Shampoo. Conditioner. Body Wash. Toothbrush. Floss. Earbuds. Toilet roll. Razors. Body Lotion. Makeup. Wipes.
We've become so used to having an abundance of products in our bathrooms, and then just throwing them out when we're done. Our bathrooms have quickly become one of the most wasteful places in our homes.
Since honesty is the best policy and all, this was my bathroom about 6 months ago.
The product of living as 3 girls, in and out of training camps, so each with our own shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and just general bits. I'm not even sure what half the things in our bathroom were for. Don't get me wrong, the bathroom, at the time of this picture, was clearly in desperate need of a spring clean and tidy up, but let's focus on the abundance of single-use plastics for now.
Some of these bottles, or toothpaste tubes, or body lotions, do say they are fit to be recycled. However, even if you were to wash them out, dry them off, and pop them into the recycling bin, a small percentage of recycling makes it through the sorting process and is actually recycled. Plastic is also not infinitely recyclable, at some point it will go to landfill.
According to National Geographic a whopping 91% of plastic worldwide isn't recycled.
We can't just do a Hippo on this and hide from the problem.
Especially not when there is such an abundance of fabulous products out there providing a huge range of alternatives.
Now don't go writing me off from the beginning because "you have really particular hair or skin and you've only ever found one shampoo that works for it, and you couldn't possibly change products".
I get that.
But that doesn't mean you can't purchase Bamboo earbuds instead, or if you don't agree with these (which some people don't), then exchanging your plastic loofah for a biodegradable one, or purchasing a Bamboo toothbrush when you're finished with your current one. Check out the ones from Bamboo Brush, if you're not sure where to start!
And it won't be 100% smooth sailing. You will have to try out a few products before you find the ones that work for you. I've got a few favourites, and others I've had to keep trying with. I love the small circular cloths you can see in the above picture. I use them to; clean my face, and on the rare occasion I wear it, I use them to remove makeup. Particularly for the latter, they are amazing. No matter what cleanser or makeup remover I used before, I always seemed to walk around with the remnants of mascara on and around my eyes for days after. But these little cloths, and a bit of water, work a treat. Magic.
On the other hand, my first shampoo bar was one I found in TK-Maxx for about £3.99, and it was an absolute chore to get through. I hated the feel and smell of it. However, I then tried shampoo, conditioner and soap bars from Friendlÿ and loved them all. My newest ones are those you can see in the picture above, and I love these too.
Similarly, I read all about Allum bars as an alternative to deodorant on a Blog, and thought I'd give it a go. That bar now sits barely used in my bathroom, because it just wasn't working for me. Instead, I currently use a regular Mitcham (boo) because my Earth Conscious Deodorant stick (yay) has run out and I need to order another one. Far from perfect, but we're getting there!
At this point, I feel I may have lost the male audience, so other changes I've enjoyed include using a Bambaw Safety Razor, although I'm still getting to grips with this one, and still have a disposable razor (with replaceable heads at least) that I use especially when in a rush. And the wonderful 'Who Gives a Crap' toilet paper. Their toilet humour is just always on a roll.
With such a huge range of predominantly plastic products we use in the bathroom, odds are there is at least one you are willing to try a more eco-friendly version of.
Not only does it hugely reduce the amount of 'stuff' in your bathroom, it largely works out cheaper (my shampoo bar lasts me far longer than a bottle of shampoo), better for you (no more microplastics, and horrible parabens in your products), more effective (the cloth pads and luffahs are so good at cleaning skin) and enjoyable (Who Gives a Crap really has nailed the silky softness everyone wants). Just give one of these wonderful products a go, and let me know what you think of them.
Start small. Start big. It doesn't matter, as long as you start somewhere.