Everybody knows that they should recycle if possible. If your city offers free curbside recycling, it’s actually pretty easy. Throwing cardboard boxes and soda cans into a bin isn’t difficult. The problem is how to reduce what needs to be thrown away or recycled in the first place. There are several environmentally friendly swaps that you can make that won’t cramp your lifestyle.

Grocery Bags

Every time a plastic bag flies through the air and gets stuck on a fence, we lose another battle against keeping the earth garbage-free. The best way to avoid ever losing your grip on one of these bags is to just stop using them altogether. Whenever you walk into a store, always carry a supply of burlap bags or other reusable totes.

Baking Products

If you’re a baker, there is no way you would give up your aluminum foil or paper cupcake liners and watch your cookies and muffins stick to your pans. Sure, both products can be recycled, but it’s better to avoid the need to. Invest in the one-time purchases of a silicon making mat and muffin tin liners to keep your baking waste-free.

Cleaning Products

If you’re like most people, you have several plastic bottles filled with specialty cleaning products under your sink. You might even have some labeled “all natural”.  Think how much more space you would have with only one or two bottles of cleaner that cleaned everything. Mixing your own vinegar and water formula and keeping it in a glass spray bottle can accomplish just that.

Water Bottles

Many public places have installed water bottle refilling stations to deter the huge number of plastic bottles that end up thrown in bushes or dumped in landfills. Most people probably own at least one reusable water bottle. The problem is, for convenience, it’s hard to beat a stack of plastic bottles in the refrigerator. The solution is to stock up on bottles so that there are always plenty of cold ones at the ready. There are numerous different styles of reusable bottles from glass to metal to plastic. Not everyone likes the same type, so experiment until you find the one you like. Once you’ve hit upon it, buy several so that there is always one available when you’re in a hurry.

Leftover Storage

When there was leftover casserole to be stored, your mother probably covered the dish in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. The next day, the plastic wrap got thrown away. Eliminate this waste from your life with beeswax wraps that mold to the shape of the pan through the heat of your hands. They wash easily and can be used again and again. In addition, add to your collection of permanent plastic storage bags. They are tougher than the disposable kind and can be used and reused after washing.

Dryer Balls

A single dryer sheet may not seem like that much waste, but if you add the number of loads of wash you do a week times the number of weeks in a year, you may discover that you have unwittingly contributed quite a bit of unnecessary trash to your local landfill. Wool, plastic or rubber dryer balls speed up the drying time of your wet clothes by allowing more air to circulate around each item. Less drying time equals less energy used per load. If you like the way dryer sheets make your clothes smell, add a few drops of essential oil to the wool balls or mist your clothes with a light linen spray before you put them away.

Recycling is great, but the next goal should be reducing the trash that you create in the first place. There are some very easy swaps you can make as you chart a course towards zero waste.