Sometimes, shopping trips can feel like deja vu. Are we really out of dish soap already? Where did all the paper towels disappear to, anyway?
Here’s a shopping secret: More and more products now come in reusable versions. Buy once, and you’re set for months or years.
Not only is it better for your budget to buy reusable items, but you’ll feel less guilt when you’re not filling up landfills with that umpteenth plastic straw or K-Cup.
Following are reusable items that will save you money over and over again — and also help save the planet.
1. Reusable spray bottles
Spray bottles have a million uses. I stash several that are filled with plain water around my house. One is under the bathroom sink, and just a few squirts help tame my daughter’s hair. Another one, kept under the kitchen sink, helps remind our three lovable cats to get off the table.
And what about homemade cleaners? “9 Overpriced Cleaning Products You Can Skip Buying — and How to Make Your Own Instead” lays out simple recipes for everything from foaming bathroom cleaner to fabric freshener.
You’ll need spray bottles to store all this good stuff, but they don’t need to be fancy. I like this four-pack on Amazon.
2. Reusable straws
Plastic straws are getting tougher to find, as restaurants commit to being more “earth-friendly.” If you use straws at home, look into reusable ones.
OXO's stainless steel straws feature removable silicon tips for easy cleaning. Want a wider straw, or unsure about steel? GoSili's silicone straws are colorful and dishwasher-safe.
3. Reusable coffee filters and K-Cups
For most of us, coffee is a constant. And many people rely on throwaway cups, single-use coffee filters, or those disposable K-Cup pods used in Keurig and similar machines.
Paper coffee filters are pretty environmentally friendly. But why keep buying more? This organic hemp and cotton filter for drip coffeemakers is reusable.
Disposable K-Cups are landfill cloggers. Refillable cups are a good option, but be warned: I’ve tried to cheap out and ended up with refillable K-Cup filters that break after just a few uses. If you go this route, get a solid version from Keurig.
Now, for ideas on how you can reuse your coffee grounds, check out “7 Handy Household Uses for Coffee.”
4. Grocery and shopping bags
Paper or plastic? How about cloth or nylon instead?
Bonus: You’ll fuss less figuring out where to store all those paper or plastic grocery bags around the house.
5. Reusable water bottles
Not only do reusable water bottles keep single-use plastic bottles out of landfills, but they also save you money in the long run if you stop buying bottled water.
If you’re looking for something that is tightly capped when you’re not drinking — with no risk of a spill — Contigo is the brand for you. Target has a wide selection, but here’s a favorite: This stainless-steel bottle has an autoseal button to prevent spills, and it’s vacuum-insulated to keep drinks hot or cold.
6. Thermos/insulated bottles
My sister taught me the genius of insulated coffee mugs. An education professor, she’s constantly zooming between schools to observe student teachers in action. And yet her coffee is as hot when the final bell rings as when it was poured in the morning.
Her choice was Contigo. The company’s autoseal technology requires you to press a button built into the handle to sip, but then locks the cup. I’m always knocking it onto the floor, and now not a single drop spills.
Want a thicker, shorter container to carry soup or other hot foods? Pick up a Thermos Food Jar. Its lid does double duty as a bowl.
7. Food storage containers
Disposable food-storage containers have their place. I buy my compostable containers at Costco or a restaurant-supply store. But for more permanent food storage, I’m a Pyrex loyalist. My favorite piece is the 7-cup round glass storage container.
8. Cleaning rags
How many rolls of paper towels do you go through every month? Whatever the number, you can shrink it by loading up on a reusable option like Zwipes microfiber cloths.
Keep a bucket under your sink and pull out a rag whenever you need to wipe up anything from a coffee spill to cat-litter dust. They can be cleaned in your washing machine and used hundreds of times.
9. Cloth napkins
I tend to reserve cloth napkins for Thanksgiving and Christmas, when I pull out Grandma’s monogrammed napkins. Then I curse myself for spilling gravy on them, requiring a dry-cleaner trip.
A more eco-friendly move would be to invest in some cloth napkins that are sturdy enough to be tossed in your washing machine. You will likely also save money in the long run if you’re using them regularly instead of paper napkins or paper towels.
You’ll find cloth napkins at Amazon and other retailers in a rainbow of colors.
10. Travel-friendly toiletry bottles
Taking a trip? The Transportation Security Administration requires that liquids packed in carry-on luggage be in containers that are 3.4 ounces or less, and that all containers fit in a quart-sized bag.
Invest in a variety of small bottles and then refill them from your own shampoo or sunscreen stash.
I like these leakproof refillable bottles on Amazon. And Target even sells a clear zippered bag of the approved size with three refillable bottles, one jar, one spray bottle and a funnel to fill them all.
11. Hand and dish soap containers
Most parents can confirm: Kids are much better at washing their hands when they can use fun foaming soap. But quit buying it over and over again. It’s cheaper and more earth-friendly to invest in a giant amount, and keep refilling the same pump bottle.
This simple three-pack on Amazon, for example, will let you stash a plastic bottle in the kitchen and still have two more left over for bathroom use.
12. Lunch bag or box
Gone are the days of metal “Starsky & Hutch” lunch boxes that worked well to clonk a playground bully upside the head. Soft-sided lunch boxes and bags rule the school these days. They’re reusable, easy to clean and lightweight.
Pottery Barn Kids offers a variety of cute reusable lunch bags and boxes decorated with everything from dinosaurs to Disney princesses, as well those with plainer designs. You can get the bags personalized or monogrammed, too.
Those who don’t want Belle or a brontosaurus on their lunch bag should look into the Japanese tradition of bento boxes, which are often reusable lunch boxes that come with removable sections. The BentoHeaven brand makes elegant traditionally styled boxes, but Bentgo stackable boxes are a neat modern option.
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