The bathroom is one of the easiest places to cut down on plastic, and one of the most satisfying. Bottles, tubes and toothbrushes add up fast. We've been plastic-free wherever we can since 2008, and the most important thing I've learned is this: you don't have to do it all at once. Replace each item as it runs out, and in a few months your bathroom will look completely different.
Here are the swaps I'd start with, in roughly the order most people make them.
1. Shampoo bar
This is the swap that makes the biggest dent. One Organic Shampoo Bar replaces about two store-bought bottles of shampoo, with no plastic at all. Ours are SLS-free and made with organic oils and pure essential oils, in four scents. Wet your hair, rub the bar between your hands or directly on your hair, lather and rinse.
The trick: keep it dry between washes. A bar sitting in a puddle melts away. A bar on a draining dish lasts.
2. Bar soap and a good soap dish
Swap your body wash for a handmade bar from our soap collection, and give it a proper home: a bamboo soap dish lets it drain and dry. For the last little slivers, a sisal soap saver pouch holds them together and doubles as a gentle scrubber.
3. Toothpaste in a glass jar
Toothpaste tubes are almost impossible to recycle. Our Baking Soda & Sea Salt Toothpaste comes in a glass jar with a wooden applicator, and our Organic Tooth Powder and Activated Charcoal Toothpaste are plastic-free too. Fair warning: natural toothpaste tastes different from what you're used to, and the sea salt one is salty. It usually only takes a few days to get used to.
4. Bamboo toothbrush
A bamboo toothbrush works just like a plastic one. When it's worn out, check the bristles: many bamboo brushes use nylon bristles, so pull them out (pliers make it easy) and compost or reuse the handle. Old handles make great plant markers.
5. Silk floss and a tongue scraper
Swap plastic floss containers for silk floss in a refillable container, then just buy refills. A copper tongue scraper lasts for years and is a nice little upgrade to your morning routine.
6. Reusable cotton rounds and bamboo swabs
If you use toner or makeup remover, reusable cotton rounds replace a mountain of disposable ones. Toss them in a mesh bag with your laundry. For the times you need a cotton swab, bamboo cotton swabs skip the plastic sticks.
7. Deodorant in glass
Most deodorants come in plastic tubes. Ours come in glass jars you can reuse or recycle. If you're new to natural deodorant, our guide How to Switch to Natural Deodorant walks you through it.
A few tips that make it stick
- Use up what you have first. Throwing away half-full bottles isn't zero waste. Swap as things run out.
- Pick one swap a month. Small changes stick better than an overhaul.
- Keep bars dry. A draining soap dish is the difference between a bar that lasts a week and one that lasts months.
- Don't aim for perfect. Every bottle you don't buy counts.
Where to start
If you only make one change this month, make it the shampoo bar. It's simple, it lasts, and it makes the biggest difference. You'll find everything above in one place in our Zero Waste Bathroom collection, and if you have questions, email me at jillian@buttermeuporganics.com.
— Jillian, founder of Butter Me Up Organics, handmade in Livermore, California since 2008