My Zero Waste Favourites

Ok, so zero waste for me is primarily avoidance of buying into the consumer waste cycle and the older I get, the less I feel I need! My candle business began out of my desire to avoid throwing out things that were perfectly useful and that is something I continue to do.
However, aside from my business, I have also been trying to reduce waste in general and I have bought a few things which I hope will help with that, in the long term.

One of the first things I bought was these reusable cotton cleansing pads for removing make-up:


Photo courtesy of The Little Green Shop
They are absolutely brilliant - I have had them for a while now and washed them many times and they are still going strong! They are gentle on the skin but can exfoliate slightly with the right cleanser. Available from The Little Green Shop which has loads of other great eco-friendly products.

Next favourite has to be my William Morris bamboo cup from The Coffee Lady

Photo Courtesy of The Coffee Lady
I mean, how gorgeous is this?! I actually have several keep cups on the go but this is the one I have in work and I love it so much.

My next purchase was a bargain - and hopefully a long lasting one! I had bought the temporary plastic covered greenhouses in previous years but the plastic just disintegrates with any kind of bad weather so you just end up discarding it and buying another plastic cover which is not ideal.
So this wooden one from Aldi seemed perfect:


At the moment I have courgettes and chili plants in there, as well as lettuce started from seed.


Next up are my kilner style containers - I have quite a few of these now, bought over the years. They are sturdy and strong so last and last (you can buy the seals separately) and they are incredibly useful.
I use the large jars for making my kefir water. The medium jars are perfect for my home made granola (pictured) and for yoghurt, and I have smaller ones that I use for making single portion yoghurt with fruit compote.



Finally, I have ordered one of these! I'm seriously excited about using this :)
I'm planning on drying fruit for my granola, herbs, tomatoes and all sorts of things. This is definitely going to have an impact and reduce packaging waste because I'll be able to do a lot of stuff at home


Photo courtesy of Amazon

I'm hoping that these purchases will help in my quest to reduce waste and I know that they have made an impact already. I've also been looking in charity shops for particular things I might need - they can be such great places to get clothes or household things.

I'm in a couple of #zerowaste groups on Facebook: One is A Sustainable Life With Jen Gale and the other main one is Zero Waste Ireland.  The Sustainable Life group is by far my favourite, it has a nice atmosphere and lots of useful tips and general chat but is based in the UK. The Zero Waste group is Irish but I find it an unpleasant place to be quite a lot of the time, the posters can be extremely judgemental and critical and it probably isn't the best place to be if you just want to start making baby steps in the zero waste direction.  It is handy as it is Irish though.

Anyway, I hope you have been a little bit inspired by my products (all purchased by myself) and I really believe that every little step we take is a step in the right direction.


You might like some of my other product review posts:

Oysho Sportswear Review

Baker Days Letterbox Cake Review

Top Three Dublin Sweet Treat Spots



Next Post Previous Post
9 Comments
  • rhian westbury
    rhian westbury 18 June 2018 at 18:48

    I need the cotton cleansing pads as I go through so many cotton pads x

  • momma mack
    momma mack 18 June 2018 at 20:11

    some really great tips here, I've been trying to make a conscious effort to reduce waste too and am trying my best to remember to take my refill cup out with me

  • Treasure_E_M
    Treasure_E_M 18 June 2018 at 20:41

    I really like the sound of the reusable cleansing pads, as that is something I use a lot in disposable form at the moment. I must look into them more :)

  • Katy - Hot Pink Wellingtons
    Katy - Hot Pink Wellingtons 19 June 2018 at 08:48

    I've been eyeing up those William Morris print bamboo cups for a little while now, they're so beautiful! The little wooden greenhouse is a great find too - we don't have space for a big one, so this would be ideal, and the wood is so much prettier than plastic anyway.

  • Unknown
    Unknown 19 June 2018 at 09:40

    I love all of these ideas. Especially the washable wipes. I've never heard of them before but I'm definitely going to get a couple of packs. x

  • Melanie
    Melanie 19 June 2018 at 09:49

    So many marvellous ideas to save waste. The make up pads look like a great idea x

  • Unknown
    Unknown 19 June 2018 at 23:14

    I never thought of reusable cleansing pads. I think I should buy some as I use so many.

  • jennifuchs
    jennifuchs 19 June 2018 at 23:22

    We love making our own granola! So much healthier than the sugar laden stuff from the store, and it greatly reduces packaging waste.

  • Mel
    Mel 23 June 2018 at 01:24

    I love reusable coffee cups too, and take mine everywhere. I have a really nice KeepCup that doesn't feel like plasticky reusable cups :) I like the idea of the cotton cleaning pads. I tend to use muslin cloths to take my makeup off these days and find them much better than the cotton pads I used to buy. I also use disposable sanitary towels and a MoonCup. That was a revelation about 2 years ago! Would never go back to the other stuff!

Add Comment
comment url