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There’s something that happened to me once I became a mom. I found myself becoming more fully aware of everything we put in our home. I didn’t want to be wasteful. I didn’t want to bring into our home unnecessary toxic chemicals. And I wanted to decrease the amount of plastics we used.

Sometimes switching from conventional to reusable items can be difficult. If you’re used to using disposable plates, for example, transitioning to having a sink full of dishes three times a day can seem exhausting. It’s so much easier to just throw things away and forget about it. We live in a world where everything is disposable and constantly consuming is acceptable. I wanted to be more environmentally aware and make better choices in what we used in our home.

Here are 3 things that you can easily switch to for a more earthy friendly home.

1.UnPaper Towels

The name sounds strange, but it’s simply reusable paper towels. Say what?! Yes, paper towels can be reused! This is the item I get the most strange looks from. It was also one of the things I had the hardest time convincing my husband to get on board with. I’m not sure what the big deal is. I guess we’re all just so used to tearing a sheet of paper towel off the roll and throwing it away. When we have guests at our house and they ask for where our paper towels are, I point to our “paper towels.” They are often confused with what to do with them. You use it just like a regular paper towel. The only difference is- instead of tossing them, you wash them. You might be thinking- Great, another thing I have to wash. Not really. All you have to do is throw them into the wash along with your kitchen towels. You use kitchen towels, don’t you? So you’re not actually doing more work. You’re just adding them to a load you’d already be doing anyway.

The sheets are attached together using snaps. Instead of tearing off each sheet, you snap them off. Easy peasy!

We’ve been using our first set of unpaper towels for about 5 years now. They really do last. And it’s such a simple thing to incorporate into our daily routine. Not to mention, we’ve saved a lot of money along the way!

You can find beautifully handmade unpaper towels at In Stitches Creations by Sara Carter. It’s one of our favorite shops on Etsy. Check out all of the fun prints in her shop. I just couldn’t resist with the succulent print! [Use code ARRIAGAADVENTURES10 to get 10% off.]

We keep our straws on the counter where the kids can easily help themselves.

2. Stainless Steel Straws

Does this really need an explanation? It’s straws made out of stainless steel. Ba dum tss! This is truly the easiest switch you can make. All you have to do is wash them after each use and BAM! You can keep reusing them! You will never run out of straws ever again. Okay, so how do you get in the straw to clean it? We use a brush set like this. But you can also use pipe cleaners found at most craft stores. You can find stainless steel straws here. If you have little ones and would like the shorter version, they also have those here.

I just love the natural unbleached cotton fabric.

3.Reusable Produce/Bulk Item Bags

I’ve seen many reusable produce bags out there but this one by Colony Co. caught my eye. (I’m a sucker for rainbows.) They’re beautifully made and I just love the thoughtful features that were added to them. Each bag has a brightly colored label which lists its tare weight. Genius! All you have to do is let the person at the register know that the tare weight is on the bag and they’ll be able to easily deduct it from each item. Also, they have a stainless steel cord lock so you know they’re made to last. You can buy these cool reusable bags here. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, don’t worry, you can also purchase them on Colony Co’s website here. Use code “ARRIAGA” to get 15% off your order.

A set comes with 9 bags- 3 of each size. Large, medium, and small.

Tare weight on each bag.

Stainless steel lock.

What reusable products do you use?