Stop Using Plastic Bottles
Why do people still use plastic bottles? Can we please just stop bringing them home? What do we even have in plastic bottles these days? Water? Soda?
Why do people still use plastic bottles? Can we please just stop bringing them home? What do we even have in plastic bottles these days? Water? Soda? How can we avoid buying them? If we can’t, at least recycle, repurpose, or reuse them. But it’s best to replace them altogether. I have gathered things we can say goodbye to in our homes, so here are all the tips to stop using plastic bottles.
Avoid Buying Cleaning Solutions in Plastic Bottles
Unfortunately, this is how regular detergent cabinets look in many households. If we live an eco-friendly life, this can be a great project, and when you are done, it’s really fulfilling. Here are some tips on how to stop using plastic bottles, and optimize all the solutions:
You can repurpose, or reuse the empty bottles and refill them with homemade cleaning fluids.
Also, there are more and more brands making only the concentrated tablets, which then later can be mixed with water, so you can avoid buying the plastic bottle at least.
Or, there are companies, who use refillable fluids.
Soaps and Bathing Products
The switch between block soaps and pump bottled-liquid ones happened so fast, no one thought about the consequences. Now, even if someone uses a porcelain or glass dispenser, they still have to buy the liquid in the store, refill the dispenser, hence the plastic bottle or bag still has to be produced.
Try to go back to the old days, replace the liquid solutions to block soaps. I honestly can’t list any cons against it.
Although I still have some plastic products in my bathroom, I try to replace them with glass or plastic permanent containers and refill them.
More and more handmade businesses make very unique, skin-friendly, natural soaps and bathing products. Use those, or make one yourself at home.
Pest Repellents and Fertilizers
There are many non-toxic, versions of repellents that we can mix at home. Home-made fertilizers are also getting popular, plus lots of them have ingredients that we use in our everyday lives, which means, we can repurpose things right in our homes.
If we replace the ones from the stores and start making them at home, we can avoid buying the plastic bottles.
Drinking Bottles
There are some companies, who started putting their water in paper boxes. Unfortunately, it’s not that common yet. It’s not even in every country yet.
If your drink is not bubbly, you can easily purchase your own water bottles and refill them when they are empty. I hated this option, because every time I take the caps off, I need to use my hands. Yeah, I wash my hands and use sanitizers all the time, but stuff can still end up on the part that I put in my mouth.
Since I drink a lot of water, I needed a solution. I purchased some bottles that have straws in them.
Not the single-use straws, the ones that I can use for years, wash them in the washing machine like any utensils. I tried the steel straws once, but every time my teeth and the steel met, it felt like I’m teeth are breaking.
With these bottles, I don’t have to touch the tip of the bottle, and I don’t have to use both hands every time I want to take a sip.
And if feel that the tip of the straw touched something, I just switch to another one.
Water intake is very important for your body, still, lots of people choose different fluids.
A few decades ago it was natural to drink water. Because there was no choice. Then the different kinds of soda pops started popping up with all those tasty extra ingredients, like sugar, artificial flavors…
Do you think it’s a coincidence there are so many more types of diseases nowadays?
A few years ago I made a presentation about the effects of soda pops and water dehydration… I’m drinking my 2 liters of clean water (~70 oz) per day ever since that project.
Back to the evil bottles
If you still insist on the soda pops, buy the big bottles and use glasses. Try to avoid buying the small ones, they cost so much more, if you look at the unit price.
When the bottle is empty, recycle, repurpose, or reuse them. Refill it with water, which you can drink later, or water your plants with it, or just put it in your car, so you can wash your hands, and clean some bird poop off your window. Oh, and by the way, did you know that plastic bottles are one of the most common type of trash?
DIY Projects
There are tons of DIY projects that help us repurpose, or reuse plastic bottles. Repurpose them and create some birdfeeders, decorations, flower pots, saucers, jewelry, bowls, and so on. You can even use them as molds.
I used one to make a Time Capsule, put a bunch of memories and fun notes in it. I have a whole tutorial on how to make A DIY Time Capsule.
As an extra bonus, you can also repurpose the caps. You can create fridge magnets, and so much more.
Non - DIY Projects
If you are not the DIY type, plastic bottles can also help with some practical things like separating the yolk from the egg white, using them as tiny greenhouses for tiny plants, or creating an automated watering system.
Recycle, Repurpose, or Reuse, or even better, Stop Using Plastic Bottles Entirely
Stop using plastic bottles, and start replacing them with alternatives. And if you cannot avoid buying them, at least recycle, repurpose, or reuse them (do you know the difference between these words?). The more people replace plastic bottles with something else, the fewer bottles companies need to produce.
I recommend you read a great post about ways we can contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly life by Brandon from Zimmin around the world. He has great ideas, and they are all really easy to implement in our everyday lives.
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