Even though I know that travelling is often not really eco-friendly, I try to reduce my ecological footprint as much as possible in other areas of life and I think that every little thing that you can change for the better is worth it.
My family and I don’t use certain products anymore because we found good alternatives and I think that is a way everyone can change their lifes because all of these things are not hard to change.

Plastic bags

My family never buys plastic bags at supermarkets or other shops.
I always bring cloth bags when I do a little shop or bring my backpack.
When my mom does bigger shops, we always bring bigger bags in our car to put the groceries in.
Plastic bags that come with products such like toilet paper we reuse as bags for trash to put in a trash can.

Single-use water bottles

I own a good metal water bottle, that I bring everywhere and always fill up before I leave.
That saves plastic and money because I don’t have to buy water and I always stay hydrated.

Liquid soap

I use bars of body soap, shampoo and conditioner, that work just as good as the regular ones.
They are also great for travelling because they can’t spill and you can bring them in your hand luggage without worrying it might be over 100ml.
I have 3 boxes out of sugar cane for them to dry and store in.

Plastic straws

I think straws are something that you can easily just renounce.
You can drink a drink without a straw, but if you do want to use them, there are great alternatives out of metal, glass or silicone.
We always use the plastic straws that some cups we once got came with.

Aluminium foil to wrap a lunch

We have lots of Tupperware, that we use to pack our lunch.
When we buy new ones now, we buy metal or glass ones.
We also always keep jam jars when we get jam gifted (because we make our own jam we never buy any) to store things in our just to reuse for our own jam.

Dryer

My family doesn’t own a dryer and we never thought about getting one.
We dry our clothes on a drying rack in our basement or outside when it is sunny.

Cling wrap

We use reusable bees wax cloths that I made myself.
They work great to wrap things in or to cover food in the fridge.
When you make them yourself, you can also make specific sizes you want to have.

A plastic razor

I own a safety razor, that works great and find it way better than a usual razor.
I get less razor bumps and don’t necessarily need shaving cream.
And if I do want to use some, I just use my conditioner bar.
It also holds longer and is cheaper if you use it long term.

Cotton rounds

I don’t wear make up, but for friends and family that do, I sewed washable make-up pads.
They even work without make-up remover for non-water-resistant make-up.
You can use them a couple of times and clean them in the sink and when they get too dirty, you can put them in the washing machine to clean.

Paper towels

In the kitchen, we use washable sponge cloths that we put in the wash every other week.
We use them for cleaning surfaces and cleaning dishes if necessary.
If we need to clean up something wet, we either also use that sponge or a kitchen towel.

Baking paper

Often we still use baking paper, but we also own a silicone baking mat to substitute baking paper.

Cleaning products

As all-purpose cleaner, we use with water diluted vinegar.
As a window cleaner, we tried store bought tabs that can be dissolved in water that worked great.

Store bought deodorant

I do still buy deodorant sometimes, but try to get an eco-friendly version.
One time I tried making roll on deodorant myself, that worked like a normal roll on deodorant, so I will definitely make one again when I get home.

Period products

To be honest, I still use pads and tampons.
I tried using a menstrual cup, but wasn’t really comfortable with that one.
I do want to try one again though because I don’t like all the waste that they cause and the amount of money that women have to spend on period products.
I have also always wanted to try period underwear.

In my opinion, all of these things are easy to try to substitute and it is always worth it to do a little thing for our environment.
I also know that I am not perfect, but the effort counts, right?!