As it Wears Out Replace it with Better
One of the easiest ways to make a household more sustainable is also one of the least dramatic:
Don’t replace everything at once.
Use what you already own. Repair it when you can. Wear it out. Then, when something genuinely needs replacing, ask whether the next version could be more durable, reusable, repairable, or simply less wasteful.
Paper towels are a good example.
You certainly do not need to throw away the rolls already sitting in the pantry. Use them. But over time, you might find that many of the jobs you automatically reach for a paper towel to do can be handled just as easily by something washable.
Old T-shirts, flannel pajamas, worn cotton sheets, towels that have seen better days, and other soft household textiles can be cut into cleaning cloths rather than immediately leaving the house in a donation bag. A basket of washable rags under the…