The one with the dental floss

Yeah, it's a little thing, probably the smallest thing I throw away on a regular basis. And, to be perfectly honest, I probably have not contributed as much dental floss to landfills as my dentist would like me too. 

But, hey, every little bit counts, and it turns out there are some really easy ways to stop using plastic in my dental care routine. All of these things avoid plastic in their packaging too.

1. Bamboo toothbrushes: You probably already know about these. I've been using them for years, even before I decided to make a conscious effort to use less plastic. I haven't been entirely successful in getting the rest of my family to use them, but that may change eventually. It's been great being able to tell my dentist I don't need a new plastic toothbrush.

2. Bamboo electric toothbrush heads: These were new to me. My dental hygienist strongly encouraged me to get an electric toothbrush. I resisted because I love my bamboo toothbrushes. Then a family member bought an electric toothbrush at Costco and it came as a pack of two, because Costco. The extra one she didn't need became mine and I resigned myself to buying plastic brush heads for it. But, behold, there are bamboo replacement heads now. I've been using it for months and so far no issues. Some reviews say people don't like the feel of wood in their mouth, but I was used to using a bamboo toothbrush anyway. Eventually, I'll need some pliers to pull out the bristles and compost the brush head in our city collected organic waste bin, which I don't have yet because that program is still in it's roll out phase. 

3. Biodegradable Dental Floss: I LOVE this stuff. I even floss more regularly because I get to use this adorable little glass container with this floss that feels like it is really cleaning between my teeth. First you buy the starter kit with the tiny glass jar and three spools. Then you just need the refills after that. It took me about two months to use up my first spool, so I'd guess the starter kit is a six months supply. The refill pack has five spools. A few disclaimers, we previously bought a warehouse store pack of plastic floss, so we still have some of that to use up. Also, I have one place where my teeth are very tight. Sometimes, I can't get in there with the biodegradable floss and I have to revert to the thin plastic stuff for that corner of my mouth. The reviews that complain that the biodegradable floss is not as strong are correct. It does break sometimes in tight spaces. I can live with that. It's part of the adventure. This picture is from my first spool once it was almost used up. 

4. Dental floss picks: One member of my family prefers floss picks. He has a lot, but once he uses those up we will switch to a variety that are biodegradable. 

5. Toothpaste: I honestly use very little. I don't have a replacement to recommend here, because we haven't gotten through the supply of back stock of toothpaste we have. Seriously, we may need a year or more to go through all the toothpaste currently in our drawers. Once all of that is gone, I'll look at the options. I know there are a lot of choices. Toothpaste tablets, with and without fluoride, abound. Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions. 

I've linked to versions I bought or am considering buying next, but you may also be able to find these things near you at a local health food store or refill shop. Whenever possible I encourage you to shop locally for your #zerowaste items and support those small businesses. 

Note: This post and others includes one or more affiliate links. I usually only link to products I actually bought, use, like, and recommend. In this case, I did link to one item I plan to buy in the future. I'm a teacher. If you use one of my affiliate links, you are contributing toward books for my classroom while buying something you want anyway.

The one with the laundry swaps: soap sheets and dryer balls

The first, really easy, change I made when I decided I wanted to make less trash and reduce plastic in my consumption, was to swap my dryer sheets for dryer balls,  and my laundry soap jug, for laundry soap sheets. 

The messaging about laundry soap sold in large heavy plastic jugs being a total waste of resources is really true. It is ridiculous that we have let the soap industry convince us that we need to buy huge ugly plastic jugs of mostly water to wash our clothes. Besides the plastic, also consider the cost to transport all that extra weight. Plus, deceptive cap sizes have convinced most of us to use more soap than we need to. So, while the bottle may claim to have 150 loads, most consumers use too much soap and end up getting only 100 washes from the bottle. And, I'm learning, too much soap is bad for my machine and my clothes, when they don't rinse clean. Don't get me started on the plastic waste of pods either.

    Note: This post contains affiliate links. But I only link to things that I personally chose, like, and continue to use. Please consider a link to be my personal recommendation for that item.

Laundry Sheets

I switched to laundry sheets. They come in a pack of 50. And because I have a front loading HE washer that uses less water, I cut the sheets in half. So I get 100 washes from a box that weighs about 1 pound, is packaged in paper, and is smaller than the box of dryer sheets I used to buy. I throw the half-sheets in with the clothes and they work great. Currently, I'm buying these with my Amazon subscribe and save box. 

I also started adding 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser. My clothes do not smell like vinegar, but my washer has lost that funky smell front loaders sometimes get. I think it's because A. I'm now using the appropriate amount of soap via the laundry sheets, and B. The vinegar in the rinse cuts any leftover soap. 

Dryer Balls

My favorite laundry swap is the dryer balls. I read some tips about adding essential oils to them, but I decided to store them in a glass jar with some rocks with oil underneath. (I found this jar at Target for $5) I put lots of lavender and peppermint oil at the bottom of the jar before I added the rocks. The dryer balls smell great and the whole thing is cute too. 

I use all six laundry balls in every load. They are reusable.  I've heard I may need to replace them in 6-12 months. I'll keep you posted. They don't reduce static as much as dryer sheets do, so I added a safety pin to one of them. It seems to be helping. I also bought these through my Amazon subscribe and save box. And I think I'll get more that way to give as gifts to friends and family. 

No one in my house has complained about any of these changes. The clothes are clean. The dryer balls are fun to hunt for when taking laundry out of the dryer, and they are pretty decorative in their jar. Also, we can always tell when there is a load of laundry in the dryer, because the jar is empty. 

You can do this

If you want an easy first step to reducing your plastic consumption and your trash creation, I highly recommend starting with your laundry routine. These changes were mostly cost neutral, and easy. If you use a laundromat then the laundry sheets are a no brainer. They are much lighter than liquid soap. You can even throw them in with your clothes before you leave home and not have to take the whole box. 

I do have to figure out what to do with the liquid soap I have left and the box of unopened dryer sheets. I've been waiting a few weeks to make sure my family would embrace the new laundry routines, but now I think it's time to gift them in our local reuse economy. But that's another post. 

Trash?

The laundry sheets come in a light weight paper box. Eventually it will get recycled. No trash. 

The dryer balls came in a light weight canvas bag. I'm adding it to the bags I use for buying from bulk bins at the grocery store. No trash. 

The vinegar comes in a gallon size plastic jug, but when it is empty I'll take it to a refill store I've been wanting to check out. Reuse=no trash. 

Drying Racks

A post about my laundry routine would not be complete without an honorable mention for my wall mounted drying racks. My family had been air drying jeans and a lot of our other clothes for years on foldable racks that we never actually folded. They took up a lot of floor space and they were flimsy.  I started looking for wall mounted solutions and found these. Love them. They have just as much space as our old racks and they easily collapse against the wall when we aren't using them.  I can reopen them in two seconds. And we can get to the cabinets in the garage again. 

Pictured are the 30" rack above, and the 22" rack below. We have both sizes because that's what fit best in the space. (The prices on these fluctuate wildly from $45-70. It might be worth waiting if the price is high when you look at it.)