Okay, so for February I didn’t go with a goal so much as a challenge. We (myself and two kids) made a trip to Georgia for my husband’s basic training graduation, and usually when I fly I take the easy way out and buy the travel-sized toiletries that are TSA approved. However, since I completely cleaned up my skin care routine before we started trying to conceive, I didn’t want to introduce any chemicals back onto my skin, and thus challenged myself to make it work with the products I already use and to go as plastic-free as possible.
So, this post is mostly going to be a product list of what I took on the plane and maybe some addition insight after the fact on how well I did and whether I could have improved on anything. I’ll get right to it. The essentials I packed were, bamboo toothbrush, bamboo case, toothpowder (at home I use Tom’s, but it’s too big to take on the plane, so I thought I’d give this a try), coconut oil, facial cleanser, shampoo bar, vintage soap travel tin, deodorant, body oil, and my Ruby Cup.
Bamboo toothbrush is self-explanatory. I use it to brush my teeth. The details for that are in my January post, which can be found here. The bamboo case, while not strictly necessary, I like because I am weird about my toothbrush touching other things. That’s all I really have to say about those two items.
Moving on to the toothpowder. This was kind of a stretch for me because I’m very picky about toothpaste and I like it to be just the right flavor and texture, plus I have sensitive teeth so some toothpastes aren’t great for that. This was my first time ever trying a toothpowder, though. I did test it at home before taking it on the trip to make sure I could handle the weirdness. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t want to make the switch permanently. My teeth felt clean after using it, but I think you could get the same effect just with a wet brush. The freshening properties left a lot to be desired. It did do something toward freshening the breath, but I am a fan of that super fresh like extreme minty thing when I brush my teeth, and it didn’t quite go that far. To sum it up, it’ll work in a pinch, and I’d be willing to try other brands, but it wasn’t out-of-this-world amazing. Plus, the one I purchased came in a little plastic container, so that’s another drawback.
The coconut oil and facial cleanser are what I use normally for makeup removal, cleansing, and moisturizing, so all I did there was transfer them into 1 oz. glass jars that I already had around the house, label them and throw them into my toiletry bag. The facial cleanser is one I make myself using baking soda, coconut oil and peppermint liquid castile soap.
The shampoo bar was also a first for me, but one I am totally converted on! I will never buy another plastic bottle of shampoo again. The specific one I bought this time came from Wild Mountain Soap Company in Fayetteville, WV. I ordered online and it came wrapped in a thin film of plastic, which I could do without, but I am going to buy in-store next time and see if they have it without plastic because I didn’t remember their soaps being wrapped in plastic when I was there before. I also took a soap tin for carrying the shampoo bar. The one I have is vintage from Etsy, I know Lush sells them, but they’re made specifically for the Lush shampoo bars and I just wanted a standard size, which was surprisingly hard to find. If I hadn’t needed it for the trip, I probably would have just browsed thrift shops until I found a tin that would work (and probably still might).
Deodorant was another product I exchanged from my usual. The TSA perk of mainstream deodorants is that they’re a solid, so not subject to the 3-oz. rule. Don’t let those travel-size deodorants trick you into thinking you need them! However, what I use for deodorant at home (rubbing alcohol with essential oil) is a liquid and thus subject to the rules, so I wanted to go with something that presented less of a hassle. Finding a non-plastic 3 oz. spray bottle seemed nearly impossible anyway. So, I purchased a deodorant that was solid, plastic-free, and made with ingredients I could live with, and I quite liked it. I don’t use it every day, but I will keep it around for traveling and buy more when I run out.
Another non-necessity I packed was scented body oil. I’ve never been a perfume or body spray person. It gives me terrible headaches, so that wasn’t an issue when I dumped all my sketchy body-products, but I have come to love the body oils from Wild Mountain Soap Company. My first purchase from them was a vanilla and sandalwood body oil, which is the scent I took on the trip. I also love the vanilla almond and the patchouli. The body oils are packaged in glass roller bottles (the lid and roller are plastic), and when I inquired they said it was no problem to refill the bottles in-store when I’m ready to purchase more! So, I’m going to call that a zero-waste win!
Last, but not least, I packed my menstrual cup. I have two, but I packed the Ruby Cup because it’s reliable and the one I’m more competent with using. I wasn’t expecting my period on the trip, but my cycles have been erratic since coming off birth control (that’s a whole other post), so I thought it better to be prepared. I have review posts for the both the SckoonCup and the Ruby Cup, if you want to check those out for more details.
Leave any eco-travel tips or questions for me in the comments, and hopefully this post has been informative and inspiring. Thanks for reading!
I debated about writing this because I feel like a relapsed environmentalist, but I think it’s important to keep myself accountable and writing this is a good way to do that (and tell a 9-year-old, they will keep you on track).
from Amazon, which clip to your shopping cart for easy bagging. I also recommend investing in some reusable produce bags, I purchased this set of nine {
, and some reusable snack bags {
}.
for our kitchen and the 
for our outdoor bin.
} to store in the fridge so he can just grab one when he wants a snack instead of having to portion it out from the larger container. So, he gets the portion he wants and the yogurt doesn’t go to waste. I also recommend getting some of the plastic lids {
} for your mason jars to use when you’re not canning! I love them!
never been keener 