Zero Waste a reminder of the 5 rs
If you’ve started your Zero Waste journey, then you’ll probably know the two easiest places to start are in the Kitchen and the Bathroom. We’ll look at how you can achieve a Zero Waste Bathroom.
Before we start looking at what you can change to achieve your Zero Waste Bathroom let us just remind ourselves what Zero Waste is.
Remember Zero Waste is all about the 5 Rs:
Refuse – Learn to say no! Say no to food wrapped in plastic, say no to that plastic straw.
Reduce – Think before you buy. If you switch to homemade natural cleaning products you only need some White Distilled Vinegar and Bicarbonate of Soda to cover most jobs link
Reuse – If things break, repair them or have them repaired. Upcycle items you would otherwise throw away, paint that old chair and give it a new lease of life. Buy second hand.
Recycle – If you’ve managed to Refuse, Reduce and Reuse then you shouldn’t have a lot left but make sure you separate out your remaining rubbish and put the recyclable rubbish in the recycling bin.
Rot – Compost your food waste and use it to fertilise your plants and many grow a few veggies or salad leaves of your own.
Zero waste Bathroom
It’s unlikely that most people will actually achieve Zero Waste in its truest sense and that’s fine. But as long as people are talking about Zero Waste and trying to make one or two minor changes, the more the better, that’s a step in the right direction. Something is definitely always better than Nothing in this case.
Try some of these to start your Zero Waste Bathroom journey.
15 Easy Zero Waste Bathroom Swaps
- Liquid soap / shower gel – Switch to a bar of soap in the bathroom. If you don’t want to switch to a bar of soap think about buying a larger size shower gel and use a refillable non-plastic soap dispenser. But switching to a bar of soap is definitely the better option.
- Razor – Swap a plastic razor for a reusable safety razor. Safety razors are made of stainless steel which means they can be recycled at the end of their life. Safety razors use stainless steel blades that can be recycled too.
- Shampoo – switch to using a shampoo bar rather than liquid shampoo and also use dry shampoo to save water and cut down the number of times you wash your hair during the week. Take a look at these Shampoo Bars from Primal Suds & Wild and Sage
- Bamboo toothbrush – If you use a normal toothbrush then switching to a bamboo one should be pretty easy. However, if you use an electric toothbrush then you may find it a bit harder to do. It’s all about balance and how far you want to go, the choice is yours, but the alternatives are there if you want them.
- Flossing – switch to a silk floss in a glass jar such as Dental Lace Floss
- Natural cleaning products – you can’t go wrong with some Bicarb, White Vinegar and essential oils, check out my Blog on Homemade Natural Cleaning Products
- Bamboo or wood bath brush / hair brush – go for good quality wood or bamboo brushes and ditch the plastic. They should last for years if you look after them.
- Cotton buds – if you have to use them then make sure you have the ones with paper stems not plastic
- Wet wipes – not only is it a good idea to stop using them as part of your Zero Waste journey but a ‘monster’ blockage has been discovered in London sewers and wet wipes are a major contributor. Switch to reusable cotton pads or a flannel. Take a look at Cheeky Wipes
- A menstrual cup – I don’t actually have any first-hand knowledge of using these as I’m of that age. I’ve heard wonderful things, but I’ve also heard they can be tricky to get used to so this will have to be a try it and see.
- Recycled toilet roll – and if you can find it in paper packaging all the better.
- Deodorant – mineral salt stone works brilliantly and will last for years. When you first perspire it is sterile and odourless. When it comes in contact with the bacteria that lives on your skin, the bacteria multiply, and it’s the multiplying bacteria that causes the odour. The mineral salts deodorant stone leaves a thin film of the salts on your skin and the bacteria cannot thrive in the mineral salts environment. Voila, no odours. You will not smell at all.
- Toothpaste – you may need to experiment to see what suits you, but Denttabs are great.
- Moisturiser – make your own, it’s easy. A simple recipe is shea butter, coconut oil, and sweet almond oil, plus optional essential oils for fragrance. Be careful which essential oil you choose. See how to make below.
- Toilet brush – is yours plastic? Change to a wooden brush with natural bristles
Simple Recipe for Body Butter
Body Butter
1 cup shea butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup almond oil (you can substitute olive oil, jojoba oil, any organic, liquid oil that is healthy.)
1. Melt shea butter and coconut oil in the top like you would chocolate. That is in a bowl over a pan of water. Take it off the heat when it’s melted and let it cool.
2. Stir in the almond oil and couple of drops of essential oil if you’re using. My favourites are Rosemary, Geranium, and Lavender.
3. Pop it in a sealable jar and enjoy using it.
Look for more Zero Waste Tips and Check Out Zero waste Week 2018
I hope this has given you some ideas on where to start on your Zero Waste Journey in the Bathroom.
And if you want to more ideas on how to start your Zero waste journey in the Kitchen take a look at my Zero Waste Starting in the Kitchen Post
And if you’ve got time have a look at the Zero Waste Week 2018 website and sign up for the challenge.
I switched to menstrual cups recently and was very very surprised how easy and problem free I found the switch. Don’t know why more people don’t use them! You can even get ones with valves now so they don’t need to be removed in public toilets ( the biggest issue)
I hadn’t even heard of menstrual cups until I started learning about Zero Waste around a year ago, glad the switch worked for you.
The reminder in the beginning is as great as the recipe!!
Thank you so much for your wonderful swaps!!
Happy Saturday ♥
glad you found it useful 🙂