A home that has less toxins and chemicals, and natural living is what we strive for in my house. If I can save a little money along the way, it’s a win-win. Here are my 4 simple switches to use in your home to save you money and have a more natural home.
In my house, we obviously do not have a complete chemical free home, but we are making changes and striving to be a more natural home. I think a common misconception, is that it must be all or nothing. Little changes here and there are still positive changes, and can make a big difference. You have to start somewhere.
Chemicals are everywhere in our homes, in our food, and in almost every product we buy. Now if you use chemicals, it is ok! I am not bashing anyone who uses them. I am just trying to find alternatives for my home and my family. In doing so, I wanted to share some easy switches that you can use in your own home.
These are my 4 switches to save money and have a more natural home that we have personally made.
Paper Napkins to Cloth Napkins
Now I don’t know about you, but my family goes through a lot of napkins and paper towels! I felt like I was constantly buying them! Where were they going? How could we possibly be using this many? Once I paid attention, I realized that we were being wasteful. I always give my kids a napkin or paper towel with their meals. Well, they would barely use them and then throw them away. We won’t even go into how many my hubby uses and how many he actually needs to use haha. I thought, there has to be a better, less wasteful way.
Cloth napkins! Cloth napkins don’t just have to be just for fancy dinner parties. Why can’t they be used for the day to day. They actually have some with really cute patterns too. I know, I know I am always decorating.
I just hook them to the back of my chairs and pull them out when it is time to eat. If the kids barely used them, they go right back onto the chair for the next meal. If it was a messy meal, they go into the wash pile. I have a set of 12 that I keep in rotation.
We save money by buying less paper towels and napkins. We save the environment but not contributing to more waste then needed. It was a simple, positive change all around.
You can find my cloth napkins here.
Kitchen Sponge to Kitchen Brush
The gross, smelly kitchen sponges! I felt like it always smelled! My hubby would make fun of me because I was constantly grabbing a new one. I was convinced it was filled with bacteria (which really it is).
I decided to try a kitchen brush. Although, I was skeptical that it wouldn’t be able to clean my dishes properly. Would it be able to reach and clean everything like the sponge did? Well, it did! I love my kitchen brush. If it gets dirty, I just throw it in the dishwasher and run it through a cycle. It is clean and sanitized and I don’t have to buy a new one all the time. So, I save money, I cut out some major bacteria out of my home, and I don’t have as much waste by tossing the old sponges away all the time.
You can find my kitchen brush here.
Dryer Sheets to Wool Balls
When you have a home with tiny humans, you feel like you do laundry as a full-time job! Or at least that is how I feel. Dryer sheets are something we used a lot of! They are full of chemicals. In my quest to becoming a more natural home I did some research and found an alternative, wool balls.
Wool balls are made with non-toxic materials. The ones I bought can be reused up to 1,000 loads of laundry. They also reduce the energy used by the dryer by helping clothes dry 20 to 30% faster! This saves you money on your energy bill and by not having to buy dryer sheets all the time.
It also reduces the toxins and chemicals in your home. These toxins go onto your clothes and get absorbed into your body.
You can find the wool balls I use here.
Windex and Paper Towels (Again, More Paper Towels) to Zap Cloths
There can be harsh chemical in cleaning products. If you are cleaning with them, you are inhaling those chemicals.
When I decided I wanted to cut out some of my cleaning chemicals out of my home, I found these magical cloths called zap cloths. They require no Windex or chemicals! Just add water to them, wipe your windows, and let them air dry. Your windows will be clean and you didn’t have to use chemicals or paper towels. I know what you are going to ask. Weren’t there streaks on your windows? No, there was not! They really are magical and awesome. Also, they are reusable, just throw them in the wash after use. Another money saver and more natural alternative.
You can find the zap cloths here.
Great Starting Out Point
I hope this helped you to see that these 4 switches to save money and have a more natural home are simple and a great place to start. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Thanks for stopping by our faux Florida farmhouse!
Beautycounter – Clean Beauty Products
If you want to learn more about clean beauty products and make up, Beautycounter is what I use and you can find out why below.
Excellent changes!! I actually use a few of these products! Thanks for the additional ideas.