It’s easy to go all doom’s day when it comes to Earth Day, but we’re staying focused on the practical changes we can make ourselves at home. 

We’ve become pretty horrified at the amount of trash produced in our homes every single day. While working from home, it’s become harder to ignore.  

This Earth Day, we’ve partnered with Public Goods to challenge our team and readers to make simple swaps and do our part. Public Goods has extended their offer of $15 off initial purchases to help us make smarter choices all year round.  

The Earth Month Challenge: Make 3 Smalls Changes At Home 

Here’s the key: reducing waste and ‘going green’ can be so overwhelming that we don’t know where to start. That’s when many of us give up altogether. This year, for Earth Month, we’re committed to identifying a short list of changes we can actually make now. Here’s how to join us:

+ Which 3 wasteful habits have you noticed in your home? Which are the worst offenders? Take stock of the habits that have really started to bother you, whether that’s food waste or paper towels.

+ Which wasteful habits do you actually have solutions you can address now? We don’t have solutions for everything, but which problems can we solve for? Let’s focus there! You might be surprised to find that solutions do exist (like our paper towel hack below). 

+ Share the handful of changes you’d like to make in the comments. Don’t know what to do about the habits that bother you most? That’s okay too! Share them anyway and we may be able to match you with a good solution!

Below you’ll find a focused list of swaps we’re making based on Public Goods subscription offerings. Our favorite of them all are the tree-free paper options.  

Join us in making all of the changes below, or start slowly and just pick one change that you know you and your family or roommates will really stick to!  

5 High-Impact Sustainable Swaps We’re Making At Home

We’ve matched ourselves (and our bad habits) with a few of Public Goods’ sustainable subscription products as part of our Earth Day Challenge.  

Public Goods’ products are affordable and don’t skimp on quality or design. No style points lost in our kitchens, pantries and bathrooms.  

Public Goods’ packaging, shipping processes, and production are low-impact. 

SWAP 01 | TREE FREE PAPER TOWELS Ah, the versatile and irresistible paper towel. A napkin, surface cleaner, hand wipe, or miscellaneous wipe, paper towels can be anything you want them to be, which also means you can over use them so easily!

These Tree Free Paper Towels are made from sugarcane and bamboo, some of the most easily renewable materials available now. They’re ultra-absorbent and ready for anything your household has to throw at them. Making a commitment to use more cloth towels, napkins and cleaning rags is important, but these will help you fill in the blanks eco-guilt-free. SHOP THE SWAP 

SWAP 02 | TREE FREE TOILET PAPER One order of Public Goods’s 3-ply, 300-sheet Tree Free Toilet Paper gets you six rolls for literally $6. Even if you’re too liberal with your TP usage, you don’t need to worry about the cost in terms of trees: these rolls are made with highly-renewable bamboo and sugarcane paper. And don’t worry: cost-efficient does not equate to tough-on-the-skin. SHOP THE SWAP 

SWAP 03 | REUSABLE STORAGE WRAPS + GLASS STORAGE When you think of all the times you’ve wrapped half an avocado in plastic wrap… Woof.

The cutest swaps in our Public Goods’ haul have been the Reusable Storage Wraps and Glass Storage Cubes. The wraps are washable and reusable unlike the twisted mess that is plastic wrap. Made from beeswax-coated cotton, they can be warmed with your hands to mold to whatever it is you’re wrapping up to then protect your food with a safe, non-toxic seal. 

Public Goods’ glass containers are a cinch to use and a beautiful way to store leftovers and food preps in the fridge. Yes, the lids are also glass. SHOP THE SWAP 

SWAP 04 | DISH SOAP REFILL Running out of dish soap usually means buying an entire new plastic container. Needless waste with an easy fix. Grab the Public Goods Dish Soap Refills to pour into existing soap dispensers for far less plastic waste. The soap itself is made from ingredients you can pronounce (essential oils included) and smells pretty great. Makes dishwashing a real moment. SHOP THE SWAP 

Swap 05 | COMPOSTABLE TRASH BAGS This low-waste swap is almost too obvious. Every time you fill the trash, you’re also throwing away a trash bag. (Hand slaps forehead.)

Without slacking on strength and hold, these Compostable Trash Bags are an ideal alternative to everyday plastic trash bags that can take up to 1000 YEARS TO DEGRADE. A number we like better: 100% compostable. SHOP THE SWAP 

These are the swaps that our team decided were most practical, but make your own list and start somewhere, anywhere! 

This Earth Day, make it your mission to take on at least one new habit. Shop Public Goods from home for affordable, sustainable changes that really make a difference. Shop any and every category to clean up your act at home, from more sustainable kitchen and bathroom goods to affordable pantry staples that are delicious and clean.  

Shop Public Goods for $15 off your first order with code CHALKBOARD  

This story is brought to you in partnership with Public Goods. From time to time, TCM editors choose to partner with brands we believe in to bring our readers special offers.