Eco Friendly Household Items For All Families

Facebook

Photo Credit

I try to be as “green” as possible without getting out of control. I keep my life balanced as best as I can, and use these eco friendly household items as much as possible to do my part in this world.

I’ve noticed that there are some people who are rather zealous whenever it comes to this topic. And on the other side of the coin, there are those who treat their surroundings like an extension of their own personal pigpen. I personally believe that there needs to be a balance within it all. If living a green lifestyle is taking over your thoughts and causing you to be depressed, hateful, or stressed out, then I say that is getting out of control. But if you ignore the fact that we all need to make an effort to leave this planet in as good or better condition than we found it, then that careless attitude of total denial is also out of control. Did I mention that I believe in balance? And responsibility for our own actions?

That said, there are different green products that I use within my household to help keep my family free of some unnecessary chemicals, as well as save some money. Therefore, I thought that I would share my tips and tricks on the trade, and hopefully you will all share back! Here goes!

Eco Friendly Household Items

We carry reusable water bottles with us wherever we go. We use ZeroWater filters in both our Tumbler water bottles as well as a huge filter we have in the fridge. (You can read my full post HERE where I reviewed and showed how these are a HUGE part of our everyday lives.) Branden is also obsessed with his Dinosaur Crocodile Creek one that he’s had since he was a toddler and I highly recommend purchasing a cleaning brush, too – for all that icky stuff at the bottom. This is a great and easy way to put an end to all of the plastic being used for water bottles everyday.
Use common household items such as lemon, white vinegar, and baking soda to clean around the house. You would be surprised what these things can do! And you will not be adding unnecessary chemicals to your home environment. (Ahem, this baking soda air filter for your fridge is ah-mazing!)
I always make sure that I use Tupperware whenever I am storing leftovers instead of buying plastic wrap or foil. I also use these whenever I am packing my lunch for work. If I need to use zip-lock bags for things, I make sure that I re-use them by washing them out.
Always recycle.
Make sure that lights and electronics are always left off whenever not in use. And remember that your chargers are still pulling energy if you leave them plugged in, as is your toaster, your coffee pot, and on and on. (This a good example of saving both resources and money!)
Here is one of my favorites: shop at your local farmer’s market. If you live in NYC and shop from FreshDirect regularly, they even have a local option for making grocery purchases. Take advantage of this!
If you are a big online shopper, you will like this one: pay all of your household bills online. This eliminates the waste of paper that is used in this process. Also, you can subscribe to online billing statements with most banks and credit card companies. This is a great eco-friendly option!
Overall, eco friendly household items can simply be reusing things within your household–you can even make it fun for the kiddos!