A zero-waste expert has let others in on her secret for saving money on one of the most frequently needed household chores: the dishes.
The scoop
TikToker Love of Earth Co. (@loveofearthco), who has more than 450,000 followers on the social media platform, shared that three inexpensive items have allowed her two-person household to avoid multiple trips to the store for dishwashing supplies.
The items? Dish-soap bars, wooden scrub brushes, and dishwasher powder.
"In this scenario, you'd actually save more money by going zero waste with your dishwashing routine," the expert said at the end of the clip, noting earlier that she had spent $31.50 on bars of dish soap for the year.
@loveofearthco Replying to @jesseka.leigh MORE CONTEXT ON INSTAGRAM🌍: @loveofearthco #zerowaste #zerowasteliving #ecofriendly #sustainability #recycle #plasticfree #sustainableliving #nontoxic #nontox ##moneysavinghack ♬ Sunshine - WIRA
The $22.50 wooden brushes also last all 365 days as long as they are well taken care of, according to the expert.
"Lastly, when we have a lot of dishes, I prefer to use a dishwasher to save on water," she added. "And for that, I use a dishwasher powder that costs me $12 per pound. I usually go through around two-and-a-half pounds to three pounds every year."
How it's helping
The average American spent $80.49 on just soaps and detergents in 2021, according to data from Statista cited by the zero-waste expert, but her routine cut those costs by $13.50 — not an insignificant chunk of change.
The expert's methods also remove large amounts of an abundantly produced, polluting material from the equation, helping people who use natural cleaning products, like vinegar and baking soda, eliminate even more toxins from their homes and the environment.
Roughly 40 million tons of plastic are sent to landfills each year in the United States, and the waste can take hundreds of years to break down, even ultimately ending up in rainwater.
Unfortunately, liquid dish soaps are usually packaged in plastic, as are many dishwasher pods. Meanwhile, many dish sponges not only come wrapped in the material but also are made from it, with more than 400 million making their way to landfills annually.
What everyone's saying
Other TikTokers seemed to be thankful for the advice, liking the clip more than 500,000 times, and some highlighted how even small choices can make a positive difference.
"Wow didn't even know there are dish [powders]," one person wrote. "Surprised that it works too in dishwasher!"
"I wanna care more for the environment, your account's helping so much," another person said.
"And friendly reminder, even if you switch only one object for a sustainable one, it's still better than switching nothing," another commenter wrote.
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