If you are just starting your eco-friendly and sustainable journey I recommend reading my Easing into an Eco-friendly Lifestyle blog first! Getting starting can be very overwhelming so take your time! Without a fluffy intro let’s just jump into my first sustainable purchases on Amazon and how they’ve worked for me so far.

Reusable Cotton Shopping Bags

Personally, I think this was the easiest change to make – you just have to remember to actually bring them into the store and put them back in your car! I also use mine for other shopping trips, not just groceries. I bought these ones and so far they are holding up great but if they tear I’ll pretend I know how to sew and stitch em up!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Fun Fact: Reusable bags have a higher carbon footprint compared to single-use plastic bags. To make up for that difference you will need to use these bags 7,000+ times.

Mesh Produce Bags

I’ve been buying more produce for 2 reasons; to avoid plastic waste that other foods are packaged in and because I’m trying to eat a 98% vegetarian based diet. But what do you see at the stores to put your produce in rather just setting them in your very used cart? SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS. These mesh bags from Amazon are a great alternative because they come in 3 different sizes to meet all your produce sized needs.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Fun Fact: These bags weigh (approx) the same as the single use bags provided at stores so your grocery store cashiers don’t have to remove the produce! I get compliments on them all the time.

Glass Food Storage Containers

I LOVE these glass containers, they have made my life so much easier and I can see what food is in each container. The silicone seal keeps everything fresh and if I decide to microwave my leftovers they taste better than if I store them in plastic containers. With that being said, I did not toss my plastic food storage options because that would be wasteful 🙂

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Fun Fact: These are microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe! Oh and BPA free, too!

Food Storage Kit

This kit is great for trying out a few different items at once for at a reasonable price. The silicone baggies are freezer and dishwasher safe and you can also boil them! The silicone covers are my FAVORITE, I use them all the time and they fit nicely over the glass bowls I use for pretty much everything. The smallest size fits over the top of aluminum cans which is also very convenient. Unfortunately, I personally don’t recommend the beeswax wraps. They are meant for wrapping half used veggies and fruits but I have that if I can’t see my food then it will go bad, so things just ended up rotting inside the wraps. They also aren’t as easy to clean, you can’t put them in the dishwasher or even use hot water on them so it’s a bit of a pain. But if those cons don’t bother you they are a great option!

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (because of the beeswax wraps)

Fun Fact: You can buy the silicone bags and covers separately if you don’t think you’ll use the beeswax wraps!

Unpaper Towels

I’m pretty sure everyone has heard of these by now…everyone seems to have them! Which obviously means they are a great purchase. I use these for pretty much everything in the kitchen; wiping down counters, drying dishes, hand towel if I need, as a rag, etc. I’ve even used them as napkins when guests came over to reduce the amount of paper towel waste during dinner!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Fun Fact: Globally, discarded paper towels result in 254 million tons of trash every year. SAY WHAT!?

Skoy Cloth

Not much to say here, you can’t go wrong with these! I replaced my dishwashing sponges with these 100% biodegradable cloths and I love them. I also found these (slightly more expensive) Swedish dishcloths for a more modern and neutral look than the colorful ones I got! Next time I’ll get these because they would better go with my aesthetic (haha).

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Fun Fact: Old sponges that have been thrown away carry bacteria-killing triclosan that negatively impacts aquatic ecosystems. And, the synthetic materials that they’re made of continue to release dioxins and formaldehyde into soil and the atmosphere long after they’ve left the factory.

Reusable Sandwich Bags

Again, not much to say here! These bags are a great alternative to plastic ziploc bags for dry snacks. I use them all the time and I love that they come in 2 different sizes.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Fun Fact: But if you can’t give up your plastic ziploc bags…True, Ziploc^® brand bags are recyclable. If they are dry and clean you they can go in the same bins as those plastic shopping bags you see at grocery stores. BUT I still recommend avoiding single use plastics 🙂

And there you have it. All of these purchases were well worth it and guilt free considering how much better they are for the planet! I will continue to share more sustainable and eco-friendly tips and products as I find them! Leave any comments or questions below!

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