Easy Sustainable Swaps to live a more Sustainable Lifestyle

As the holiday season approaches, I often find myself thinking about the list of presents I need to purchase. I, for one, am someone who likes to give people practical but also FUN gifts. Stuff maybe they hadn’t thought about before, but I know they’d love. I also like to share a little bit of what I love with my loved ones. This year I have really been diving deeper into sustainable living. I felt the need to share some easy sustainable swaps that may be good for the loved ones on your list, or even for you!

In the Kitchen

Since it IS the holiday season, I have baking and holiday food on the brain! Let’s start out with some amazing swaps for sustainable living you can make in your kitchen.

May absolute favorite place to buy organic, non-GMO Whole wheat flour is from Public Goods. Their flour is slowly stone-milled to preserve the fiber, protein and rich flavor. Man, can you tell when you take a bite of a baked good using this flour. Seriously, to die for! They even have a Gluten-free flour that is delicious AND affordable!

What better to go with baked goods fresh out of the oven than a hot cup of hot cocoa or coffee? If you’ve seen any of my recent Instagram stories, I have turned into quite the coffee lover these days! My coffee of choice is this delicious organically grown and fairly traded blend of arabica beans from Central and South America. They offer both whole coffee beans, as well as ground coffee. For all my non-coffee lovers, or even just for my chocolate lovers, you MUST try this rich, chocolatey hot cocoa mix. It is made by a small, family-owned company, with only 2 ingredients, and is VEGAN! Seriously, this would make the PERFECT holiday gift. The all-natural and recyclable tin is super cute and helps meet your sustainable living goals.

Now lets’ ASSUME you have SOME leftovers from all the delicious baked goods (hey, it could happen LOL). My favorite sustainable living swap from wrapping items in tin foil, or storing them in Ziploc baggies or plastic containers, is wrapping them in beeswax wraps. These wraps are made from 100% cotton, Vancouver Island sourced beeswax, pine tree resin, and jojoba oil. They’re durable, convenient and, not to mention, the design choices are SO cute! Nature Bee also has a bundle that would make the perfect holiday gift, where you get a package of wraps and a matching Swedish dish cloth. I personally would pick the Lemon style, but they also have a Whales and Flowers style that are really stylish!

For Cleaning

Now that we’ve talked about baking and your kitchen is a bit of a mess, let’s chat about sustainable swaps for keeping your home clean.

First up, my go-to dish soap. Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap is made with fair-trade ingredients in the USA at a certified B corporation. Basically a B-Corp is a company that commits to creating public benefit and sustainable value in addition to generating profit. So while not only is this soap SUPER versatile (literally guys, there’s like 18 different uses for this stuff), it is also a really great sustainable swap.

Next, 100% recycled plastic trash bags. These bags come in either 13 or 30 gallon, and are made in partnership with WasteZero. WasteZero is a Certified B Corporation that collects single-use plastic and turns it into strong, durable trash bags. Their mission is to cut American trash in half – seriously SO COOL!

Now that we’ve got the pots and pans washed and the trash put away, time for loading up the dishwasher! I HIGHLY recommend these dishwasher detergent pods. They’re ingredients, which are natural and plant-derived, work to remove stains, sanitize silverware, emulsify grease and oil, protect metal from corrosion, and minimize water spots, all without additives like chlorine, bleach and phosphates. Sure, dishwasher detergent MAY be a bit of a strange gift, but bundle it up in a basket with other sustainable swaps for your loved ones home and it will be a hit!

Last up on the cleaning list, wool dryer balls. This bundle comes with lemon essential oil, leaving your clothes cozy, dry, and smelling fresh! They are all-natural, chemical-free, long-lasting (1,000 loads), and handmade in Nepal from pure New Zealand wool. I use these EVERY single load of laundry I do! Highly recommend.

Sustainable Swaps for Self-care

First things first, in order to practice self-care, we need to keep ourselves healthy! With so much going around right now, even more so than “regular” winter germs, having hand sanitizer on-hand is super helpful! Grove Collaborative’s Hydrating Hand Sanitizer has moisturizing aloe and coconut, jojoba, and sunflower seed oils that work to hydrate your skin while you sanitize. The fragrance (your choice of blood orange, lavender, or evergreen) is 100% natural, made from essential oils and all the ingredients are plant-derived (AKA no harsh chemicals like most sanitizers).

What better way to practice self-care than to treat yourself to a fancy bamboo razor? Not only is it super stylish, it is an easy sustainable swap that will only cost $11! You heard me right! And guess what, the razor heads are only $1 for a pack of 4! Sustainable living does NOT have to be expensive my friends.

And last, but certainly not least, my new favorite candle. This Lavender & Vanilla Candle is the scent I never knew I needed in my life. Seriously! It is the perfect candle to have glowing nearby as you dive into your winter reads, trust me. Made with natural hand-poured soy wax, a cotton wick, and premium fragrance oil, but without lead, dyes, BPA or phthalates, I can breathe easy knowing I won’t be breathing in harmful chemicals found in MOST candles this holiday season (Bath & Body Works, I’m look at you! *Cough* *Cough*).

Looking for more Sustainable Swaps?

Two of my favorite spots to shop for sustainable living goods are Grove Collaborative and Public Goods. Both have a wide selection and the pricing is really on point!

Also, check out my blog post from earlier this year Simple Swaps for Sustainable Living, where I share 5 more simple swaps you can make to live a more sustainable life.

**Disclosure: Some of the links included in this post are affiliate links. That means that I could earn a commission, at no cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase.