Last year I wrote a post about the small changes I'd made to be a little more eco-friendly. Lots of small changes add up and since then I've continued to seek out more alternative ways of doing everyday things.

My most recent change came after reading a post Vix wrote about mindful laundering, with a link to an article about fabric conditioner that had me ordering several bottles of white vinegar.

Long story short - fabric conditioner is not good for your clothes, use white vinegar instead.

Simply mix 500ml white vinegar (it has to be white, no alternatives) with 30 drops of an essential oil of your choice. To use, shake well and fill up to the line on your fabric conditioner drawer.

I used Star Anise essential oil as I love the scent, and had been given a bottle (thank you Sophie) a few days before reading the article, so it seemed to me that it was meant to be. As the (glass) bottles of white vinegar I ordered were just over 500ml, I simply added the oil to the bottle.

The outcome? I love the scent, although I know liquorice won't be to everyone's taste, my laundry feels great, just as good as with a regular fabric conditioner. In the long run using this will help my fabrics last longer, and save on plastic packaging.

Other changes I've made are;

Soap instead of shower gel.
A while ago I switched my regular shower gel for soap to cut out the plastic packaging. My memories of using soap as a child included a horrid tight, itchy feeling to the skin after using it and so I'd avoided it for years. I picked up a Dove beauty bar with it's 1/4 moisturising cream, and so far so good, not a dry itchy patch of skin in sight. I don't use it on my face but for the body it's really nice. It's 80p bar lasts a lot longer than any bottle of shower gel I've ever used, and it comes packaged in a cardboard box.

Bamboo toothbrushes
I've switched to a bamboo toothbrush, and it's just as good as any plastic toothbrush I've used. A recent scroll through my Pinterest feed threw up this article on how to dispose of them properly.

Carry a drink
I asked for a Chilly's water bottle for my birthday last year and received a gorgeous flamingo design that now goes everywhere with me full of tea. Who says a water bottle has to be used for water? I haven't purchased a bottle or carton of drink for months.

Bake instead of buy.
We don't often have sweet treats. We have no self control and eat them at an alarming rate. It's best that I just don't to buy them in the first place. But sometimes a cake or some cookies are called for so I pop on my apron and get baking. It avoids plastic packaging often used for biscuits and cakes, and I can avoid additives and preservatives added to shop bought baked goods.

Going off topic for a moment, I found a lovely recipe for Banana and Oatmeal Cookies. They're perfect for using up aging bananas (which I buy intending to eat as healthy snacks and then don't), it avoids the waste and they're delicious! These Healthier Banana Honey Muffins also look good, and contain less sugar. I'll give these a try next time I buy bananas with good intentions.

Secret Santa
At Christmas we had a Secret Santa with my side of the family, which cut down on packaging (we're a family that shops online), cut down on the use of wrapping paper as we had far fewer gifts each, and cut down on clutter - none of us need more stuff.

I'm planning on making reusable fabric gift bags in cute festive material this year, if I can spread them around my family they'll reuse them in the coming years. There's a Japanese fabric wrapping technique called Furoshiki that I'll be referring to, here's a guide.

Recently Kezzie wrote a post on all the ways she succeeds and fails in this area. I love posts such as this as they are a great source of inspiration, and got me thinking once again about what else I could be doing.

A breadmaker.
We eat a lot of bread and I've been pondering this for a while. Everyone who has one says they'd never go back. I don't know what I'm waiting for really.

Reuseable cotton rounds.
Thanks to my awkward skin I've gone back to using a liquid toner but didn't want to use cotton pads. I'm using up the cotton pads that I had in my drawer but want to switch to reuseable cotton rounds when they're used up. I like the look of these from Peace with the Wild, a company I found through Instagram. Or I could make my own.

Period Pants.
I've been hearing a lot about period pants, and have read some good reviews. I'm definitely intrigued. They are expensive, £20 - £27 approx for a pair of pants depending on the brand, and obviously more than one pair is needed. The cost caused my eyebrows to raise, but if they last you can make your money back ... eventually, and no more sanitary waste. Brands are Thinx or Modibodi. Wuka or Flux. I'll keep you posted, unless that would be too much information?

Just as an aside, all these websites use diverse images of women, different sizes, with stretchmarks, cellulite and lumps and bumps. It's so refreshing, we need to see more of this.

Friendly washing
Using a Guppy Friend Washing Bag to catch synthetic fibres and prevent them from being released into seas and oceans during a washing cycle. Do you use one of these? What do you do with the fibres that are caught?

Hoping and waiting
I'm hoping for a bulk buy shop to open up locally so I can take my own containers to buy store cupboard staples. I've been finding paper or cardboard packaged alternatives for food and household items as much as possible but there is still room for improvement.

Do you have any other tips you can share?