Are you planning on taking your family to the Earth Day Festival this weekend? I know my daughter and I are hoping to go! This year marks the 30th anniversary of the St. Louis Earth Day Festival! It will be from 11 AM to 5 PM on both Saturday April 27th AND Sunday April 28th at Forest Park (on the Muny grounds).
This festival is a great opportunity to learn about sustai
nable products and services offered by local businesses and organizations. You can also check out local non-profits, as well as enjoy local entertainment and food from local Green Dining Alliance restaurants … Mission Taco Joint and Clementine’s Ice Cream are personal favorites of mine!
Thinking about the Earth Day Festival has really inspired me to try to use more eco-friendly products at home. I mean, I recycle, but I could definitely be doing more! So within the past few weeks, I have made an effort to change over some of my daily disposable products to reusable, sustainable, and/or biodegradable products. Here are some of my favorites:
I know I personally was throwing away a lot of items every day because of my beauty and skincare routine…so this is where I decided to start. Most days, I would use a disposable makeup remover wipe, and a cotton round for toner or to remove any leftover eye makeup. I got these reusable/washable makeup remover cloths off Amazon. 3 come in a pack – I bought 3 packs so I’d have enough to last me the week without having to do laundry. They’re pretty affordable (under $5 dollars), and have a ⅘ star-rating with almost 1,700 reviews. I was kinda skeptical, since the pack of clothes is so affordable, but I have been pleasantly surprised. They work great at removing most of my makeup (I wear a lot of mascara) prior to washing my face. I have washed and dried them – and they continue to work well. I also decided to replace my cotton round with something that didn’t have to be thrown away everyday. I ended up finding these Bamboo Cotton Rounds Pads on Amazon as well, and I LOVE them! They’re a little larger than a normal cotton round, but that didn’t affect how I personally use them. 16 come in the set, and a washable
laundry bag is included to hold all of your used rounds, and then wash all rounds when it’s time. They can be used with your cleanser, toner, or even to remove makeup. Honestly, these could be used to replace the larger clothes mentioned above – but I like having both since I use them for different things. I have washed and dried them and reused them numerous times so far, and they appear to be pretty durable! Fingers crossed that they last for the claimed 1000 times (1 reusable bamboo cotton round can be used up to 1000 times) before I have to replace them – but love how environmentally-friendly they are!
Then I decided to tackle my, and my daughter’s, lunch routine! We both were throwing away multiple Ziploc baggies between the two of us everyday. I got her these adorable sandwich boxes – they have different designs to choose from 
and seem pretty durable so far! My favorite thing about these sandwich boxes so far is that they are only one piece – which means I don’t have to worry about lost lids! They’re also pretty easy to open and close. They’re pretty affordable depending on the design, and they’re also Lead-free, BPA-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free. For my sandwiches, and then for both of our snacks, I got this 3 pack of reusable snack and lunch bags. They have really cute designs, and each 3 pack contains a sandwich bag (which was bigger than I was expecting), a snack
bag, and a mini snack bag. They’re made of sturdy, waterproof PUL fabric with a zipper closure – so easy to open and close, even for my 1st grader! They’re super easy to clean – I will often just rinse/wipe them out – but I have also washed and dried them multiple times and they’ve held up well so far!
I also decided to check out MightyNest, because who doesn’t like getting stuff in the mail? MightyNest is a subscription service that makes it easier to get greener, healthier products sent to your home. They have two monthly membership options – the MightyFix (a surprise, hand-picked, green product is sent to you each month) and the Mighty Essentials (you create your own monthly shipment from all of their healthy-living essentials). All of their products are made with real materials, and are safe alternatives that work. They’re also all lead-free, BPA-free, and phthalate-free. I received a box that contained 4 awesome items. They sent me the super-
absorbent Swedish Dishcloths that help to cut down on sponge and paper towel use. You can throw them in the washing machine, and they last for 9-12 months. I also received their version of reusable storage bags for snacks and sandwiches. They’re made from silicone, and can go from the fridge to the microwave to the freezer and back again. They can be used again and again and are easy to clean! The third item I received was a pack of their dryer balls! I am looking forward to replace my dryer sheets that are full of chemicals with these wool balls. They are also supposed to cut down on drying time! My fourth (and favorite) item that I received is their reusable produce bags. You take these to the grocery store when you go, and no longer need to use a ton of the plastic bags by the produce. The material they’re made with is breathable and you can still see inside of the bag to see what fruits or veggies are in there. You throw them in a washer when needed, and then they’re ready to go for your next grocery run!
What does your family do to be more green??
