Since we have been living lagom we have made several changes to live more sustainably and support our environmental wellbeing. The bathroom was the first room in our house that we de-cluttered and also the first place we started making sustainable swaps.
There are still some products that one or both of us hasn’t found a suitable sustainable alternative for, but as more people shop sustainably, the more products come to market and the more options we have to find something that works for us.
Whilst we aim to replace products with sustainable alternatives, we ensure we use up everything we have first – even if it isn’t as environmentally friendly as something else – better to use what you already have than throw it away unused.
The following list is out top 10 swaps for the bathroom and some the products we use to help you get started. We do not receive any money for the products we link to – they are purely personal recommendations:
1. Soap bars
We swapped liquid soap in plastic bottles for solid soap bars. If you’re looking to make the swap, look for bars that are packaged in recyclable materials and don’t contain palm oil.
We are lucky to have a local refill store, Lemon and Jinja, that sells soap off cuts from a local producer, Cyril’s Soap Shed, so they are cheaper and there is no packaging at all. We either use them up completely or when we get down to the last small slitters of soap just pop them in our bamboo soap bags
2. Shampoo & conditioner bars
We swapped shampoo and conditioner in plastic bottles for shampoo and conditioner bars.
Shampoo and conditioner bars can take a little getting used to and you may need to try a few varieties to find one that works for your hair type but it is worth it – they last so much longer than a bottle of shampoo or conditioner and you don’t need to wash your hair as often.
Amy occasionally suffers with dandruff so uses ethique heali kiwi shampoo and friendly soap lavender and tea tree conditioner. James uses the Cyril’s soap shed shampoo bar
3. Bamboo soap bags
We swapped nylon shower scrubbers for bamboo soap bags.
The bamboo bag is naturally antibacterial and antifungal. Having the soap in the bag stops the soap slipping out of your hand in the shower! Just pop a soap bar inside it, damped, lather and scrub away.
We purchased ours from all natural soap in 2018 and they are still going strong.
4. Bamboo toothbrushes
We swapped plastic toothbrushes to bamboo toothbrushes.
When it is time to replace our brushes, we use the old one for cleaning those hard to reach areas round the taps. They can also be used in the garden for supporting small plants or marking seedlings. When we are ready to dispose of it, we just pull out the bristles with some pliers – these aren’t biodegradable but depending on the brand can often be recycled – and then pop the handle in our home compost. If you don’t compost you can pop them into the wood bin at the local recycling centre.
We currently buy Truthbrush from Lemon & Jinja
5. Compostable dental floss
Amy swapped nylon dental floss for compostable Corn-PLA floss.
The floss comes in a glass container with an aluminium top and you can buy refills of the floss to further reduce waste.
We buy Georganics from Lemon & Jinja
6. Toothpaste in glass jars
Amy swapped toothpaste in plastic tubes for natural tooth paste in glass jars.
When finished the jars can be cleaned and used for refilling with herbs and spices or buttons and sequins or any little bits and bobs you want.
We buy Georganics from Lemon and Jinja
7. Cloth facewipes
Amy swapped disposable makeup wipes for cloth facewipes.
Amy uses a little moisturiser on it – although you could just use soap or a cleanser – removes the makeup and then pops it in the wash basket to be washed along with the dirty clothes.
We have bought small ones from handmadehaven and larger ones from Lemon and Jinja – both wash well and have lasted years. When they finally wear out, we’ll just pop them in the compost
8. Bamboo cotton buds
We’d already swapped from plastic cotton buds to paper but have now swapped to organic bamboo cotton buds.
Bamboo is faster to grow and uses less water to cultivate than growing trees for paper and when we’ve used them we just pop them in the compost.
We buy Plastic Phobia organic bamboo cotton buds from Lemon & Jinja
9. Re-usable safety razor
Amy made the swap from disposable plastic razors to a re-usable safety razor.
The handle is made from bamboo and the head is made from stainless steel. It takes old fashioned razor blades which can be recycled at the local recycling centre when they are no longer sharp enough to shave with (but they last for ages).
We bought a Bambaw razor from Lemon & Jinja
10. Bamboo toilet roll
We swapped paper toilet roll wrapped in plastic to plastic free bamboo toilet roll.
As already mentioned, bamboo is a more sustainable product to paper due to the growing process and the companies we use are also plastic free. We buy from three different companies depending on stock availability, either Who Gives A Crap, Greencane or Bumboo
If you wanted to try some, this link (https://www.talkable.com/x/TtVcgH) will give you £5 off your first order with Who Gives A Crap
Let us know if we’ve inspired you to make some swaps by leaving us a comment.
If you want any more information about the swaps we’ve made and the products we use feel free to get in contact.
We’ve found that bamboo loo roll from Cheeky Panda is another good swap, and, erm, softer than some of the others!
Thank you for the suggestion- we’ll give it a try ?