15 Things to Stop Buying in 2024 for a More Eco-Friendly Lifestyle

15 Things to Stop Buying in 2024 for a More Eco-Friendly Lifestyle

In our quest for a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, it’s crucial to reevaluate our consumption habits regularly. As we step into 2024, here are 15 things to consider stopping buying to reduce waste, minimize environmental impact, and save money in the process.

1. Single-Use Plastics: Opt for reusable alternatives like stainless steel water bottles, cloth shopping bags, and beeswax wraps instead of plastic wrap. I’ve switched a lot of these already! But if you haven’t this is a great thing to do next. 
2. Disposable Coffee Cups: Invest in a travel mug or bring your own reusable cup to coffee shops to reduce the waste generated by single-use cups. I’m trying so hard to remember to bring my own cup when we are out and about and just filling it up. I did this on our cruise recently and loved that I had water all day! 
3. Fast Fashion: Instead of buying cheap, trendy clothing that ends up in landfills, invest in quality, timeless pieces that last longer and support sustainable fashion brands. Another way is to just purchase from thrift stores. They’ve already been purchased to wear so you can repurchase it without any more water, cotton, fabric used to make the item. We thrift store shop almost exclusively now. 
4. Paper Towels: Switch to reusable cloth towels or invest in biodegradable options to reduce paper waste in your home. I haven’t made this switch yet because of my pets. But it’s at the forefront of my mind and I try to use my cotton hand towels instead of paper towels especially for napkins. If it’s a puppy mess I’m going to grab those paper towels though.
5. Disposable Razors: Consider switching to a safety razor with replaceable blades or an electric razor to reduce plastic waste from disposable razors. This is a super easy swap to make! 
6. Single-Serve Snack Packs: Purchase snacks in bulk and use reusable containers or bags to portion them out instead of buying single-serve packs that create more packaging waste. When my kids were young they always wanted the snack packs. But we were so poor that I would buy the largest container and split it up and put the food in bento boxes or reusable containers that I already owned. 
7. Bottled Water: Invest in a water filter or use refillable water bottles to avoid buying bottled water, which contributes to plastic pollution. We use our water filter on our fridge and do not buy bottled water ever. 

1. Disposable Batteries: Switch to rechargeable batteries for your electronic devices to reduce the number of disposable batteries thrown away. We do a mix of both because for the life of me I can’t get the rechargables to last very long. Maybe that’s changed since I was buying them when my kids were young?
2. Excessive Packaging: Avoid products with excessive packaging or opt for brands that use minimal and eco-friendly packaging materials. We do this mostly by shopping at Aldi! 
3. Fast Food: Reduce your consumption of fast food and opt for homemade meals using fresh, locally sourced ingredients to minimize packaging waste and support local farmers. We don’t eat out hardly at all anymore. I miss it but my waistline doesn’t! I have figured out that most food tastes better at home if you just stop eating fast food. 
4. Paper Napkins: Use cloth napkins instead of disposable paper napkins to reduce paper waste at home. This one was easy for us to do! We love and prefer our cloth napkins.
5. Air Fresheners: Instead of aerosol or plug-in air fresheners that contain harmful chemicals, opt for natural alternatives like essential oil diffusers or homemade potpourri. I do not like or use air fresheners. I do not like the laundry fresheners either. They are so toxic and harmful for you! 
6. Disposable Cutlery and Plates: Use durable, reusable cutlery and plates for meals instead of disposable options to reduce waste. We use our own plates/dishes/cutlery. Even when I worked and packed a lunch I would pack my cutlery from home. It just makes sense. 
7. Single-Use Batteries: Avoid buying products that use single-use batteries whenever possible and opt for rechargeable alternatives. Good idea! 
8. Gift Wrap: Use reusable gift bags, fabric wraps, or even newspaper comics for gift wrapping instead of single-use wrapping paper that often ends up in landfills. We have a lot of gift wrap to use that my mom bought. But we also reuse and recycle what we have in gift bags, fabric bags, etc. 

By making small changes in our purchasing habits and opting for more sustainable alternatives, we can contribute to a healthier planet while also saving money in the long run. Let’s make 2024 the year of mindful consumption and eco-friendly choices! Great idea! Before you go check out how to ease into eco-friendly options on a budget. Then make sure you also see my 5 ways to reduce your carbon footprint,  10 things you can do with kids for Earth Day, Earth Day printables for kids, and 5 ways to reuse items you already have in your home! Then don’t forget to follow us (by email in the middle of this page or up top) by facebook, or on instagram and see what other fun things we do on a daily basis! You want to hang out and have a coffee with me? Let’s do it!