It’s a new year! I don’t know about you, but I had a pretty eventful 2017. I decided to lower my waste while getting rid of a bunch of stuff all at once. I stayed on my vegan travels and celebrated my 1 year veganversary in November. I made new friends and took some great trips.

I think my biggest event has been expanding my online reach and starting a YouTube channel. I was so so so nervous about doing this because I was afraid of getting mean comments or just not doing a good job. So far I haven’t heard anything but positive feedback and I am so happy I took the leap and went ahead with my channel. Make sure you check it out and let me know what you think!!!

Like I said before I have been working on this whole zero waste thing:

Refuse

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle

As you can see the most important part is refusing new things, thus why this will not be a big list lol. I haven’t bought much outside of groceries and a few clothing items this year but there are few things I have gotten that I absolutely love and just have to tell you about!

*Disclaimer – there may be affiliate links in this post that give me a small kick back. This helps me to keep the blog and YouTube channel going and does not cost you anything extra.

As I have used up old items I have been replacing them with new eco-friendly options. These are in no particular order by the way.

Have you guys tried to find a good natural toothpaste? I had the hardest time finding one that tasted ok and worked well. This one is by far my favorite. It is in a glass jar and is shipped in cardboard. It does have a plastic lid, but you could easily reuse this container later on so I don’t feel too too bad. A lot of the natural toothpastes I’ve found come in plastic tubes or taste awful. This one has that mint flavor most of us are used too. It is made with clay so you can taste that but after about a week you won’t even notice it anymore. It lasts a super long time and it’s easy to get every last little bit to make your dollar stretch because it is in a wide mouthed jar instead of a squeeze tube.

My sister got me these super cool compostable toothbrushes from Mother’s Vault. They do have plastic bristles but the rest can just be put straight into your compost bin. Speaking of….

My mom got me this compost bin and I love it. It fits perfectly under the kitchen sink and has a filter to keep it from stinking. She even gave me compostable bags that fit in it so when you are ready to switch it out you just pick up the bag and put it into your garden! Easy peasy.