I’ve been thrilled with my adventure to reduce single-use plastic in my life so far. However, I’m always looking for new ways to move over to a reduced waste lifestyle without having to spend too much money. This works for me as both someone who likes to save money as well as someone who is also a broke college student.
I thought I’d share how I’ve personally been able to save money while reducing how much waste I put out in the world.
The first thing I’d recommend doing is going through everything in your pantry and bathroom.
That’s the place you’re going to produce the majority of your waste. Most beauty products are packaged in plastic, which isn’t good for the environment.
Now I’m not telling you to throw out all of your makeup, body wash and other beauty products. Those cost you money, so use them until they’re gone or no longer good. Take a look at the products though. Any products that come in glass containers can easily be repurposed, later on, so hold on to them after the product is gone.
Throwing any products that you have out is just a waste of both products and your money. When you run out of your current product, replace the items with ones without packaging. I’d suggest going to Walmart for a cheaper option or Lush if you wanted to go all out and are willing to pay a little more for a better (in my opinion at least) product.
I’m going to be really honest, the face wash I recently purchased from Lush (Aqua Marina), does come in a package. However, I can bring the container back to Lush to be recycled by the company. When I bring back five, I get a free fresh face mask. So, in the end, I’m not producing any waste and I get a free product. If I was to choose not to return the packaging, I would actually use it for something else. It’s a decent-sized pot so I could use it for storage and I've seen the larger containers repurposed into flower pots.
When it comes to saving money while buying zero-waste products, look at Walmart. I got some nice body soap from there as well as my shampoo. They'll be decent products at a reasonable price range. Thus far I haven't been disappointed with my options yet.
I’ll say it about all the containers that you might be able to reuse: don’t throw them away just because they’re plastic. Whipped cream containers are great for storing leftover food. Things like pickles or Cheez Whiz come in decent-sized glass jars and they're great for when you go to bulk food stores. Use them to get your unpackaged foods like flour, nuts, or sugar. Buying products in glass jars is my preference because taking them to places like Bulk Barn will reduce the need for plastic bags or containers. They're also great for the storage of smaller items (perhaps craft items like buttons or ribbon).
If you feel like you absolutely need to buy any reusable containers, I strongly recommend going to your local thrift shops or dollar stores. Both are going to be a cheaper option than going to other stores, saving you some money.
You don’t need to be fancy with your zero-waste products. They’re going to be more expensive while serving the exact same purpose as something you could pick up for a dollar at the thrift store. The durability of the product should be more important than the look of the product.
I know from experience that the more durable the product, the better. I’ve made the mistake of buying something for my zero-waste lifestyle because it was cute and it breaking very shortly after. I was not only devastated that it had broken and angry that I had just spent a lot of money on a product that I chose over looks rather than durability.
Another great way to save money is by switching over to shampoo and conditioner bars from Lush. These products not only come without packaging, but they're also completely cruelty-free and either vegetarian or vegan. The part that really sold me on these products is that one shampoo bar is the equivalent to three shampoo bottles. So not only are you saving the environment by buying a package-free product, but you'll be saving money by not buying as many of them. Lush also has directions on their site on how to use them.
In the end, everyone is entitled to go about their journey of becoming more environmentally conscious how they want, but if you’re looking to save money, I hope you take my advice and use it to your advantage.
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