Sustainable cotton balls

If you're like me, you use cotton balls on a daily basis. I use two per day: one in the morning and one at night with my toner. Cottons balls aren't the most expensive item I buy, but when I added up how quickly I go through them and how much waste that creates, I knew I had to do something to offset this. I was initially inspired by The Zero Waste Home's blog, which tipped me off to reusable (washable) cotton face rounds. I know, you'd think these would've been a no-brainer!

Their blog recommends Better For Grown-ups Cotton Rounds, but I hesitated to purchase these because of the price. I did a lot of searching and found many alternative options on Etsy; some for a better price. When I finally found some that satisfied me - fair cost for amount of rounds + material that pleased me - the seller ran out! So, I patiently began to wait for the seller to make more and put them up for sale.

While waiting, Pinterest (seriously, this site has changed my life) lead me to a tutorial on how to make your own make-up remover cloths/cotton pads. Again, what a no-brainer! I have made 31 of these so far and have plenty of fabric left for more. Making my own is by far the best deal I could've gotten. And compared to my napkins project - though it was easy - this is even easier, simply because I do not have to care what they look like! This tutorial includes a recipe for homemade make-up remover too. I have yet to make this, but it is something I will be trying as a replacement to my make-up remover wipes (as soon as my stash runs low).



For the cotton side of my pads I purchased a yard of organic cotton hemp fabric on Amazon. For the other side I used an old flannel nightshirt I no longer wear. These cotton rounds work like a charm! If you aren't someone who sews, I still recommend purchasing these as they will definitely pay for themselves in no time and will reduce waste from day one. The ideal rounds I found were made by an Etsy shop called BabyZing. I'd recommend checking back to see when she has them for sale again if you decide sewing is not the route for you.