Sustainable Swaps: Kitchen Edition - 10 Swaps to Eliminate Plastic, Aim for Nontoxic While Starting Slow

If you’re trying to live a more sustainable life, free of plastic, as close to “the real thing” as we can get with our modern day lifestyles…

The best place to start is the kitchen. 

Let’s face it the kitchen is the start of what you’re ingesting every day. 

If you cook basically all your meals at home like I do, then that’s going to be a big influence on your life. 

My philosophy is to eliminate plastic wherever possible, move towards nontoxic products, and create a simple system that produces the least amount of waste… 

But do it slowly. 

You’ve been using these things this long, a few months or a year longer won’t make a huge difference, so do what you can…

And make sustainable swaps as you go. 

Some are more of an investment than others. 

At times there are levels you can swap to until you’re ready to make the bigger purchase. 

And when you get rid of something, do your best to donate it or find a reputable way of recycling it or disposing of it properly.

Maybe it doesn’t work for you, but it could for someone else. 

Everyone is on their own journey and if you can donate something that already exists, that’s a better solution than sitting in a landfill. 

Keep in mind the philosophy centers around how can we buy less, wash less, use less. 

Here are 10 Sustainable Swaps you can make in your kitchen: 

1. Swap plastic utensils for natural fibers like wood or bamboo utensils

Separate your plastic utensils from your wooden, bamboo, stainless steel, and silicone ones. 

Try to donate as much plastic utensils as possible and look for alternatives. 

I like the Zero Waste Store’s Bamboo Kitchen Basics, but you can also find great options at TJMaxx, Homegoods, and other resale stores.   

2. Paper Products: From paper towels Swedish Dish Towels and Reusable Paper Towels

Although paper towels are compostable, I try not to create too much waste in the first place. 

Just the sight of paper towels makes people want to use them (me included). 

It’s a luxury most people outside of the U.S. don’t even use, think about, or frankly, need. 

I have completely eliminated paper towels in my kitchen, but I still use them to clean my bathroom… 

A six pack of paper towels lasts us about 4 months, but I do look to eliminate them from my home entirely. 

Swedish towels are my favorite alternative as they’re super absorbent and easy to wash (just throw them in the washing machine). 

I use them to wipe down my counters, clean spills, or wipe down windows/mirrors. 

Recently, I won a giveaway from the Zero Waste Store and I’ve been using their reusable paper towels, but if I had to choose one, I would still go for Swedish Towels. 

I got mine from Thrive Market, but you can also find them on Amazon, Zero Waste Store, and other retailers. 

3. Truly Environmentally safe and nontoxic dish soap: Dr. Bronner’s Sal’s Suds

Now this is HUGE. 

The detergents we use in our daily lives are incredibly important and make a big impact on our water quality, and our own health, hellllooooo, we’re getting it all over our skin as we wash…

So it’s important that we choose nontoxic detergents and soaps that are at least less harmful to us and the planet. 

Dr. Bronner’s is a large business, but they’ve remained family owned (which is the type of business I look to support), dedicated to their community, employees, and protecting the Earth. 

I’ve used this detergent since 2020 and have yet to find a better alternative - it’s actually a concentrate but I use it straight up for washing dishes…

On the bottle, it tells you all the different ways you can use it from washing your car, to laundry and floor cleaner, it does it all. 

I get mine at Thrive Market (use the link for 40% off your first order after subscribing), but they are sold at lots of retailers like Vitacost and you can buy it directly from their website. 

4. Cellulose Sponges over plastic sponges

I’ll be honest, this one was a tough transition for me. 

We wash a lot of dishes since we cook a lot and I need that scrubby side of the brush…

Which doesn’t come on cellulose (plant fibers) sponges, they’re soft all over.  

So I made the switch and got a green scour pad that I just use to get hard to clean things off.

Recently I received a Zero Waste Store bamboo brush in the giveaway so I got rid of the scour pad and am now using the brush.

Cellulose sponge + bamboo brush + Sal’s Suds = sustainable trio

I even checked with Renüable, the composting service I use, and they take the cellulose sponge - just gotta make sure I wring it out really well. 

5. Dishwasher Tablets

If you’re using dishwasher (or washing machine) pods stop using them now. Seriously. 

You might think you’re doing a good thing by using pods, but that plastic-like material on the outside is actually plastic…

It’s PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) which claims to biodegrade, but it doesn’t… not fully anyway.

It turns into microplastics, ending up in our water supply and ocean for much longer than we’ll be here. 

Right now, I’m using Blueland Dishwasher Tablets, but honestly I’m a bit disappointed with them as they claim their packaging is compostable…

But after talking to Renüable, I learned it’s just another form of expert greenwashing - TLDR; the packaging is not compostable.

After I finish those, I plan to switch to Branch Basics Dishwasher Tablets and for laundry supplies too. 

6. Nontoxic kitchen counter cleaner: Vinegar  

I’m vehemently against using toxic chemicals in the kitchen around my food. 

I don’t even use things like bleach, windex, or any traditional cleaning supplies anywhere else. 

White distilled vinegar is my cleaning agent of choice. 

I buy a big plastic jug that usually lasts a few months, up to 6.

Using an old spray bottle, I do a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water. 

Vinegar solution + Swedish towel = nontoxic, low waste cleaning combo 

7. Water Filtration: My choice, Berkey Water Filter

This is THE most important thing on this list. 

Because if we’re going through all the work of striving for a nontoxic lifestyle, eating well, getting rid of plastic the whole nine…

You have to address the substance we put in our bodies the MOST…aka water.

Our bodies are 70% water, we need a lot of it. 

Municipal water is treated through a facility that was never meant to filter the things that now run rampant through our water supply like…

Birth control, medications, plastic, and so much more that shouldn’t be there…

Not to mention how much chlorine is added to our water to make it safe to drink (potable). 

This topic will get its own blog post because it’s far too much to go here. My parents always had a water filter, I will always have a water filter - and I’m not talking about the one on your fridge or a Brita…

Those are filters don’t do anything for your drinking water quality, might as well drink from the tap. 

I’m a renter so for now I have a counter gravity filter, a Berkey. 

I absolutely love it and even traveled with it when my partner and I went on our 18-month Life Trip. 

So no more plastic water bottles, no more fridge/Brita filters - my biggest recommendation is make this swap as soon as you can. 

8. Plastic Tupperware to Glass

This is something I’m still transitioning in my own kitchen. 

We use A LOT of tupperware because we always make meals with the intention of leftovers, plus I use them to store cut fruits/vegetables instead of ziplocks…

Which is another good swap, instead of using Ziplock, putting leftovers or cut fruit/veggies in tupperware. 

Right now, I have some glass containers but not nearly enough. 

I plan on buying a new set of glass storage containers soon. 

Don’t overthink it, start small with buying just a couple for your lunch (that’s what I did) and keep growing the collection. 

You can find them at places like TJ Maxx and Homegoods. 

9. Composting

If you’re looking to make MAJOR impact in one fell swoop, composting is it. 

I pay only $39/month for a weekly bucket pickup from Renüable - an amazing South Florida based small business that just reached 1 MILLION pounds composted! 

I’m so proud to use their services because they’re doing so much (and the dirty work frankly) to make a big impact. 

Growing up composting, I thought I had it figured out. 

That is until I learned how delicate the balance is to have true, waste-diverting compost without potential for foodborne illnesses. 

Yes, if you use that compost from your at home compost directly on a plant you’re eating, for example greens… you could get E coli or something like that.

You actually need LOTS of carbon added to your composter compared to the amount of nitrogen (food scraps) you’re adding for the right conditions.

At home, we cook and eat so many fruits/veggies and compostable material, our compost system can't always keep up…

At times it would attract pests or smell a little funky… 

So to prevent all that unnecessary work and frustration, I’m leaving it up to the pros. 

It’s so easy I just put my scraps, napkins, toilet paper rolls, hair, egg shells, etc. into my bucket and they come by every Tuesday to pick it up! 

10. Stainless Steel Cookware

It’s time to break up with your teflon, nonstick cookware…

This is a major contributor to toxins in our food like polyfluoro chemicals, which are plastic derivatives. 

Yes, we’re surrounded by plastic and its getting in your food, in your body, and in our water supply.

Stainless steel holds up longer, doesn’t have toxic chemicals, and makes it easier to brown anything that needs browning. 

Right now, I’m using stainless steel hand-me-down pots from my mom, but I will be purchasing some Made In cookware sometime this year. 

Wrapping up Sustainable Swaps: Kitchen Edition 

Use this guide for your reference as you slowly swap the products in your life for an option that is better for you, better for the environment, and your wallet too. 

Some of the links on here do earn me commission or rewards, you can see more of my favorite products (plus some discounts) here.

I really appreciate you shopping through the links!

If you end up making a swap, let me know how it’s going for you.

Any questions at all, feel free to DM me on Instagram @gogreenwithalexa or email me at info@alexapavan.com.

Thank you for being here!