indoor air quality.

One of my go-to cleaning cleaning products is simply distilled white vinegar, as it has so many great uses! It cuts through mold and mildew in the bathroom, and I love using it to give my kitchen sink, toilets and dishwasher a good cleaning.

Another non-toxic product that I love is Castile soap! I love Castile soap for so many reasons. I used it to help clear up my adult acne and I also love using it for hand soap and body wash. Did you know that Castile soap is actually safe enough to use as toothpaste! I’ve never tried it, but how amazing to have such a powerful, all natural cleaning tool that is tough on stains yet safe for our families! 

Essential oils are another great, natural cleaning product! My all time favorite essential oil for cleaning is lemon oil. It’s both antibacterial and antiviral, but best of all it leaves a citrusy fresh scent behind when you clean! I have also used wild orange and grapefruit oil which have similar properties and smell amazing. Another favorite essential oil of mine is melaleuca or tea tree oil. Melaleuca is antibacterial, antimicrobial and anti-fungal. It has awesome cleaning power and fights germs and mildew. 

Water Filtration System

Instead of purchasing single use plastic water bottles in bulk that end up as garbage in landfill, I replaced plastic bottled water with a stainless steel reusable water bottle as well as a water filtration system that purifies my tap water.

My Boroux water filtration system, formally known as Berkey, offers quality materials and design, with their filters containing silver, a registered antimicrobial material preservative, to prevent microorganisms from degrading the filter. The pristine filtered water is crystal clear, and each filter can be used to filter up to 12,000 gallons of water (roughly 6 months to a year of use)! Talk about sustainability!

The initial, up front cost can be scary, but when you consider that the average American purchases 167 plastic water bottles a year at roughly $260 per year, the cost of a Boroux water system over time becomes minimal.

Glass and Stainless Steel Containers

As stated above, switching out your single use plastic containers for reusable bottles and reusable containers made of glass and stainless steel is not only safer for food storage, but also reduces household waste. Plus, glassware is just so timeless and beautiful! Drinking out of a pretty glass mason jar or a pottery coffee mug somehow seems to make a drink taste better haha

If you are spending money every week on plastic cups, only to end up disposing them in the trash, you are quite literally throwing money away haha Now, don’t get me wrong, every once in a while I will use single use plastic cups and utensils for birthday parties and family gatherings for the convenience of not having to wash a million dishes after a party. But try to make it a general sustainability practice to use containers that can be washed and reused indefinitely to save money and reduce waste.

Reusable Cleaning Cloths

You all know how much I love my reusable Norwex microfiber cloths. Please do yourself a favor and get one of these enviro-cloths. I clean my ENTIRE home with these cloths and all you need is water. No chemicals, no fumes, no harmful toxins. Just water! A damp cloth can clean your entire home better than your favorite all purpose cleaners.

It sounds too good to be true, but these cloths were a miracle for me. They remove 99.9% of bacteria from surfaces, and they have silver woven throughout them so that the cloths literally self purify as they hang to dry. No need for disinfectants! Plus, you can use them over and over again – just wash them in hot water or use Norwex’s laundry detergent. The sustainability of a reusable cleaning cloth is great for the environment, as well as your budget.

While there are some paper products that I wouldn’t replace with reusable ones (ahem, toilet paper) consider replacing some of your single use paper products for reusable cloth items. Instead of single-use paper towels, try using reusable cloths made from sustainable materials like bamboo or organic cotton. These cloths can be washed and reused, cutting down on paper waste.

You can also opt for cloth napkins instead of paper ones, and lately I’ve been using reusable wax paper instead of plastic wrap. My dad has always used a hanky instead of tissues, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to make that switch yet haha

Natural Air Purifiers

A great way to create sustainability in your home and improve your home’s air quality is with indoor plants! Plants naturally scrub out the pollutants from the air, and can even help reduce stress and improve mental clarity. Instead of purchasing candles or air fresheners that are full of harmful chemicals and only mask the scent of your home with synthetic fragrances, consider purchasing a few houseplants that will last a while and impact your health positively.

If you absolutely can’t live without a cozy candle burning, consider purchasing a safer option such as Antique Candle Co! Antique Candle Co. is the better alternative to traditional candles because of their commitment to clean burning candles that are hand-poured in a small-batch right here in the U.S. – Lafayette, Indiana! The clean soy wax blend is also domestically grown and sourced in the U.S. and is eco-friendly, renewable, naturally biodegradable, and water soluble to give you peace of mind every time you light the unbleached cotton wick. The soy wax produces a non toxic burn and does not increase the level of CO2 emissions, improving indoor air quality compared to traditional candles.

Well friends, I hope this post helped inspire you to create sustainability and reduce waste in your home. Not only are sustainability practices great for your budget, they are also amazing for your overall health and well being. What are some ways you create sustainability in your home? Let me know in the comments below!

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