After going plastic-free in England, you might be wondering what’s going on with my sustainability now that I’ve moved home to the states. I have to be honest, the past couple of months haven’t been perfect. With a variety of obstacles, I wasn’t able to be as sustainable as I would’ve liked. Now I’m moving back into my own place after a couple months of living at home. With the added freedom, I’m ready to make the commitment to being eco-conscious once again.

Certainly, there are major differences between Massachusetts and Oxford, and many of these differences have proved challenging. That being said, I’ve been exploring options for waste-free shopping. Recently I did a big round of housekeeping purchases for the kitchen in my dorm. Through my research I found many resources online, which I will link below. I wanted to be able to share resources for others, and I hope this list will be helpful for those looking to make a few changes.

One of the best options for sustainable online shopping is Etsy. Etsy is one of the very first online shopping sites to completely offset their carbon emissions for shipping. This makes them a wonderful resource for ethical online purchases. I’ve been told that the negative environmental impact of delivery can partially negate the benefits of shopping for sustainable supplies. Luckily this wasn’t a problem with Etsy.

Me Mother Earth

I bought a bunch of goodies for the kitchen and the bathroom. One of my favorite shops was called MeMotherEarth, a husband and wife team in Nevada with great, plastic free products. Along with the scrubbers, sponges, and soap dishes that I bought, they also sell hygiene products, and cutlery. You can go check them out for your reusable straws and Tupperware containers as well. I was so pleased with the beautiful bamboo soap dishes, and I’m looking forward to using the sponges. Though they come as flat as a piece of cardboard, they expand to the size of a regular sponge!

Solace Farm Homestead and Sustainable Haus

The most recent shift I’ve made away from plastic is switching out plastic dish soap bottles for bar soap with a scrubber. It works just as well, and honestly seems a bit easier to use. It also looks pretty cute altogether on the counter (check out the picture below). The dish soap I got at the Solace Farm Homestead shop is incredible! It smells amazing and really suds up, making it the perfect alternative to the plastic bottles you would get at the store. As a bonus, the soap arrived in this really cool, up-cycled packaging. Sustainablehaus was where I bought my laundry detergent and bathroom cleaner, which I am excited to try.

Green House Goods

And finally, the option that I’m most excited about, Green House Goods. I stumbled upon Green House when I was in Newburyport with my mom. Similar to some of my favorite places in Oxford, Green House has a refill station! This means by bringing jars into the store, you can fill up on things like detergent and soap without buying new plastic containers. I have been looking for one of these online, and it took a random chance encounter to find.

Aside from the refill station, Green House also has adorable home accessories (like this gorgeous set of blue mugs!) and tons of plastic free, eco-friendly products in every department.

If you are local, I highly recommend checking this spot out. Otherwise, check online for the closest refill station to you. Common Good stocks many of the Green House products, and has refill stations all over the country, so I recommend you start there.

If you are looking for other tips on how to be more sustainable in your own home, check out the following links and check back with Sunny and Sweet for updates. Remember that switching out one household product that you usually buy in plastic can have a huge impact if you stick with it!

The Zero Waste Collective — an online community sharing ideas and options for reducing waste

This list of zero waste bulk stores from sustainable jungle

A Drop in the Ocean — another sustainable bulk store which has locations for refill stations

Earth Hero — basically the ethical, sustainable Amazon

These guides for zero waste on a budget and zero waste in college from Tiny Yellow Bungalow