So you want to see the world, but have no idea where to start to save money for travel. Well, why not save money and the environment too? Oh yes, we’re doing a double whammy with this post.
One of my 2018 New Year’s Resolutions was to transition to a zero waste or, at the very least, a low waste lifestyle. In a nutshell, zero waste is an ideal where an individual doesn’t create any trash. In other words, if it’s wrapped in something like plastic packaging, which will last longer on this Earth than you will, a zero waster won’t buy it. After all, we live in a supply and demand economy! So if we stop demanding, companies will stop supplying. It may seem a little far-fetched and small scale. But, seeing as trash is literally killing our oceans, I figure any bit helps!
Going zero waste definitely has its challenges, but it’s a lot easier than you might think!
Plus, the biggest benefit (apart from saving the world, no big deal) I found in transitioning to a zero waste lifestyle is how much money I am able to save for travel.
Like many of you, I work full-time and travel when I can. I have an apartment that I have to clean; I do regular grocery store trips; and I have easy access to laundry facilities and a shower. As oddly specific as that list may be, they’re the key areas that I’ve modified my life to be zero waste and have saved money for travel.
In this post, I’ll share the simple swaps I made (from store-bought to DIY creations), and longer-term investment products that will help you save money for travel.
Just quickly before we jump into things, I do realize that traveling is definitely not the most zero-waste friendly lifestyle choice. Most of the time, we’re relying on fossil fuels to get us from A to B and we will often choose convenience over sustainability. (I’m guilt of this too!) But I also believe that doing something is better than doing nothing.
How Going Zero Waste Can Help You Save Money For Travel
DIY Non-Toxic, All-Purpose Cleaning Spray
We all love a good cleaning spray for the kitchen, bathroom and for dusting – there’s no need to buy multiple products when these two non-toxic, all-purpose cleaning sprays can do the trick!
Spray #1: 1 part white vinegar, 1 part water
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant! Dilute and spray away on all surfaces – including mirrors and in the shower! (Wipe up with a cotton cloth.) For particularly tough spots, such as burned spills on the stove, create a baking soda and water paste and use spray to cause chemical reaction. Scrub with a toothbrush to get the remainder off!
Cost: $0.21 for 100 mL white vinegar
Spray #2: Water & 15 ml or 0.5 oz of liquid castile soap
Castile soap is a concentrated, SLS-free soap! You don’t need a lot, and it can cut through any grease, grime or dust you might throw at it!
Cost: Dr. Bronner’s is $23.50 for a 472ml container – This will last you 1+ years if you’re just using it as an all-purpose spray.
Swap Dish Soap For Castile Soap
Castile soap is a saviour when it comes to grease! I’ve found that it’s much more effective than most dish soaps, and you don’t need half as much as it! A small squirt into hot water goes a long way with castile soap. Although the initial cost is much higher, I found that it lasts twice as long as regular dish soap.
Other uses: All-purpose cleaning spray, laundry detergent
DIY Laundry Detergent and Soap Berries
I’m not going to lie, doing the laundry is my favourite chore. You just pop things into a machine, wait an hour, and everything smells so clean! So when I stumbled across this recipe to make your own laundry detergent, I was excited to try it out! It’s HE washer safe, and only requires 2 ingredients: baking powder and SLS-free soap. I use 1-2 heaping spoonfuls, depending on the size of the load.
Recipe:
1 part baking soda
** Purchase in bulk ($0.36 per 100g)
1 part washing soda
** Spread baking soda on a baking tray. Place in oven for 45 minutes, or until clumpy, at 400F or 200C
1 part finely grated bar of Dr. Bronner’s Sensitive Skin soap bar ($7.99)
Another alternative to DIY laundry detergent are soap berries! (Or soap nuts, although they’re not a nut.) Soap berries are a dried fruit that contain saponin, nature’s soap! Just pop 5 soap berries into a small linen or cotton sachet (this normally comes with the soap berries), and put it in the wash! The soap berries are activated when agitated in warm water. The best part is, after 5 washes, you can compost them!
If you’re not super keen on DIY projects or soap berries, another option is to use straight castile soap. It’s an incredibly concentrated SLS-free soap that can cut through the toughest of stains. I’ve used a half shot glass to measure about 15 ml or 0.5 oz of castile soap and added it to my laundry.
BONUS TIP: When possible, air dry your clothes. Your average dryer uses up 33 kilowatts of energy per hour, or roughly $0.36 – $3.05 per cycle (depending on if you’re drying during peak hours or not). You’ll also getter a longer life out of your clothes, as the dryer heat gradually damages fabrics.
Average price of 1L store-bought laundry detergent: CAN $5 – $7 (Lasts 1-3 months)
DIY Laundry Detergent: $12 (Last 3-6 months)
Soap Nuts: $25 for 500g (Lasts 1+ year)
Castile Soap: $23.50 (Lasts 3-6 months)
Find out how much energy your dryer is using (and how much it costs you) here.
Walk, Bike, Carpool Or Take Public Transportation
This is definitely the lowest of the low hanging fruit, but ditch the car and walk, bike, carpool, or take public transit when possible. Owning a vehicle is definitely a huge expense. It can easily total thousands of dollars annually when you factor in insurance, gas and maintenance.
I’ve fortunately lived in big cities for the last 5 years, so I haven’t needed a vehicle. However, when I go back home to Alberta, Canada, a car is a necessity. I don’t have access to public transit in my neighbourhood and I live about 20 km out of town.
So if you can get away without a car for the day, get your free daily exercise in by walking or cycling, carpool with friends or family, or pay less than a Starbucks coffee for public transit.
Walk: Free!
Bike: Initial cost $50+; occasional maintenance; bike helmet
Carpool: Chipping in on gas
Public transit: Varies on locality
At The Grocery Store
Not only does going zero waste allow you to save money for travel, it also it great for your health! As you’re avoiding anything that could be sent to landfill, you’ll find yourself eating a lot more fresh produce and bulk food (BYO container!).
If possible, try to shop at your local farmer’s market or local grocer, as produce items tend to be cheaper and you’ll be supporting local farmers and your community! Just don’t use the little plastic produce bags, and bring your own totes to bring your produce home in! When living in Toronto, I’d save $10-$15 per shop by going to small grocers as opposed to big chains like Loblaws or Safeway.
However, this isn’t always true if you’re living outside of British Columbia or Ontario, so just do your best to avoid plastic at the larger grocery chains!
Other food items, such as legumes, nuts, pasta, rice, and some liquids (vinegar, tahini, maple syrup, peanut butter etc.) can be purchased in bulk at your local bulk store or Bulk Barn. Simply tare your container at the front counter before filling them up!
For bread, use an old pillow case and bring it into your local baker. As for meat, bring a metal or glass container into your local butcher, or ask for a new cut at the grocery store deli. For cheese, buy one that uses a rind instead of plastic. And for milk, choose glass or carton over plastic.
Go Vegan (Or At Least Veggie During The Week)
Although I did list tips above for purchasing meat and dairy products above, a great way to cut back on grocery costs and saving the environment is to go vegan. Or at least go meat-free during the week. Even Meatless Mondays are a great start!
Think about it. Meat and dairy are the most expensive grocery items for most people. So why not swap it out for legumes, beans and more fruits and veggies instead? It’s a simpler switch than you might think, plus it saves 150 lbs of carbon dioxide weekly by not creating a demand for livestock!
To see how much water, deforestation, and CO2 you save by going vegan, check out this vegan calculator here.
BYO Lunch To Work
One of the easiest ways to save money is by bringing your own lunch to work! Buying lunch outside of the house can cost you anywhere between $7-$20. (Ah, the sit down lunch, how I wish I had time for you!)
I recommend bringing in leftovers from the night before, or packing a simple sandwich and apple. Cheap, and easy! Plus, you’re saving the environment by skipping the plastic, non-recyclable cardboard or styrofoam containers and plastic cutlery.
If you didn’t have time to pack your lunch (it happens to the best of us), bring your own container and cutlery for the day!
Skip Single-Use Plastics For BYO Reusables
This one seems like an odd one for saving money for travel, but skipping single-use plastics can save you and the environment in the long haul.
Some of the common single-use plastics that we encounter everyday are plastic bags, plastic straws, plastic cutlery, plastic water bottles, takeaway containers and coffee cups. There’s been a recent outcry over single-use plastics, which has lead to some of them becoming taxed (depending on your municipality).
The most common single-use plastic taxes are the 5¢ charge for plastic bags, and some restaurants even charge for 50¢ – $2 for takeaway containers. And if you bring your own container or cup, some restaurants, cafes and fast food places will give you a 50¢ discount.
This one’s definitely a harder sell in terms of saving money (apart from plastic water bottles, which are ridiculously overpriced). But it’s the easiest swap to save the environment.
Here are some simple swaps to bring with you when leaving the house: A reusable tote, travel cutlery, a metal straw (optional), a container, a travel coffee mug and a water bottle!
Shop Second-Hand or Invest In Eco-Clothing
Clothes shopping may seem like the easiest thing to cut out when you’re trying to save money for travel, but at some point you’ll need to buy clothes. Here’s why you should shop second-hand or invest in eco-clothing.
Canadians will buy- on average- 70 new pieces of clothing every year. This contributes to the 12 million tons of textile waste every year in our landfills. That’s not including the millions of tons of textiles we “donate” every year to our local Salvation Army or vintage shops, that end up getting shipped to 3rd-world countries and end up in their landfills. It’s also not including the millions of gallons of water, the resources or CO2 emissions required to make these clothings.
Fast fashion is one of the leading polluters in the world, so not promoting them is a great way to cut back on your carbon footprint. And as the clothes are poorly made, it’s also saving your wallet from having to buy the same pieces over and over again.
Second hand clothing is a great way to give new life to clothes. I often alter the clothes I find at thrift shops to fit me or suit me better. And it’s so much cheaper than buying them in store!
If you’re not keen on shopping second-hand, invest in some high quality clothing from eco-friendly and ethical brands. Although this is the most expensive option, the clothes will last much longer than the cheaper, fast fashion alternatives, and they tend to be staples that never go out of style. Look for natural fabrics, such as organic cotton, bamboo, tencel, linen or silk, which will last longer than synthetic (plastic) fabrics such as polyester. Some of my favourites are Everlane and Encircled.
Sell & Donate What You Don’t Need
All of my clothes fit into 2 suitcases. It was a huge downsize from when I lived in Toronto, where I had to ship 3 additional boxes of my clothes home with me for the summer.
Before moving to Australia, I was able to sell a few items over on Carousell, an app where you can sell second-hand clothes, cosmetics, electronics, and more. I also had a party, where I basically sent all of my friends home with pieces from my closet. The remainder I donated, so there was a chance it would find a new home rather than going to landfill.
Not only was I able to make $600 from selling my unused possessions, it also meant having a less cluttered house, which was a nice bonus!
Change Up Your Daily Hygiene Routine
Another easy swap in your day-to-day life is to switch up your daily hygiene routine! Here are some easy switches that are cheaper in the long run, and are zero waste!
- SLS-free shampoo bar ($8.65 – lasts 3-4 months)
- Safety razor & blades ($20 initially; blades are $17 for a pack of 100)
- SLS-free soap bar ($6)
- Bamboo toothbrush ($5 – Bristles last longer than plastic toothbrush & it’s compostable)
- DIY toothpaste
- DIY deodorant
- DIY skincare (I use coconut oil with a couple of drops of tea tree oil!)
- DIY moisturizer (I melt coconut oil & shea butter in a metal container over boiling water & wait for it to solidify before using)
Invest In A Menstrual Cup & Cotton Pads
Ah yes, the menstrual cup has been making (crimson) waves across the travel blogging world. (I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself.) But in all honesty, it’s such a great investment! I use the Mooncup, which cost me $40 upfront and can last up to 10 years. But with tampons costing about $7 for a box of 30, I “paid off” my Mooncup in less than 5 months.
If you prefer pads, consider investing in reusable cotton pads. Pads are made up of 90% plastic and cost about the same as tampons. Reusable cotton pads, like these ones, cost only $10-$20 upfront.
To see how much your period is costing you, check out this piece by Chatelaine.
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What zero waste hack will you use to save money for travel? Let me know in the comments below!
