Zero Waste Week: My Top Three Swaps

Zero waste week is a great opportunity to find out about different products available that make a big impact in reducing waste. I’ve always recycled but since January have tried to do one new thing each month to help reduce our household waste.

I thought I’d list the top 3 things I feel have made a significant difference to our household and the questions I had before making the switch!

1. Cloth nappies

  • How many do you need?
  • Which brand do I buy?
  • What size do I need?
  • What are inserts and liners?
  • What do I do with messy pop covered nappies?!
  • How do I clean them?

I chose Baba and Boo after lots of research. They come with two bamboo + cotton inserts, and I use Baba and Boo fleece liners. One nappy lasts all night and then I change my son 3-5 times a day depending on serial poos etc! I bought 3 to start, and quickly bought 3 more and ventured in to Wonderoos, Close pop ins wraps and Totsbots peenut wraps. I would recommend all of them! I bought Baba and Boo one size, and Totsbots size 3 wrap as my son has just turned 3, and is just starting potty training now. You can read more about Baba and Boo here.

I bought a couple of hemp boosters to use at night time but my son isn’t a heavy wetter at night so the normal inserts are fine for him for all night.

Any poo explosions have been much easier to clean than I thought. I just hold the liner in the loo and flush off most of the poo, then rinse wash in washing machine before putting in a 40 or 60 degree wash (you can find a helpful nappy washing guide here). I then rinse wash 2-3 times every couple of washes to remove any washing powder residue. I wash the nappies every other day, or pop them in with other clothes daily if there is more clothes to wash.

You can start with as little as 3 and then build up your stash. If you want to wash every other day it’s recommended you will need about 20 nappies for full time cloth. If you want to know more about how to get started with cloth nappies this is a great blog on what you might need.

The bonus is there is a huge demand for second hand nappies and you can buy and sell on the Babipur B/S/T Facebook group.

2. Reusable Bottles: Klean Kanteen

  • Are they worth the money?
  • What size do I buy?
  • Which cap do I use?
  • What colour do I want?!!

In the UK, 7 million single use coffee cups and a staggering 38.5 million water bottles are used in the UK EVERY DAY!!!!

So YES they are worth the money!!!!! Financially and environmentally ?

In the past my sons have had so many water bottles for school/play group that have leaked or the lids have not opened properly. I bought the small one for my then 2 year old with sports cap. It’s the perfect size for his hands, he loves it! I bought myself the 27oz classic sport for work, my other son loved it and quickly that became his favourite which he uses for school. So I treated myself to the insulated reflect water bottle. It is my absolute favourite! The boys love the sports caps and I love the bamboo lid of the Reflect. Over the summer I used it for iced water, cold apple juice, ice lollies and I even took some cold beer in it on an evening stroll along the beach. It definitely paid for itself in saving money buying cold drinks and ice creams during one week alone. Size wise I bought bigger to save refilling out and about. A bit heavier to carry but I’m sorted for the day with water and tea.

I got the insulated cafe lid for my birthday and won the 16oz tumbler. I use them every day at work for tea, coffee, soup, ice cubes, and water (of course!)

There are so many amazing colours to choose from I love them all. But I love all things turquoise so had to go with Sea Crest and Mirror shine for the reflect ?

3. Hydro Phil bamboo toothbrushes

  • Will they clean my teeth properly?!

Yes! I have tried quite a few different brands of bamboo toothbrushes and these are definitely my top choice. I’ve felt like Goldilocks on the search for the right brush- some are too hard, some are too soft! I have sensitive gums and find lots of toothbrushes too brutal and make my gums bleed. Hydrophil brushes have a 100% bamboo handle, and BPA-free bristles, made from Nylon. They are such lovely quality, and the head can be broken off and the handle composted. You can chose soft or medium bristles and the kids ones are great and come in different colours to stop bathroom squabbles. Our teeth are squeaky clean so definitely a swap we’ll keep.

These three super easy swaps are easy to do and have a big impact on the environment. One initial cost has saved me so much money in the long run and is helping our biggest resource, our beautiful planet.

All of these products are available from Babipur, who you can trust to have thoroughly researched the ethos of the companies and products they sell.

Thanks so much to Jacqui for sharing these three simple swaps that make a big difference to help reduce household waste! You can find lots of lovely eco home products at Babipur >here<

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