Let’s start with my favorite green beauty products. I kept going back and forth on whether to publish this post now or when I’ve totally transitioned to all green beauty (obviously not all of my beauty products are considered green) but I decided to post my process because everyone has to start somewhere! I’m phasing things out as I find new sustainable brands and clean beauty products that I love. I’ve been working on transitioning to clean beauty for the last year at least and here’s what I love so far. I’m still working on finding clean makeup that I love so that will have to be another post for another time.
Natural deodorant (this is my favorite that I’ve tried but I’ve also heard great things about this one!)
Face scrub (I reeeeallly love this!)
Hair oil
Body lotion (love these lotions & the large sizes they come in!)
Dry Shampoo
Sea Salt Spray
Lip balm
Moisturizing Coverage
Mascara
Peppermint oil (I’ve been using Young Living essential oils for well over a year and I LOVE them!)
Simple Ways to Live More Eco-Friendly Lives (no, I do not do all of these so we can work on them together!):
1. No single use plastic. I actually will not go somewhere if they only have styrofoam (also found to be a carcinogen) or plastic cups. I try to bring my own YETI thermos when I can and I always carry my reusable water bottle (I have and love this one and really want to try this self cleaning one!) and ones for the kids. I’ve also stopped buying ziplock bags and am trying to slowly replace them with these silicone ones! Also, NO plastic straws- here’s a good alternative if you’re one of those people who love straws 🙂 and use reusable grocery bags (it’s hard for me to remember this one- and if you do use plastic grocery bags, please don’t throw them out!)! See here for more information on how single use plastic is affecting our oceans!
2. Walk. We live in a walkable town (and moved here for that reason) so I’ve been really conscious of walking everywhere I can rather than driving to run small errands like going to the post office, to get coffee, or the farmer’s market. We can even walk to our dry cleaner! Read more about ways to reduce your carbon footprint here, here, and here!
3. Unplug all electronic devices when they’re not in use. This is an easy one and I try to remember to do it daily. Using high efficiency or energy efficient appliances is also a huge help (& will also cut down your electric bill!)!
4. Read ingredients, know what you’re reading, and buy local when you can. I try to only shop the perimeter of the grocery store and in the spring-summer-fall, we shop our local farmer’s market. I also switched to essential oils for everything from diffusing to making my own room sprays, allergy rollers, and breathe balms.
5. Compost. I’m still learning about this one. I’ve tried to do it cheaply and put everything in a metal trash can to compost later but let’s just say it’s not working… I think I need to just buy (or make) and actual composting bin. Or apparently you can also dig a hole and compost that way but I need someone to show me, haha! If you’re already composting and have any tips, please share!!
6. Buy in bulk. I’m struggling with this one, too, mainly because I don’t really know where to start. Buying in bulk or using your own packaging is another relatively simple way to both reduce waste and single use plastic. I’m very interested in reducing my plastic usage so I’d love any tips on where to start here, too!
7. Eat less meat. I’m by no means a vegetarian but we don’t eat meat every day of the week, either. I’m going to try for 2-3 meatless days a week and go from there (I think we’re already doing at least 1-2)!
8. Buy less “fast fashion.” I know as a style blogger this seems silly to say but see my recent post on sustainable clothing brands here.
Ok, if you’ve read this far, thank you! I hope this doesn’t come across as preaching, I just really believe that WE can make a difference by just being a little bit more informed and aware! I’m not perfect and don’t do all of these things yet but I AM working towards being better and living a greener lifestyle. The less we do, the more work and problems we’re making for our children (and I think they’re already going to have enough to deal with!) so it’s so important that we start now, even just by making simple lifestyle changes! A lot of the damage that we are doing to our environment can be irreversible.
