Want to be more "green" in 2021?

 We've teamed up with our friends at The   Cleaning Cabinet in Loughborough to get the   low down on a more sustainable lifestyle. 

 Tunde who set up the business on Baxtergate in   Loughborough has given us his top tips... 

Loughborough's brand new The Cleaning Cabinet store 

First of all, keep and use up what you have until it cannot be used again. Being sustainable should be gradual, it is not helpful to you or the environment if you get rid of everything in your cleaning cabinet when they have not been used up. Anything you throw away will still impacted the environment one way or the other, so you might as well make sure you use it up.

Your sustainable journey begins when replenish your everyday items for a sustainable alternative.

1. Refuse

Refuse excessive packaging especially plastic items such as plastic cutlery, shopping bags etc. 

2. Reduce

Reduce your waste, it is possible to live on less. Buy what you need in bulk if possible to save on multiple journeys to the store. Bulk buys are cheaper than smaller purchases, so you will save on the long run.

3. Reuse 

Reuse what you have. Many of the things we have can be reused by yourself or someone else, from old clothes to your shampoo bottle. By reusing, you would have prevented another unwanted packaging, container and all the logistical environmental pollution involved. For example, we reused old boxes for our online orders and very soon, we will be shredding old boxes as be used as void fillers. 

4. Refill

Refill your cleaning, personal care items and food jars. By refilling home containers directly at the store for as long as they last, you will also be preventing the introduction of new plastic containers into the environment. Many zero waste store let you refill body lotion, shampoo and conditioner, shower gel, washing up liquid, bathroom, kitchen floor and all purpose cleaning solutions, sanitising gel, laundry liquid and powder and a wide variety of dry food.

5. Recycle 

Recycle anything that cannot be reused or composted. Make sure you know how to clean the water out so that it is definitely recycled. For example, a food stained plastic milk bottle cannot be recycled because the food waste remaining it is seen as a contaminant. So, learn about recycling too.

FIND OUT MORE:

Tunde and his wife set up The Cleaning Cabinet which started as a market stall at Loughborough Market on a Saturday and has grown into a huge online success. We spoke to Tunde about moving from the market in the middle of a global pandemic and his hopes for the future. 

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Staff stocking the new store of The Cleaning Cabinet in Loughborough

How did The Cleaning Cabinet start? The Cleaning Cabinet was born on the 16th of September 2019, with an online store, then Tunde and Ati sold their refills and eco-friendly wares on Loughborough Market. In February 2020, they spotted a small at Carillon Court shopping centre in Loughborough.

Tunde said: "We didn't think it will be given to us but because it had been empty for over 4 years. We asked anyway and we were offered the space so we moved in 3 weeks before the initial 2020 lockdown." 

"We believe we are doing the right thing so we didn't get discouraged during the lock down but we focused on our online reach and tried to connect with locals via social media. Since we opened the shop we have discovered more sustainable alternatives products to meet our everyday needs."

Growing the product range means a new, bigger premises in 2021?

Tunde outside his new shop on Baxtergate, Loughborough

"We have ran out of usable space at our 4 meters square kiosk as we are now entering the fabulous world of zero waste food refills where we will be selling dry food such as oat, fruit and nuts, spices etc, which will help us to grow our range of everyday products to the same level of an average grocery store. We have decided to open a bigger shop on 61 BaxterGate in Loughborough, it is funny because it is yet during another Lockdown but we will not be discouraged."  

What’s unique about the shop? We aim to offer affordable everyday sustainable products to the vast population of customers in our service area - businesses or households.  

In a bid to be encourage customer to be more sustainable, we use our refill station to encourage all our customers to bring their empty containers and refill their washing up liquid, laundry solutions, hand gel, body lotion, Vinegar, hair shampoo and conditioner sanitising hand wash, cleaning solutions and a growing food range. 

All our customers are so surprised when they find out about the vast variety of sustainable alternatives can buy at affordable prices in our store.

If your resolution in 2021 is to lead a more sustainable life, speak to Tunde and the team at The Cleaning Cabinet.