Simply Living Well: A Guide to Creating a Natural, Low-Waste Home

Recipes, DIY projects, and inspiration for a beautiful and low-waste life, from the creator of @simply.living.well on Instagram

In this timely and motivational guide, author Julia Watkins shares rituals, recipes, and projects for living simply and sustainably at home. For every area of your household―kitchen, cleaning, wellness, bath, and garden―Julia shows you how to eliminate wasteful packaging, harmful ingredients, and disposable items. Practical checklists for a zero-waste lifestyle outline easy swaps (instead of disposable sponges, opt for biodegradable sponges or Swedish dishcloths; choose a bamboo toothbrush over a plastic one) and sustainable upgrades for common household tools and products. Projects include scrap apple cider vinegar, wool dryer balls, kitchen bowl covers and cloth produce bags, non-toxic dryer sheets, all-purpose citrus cleaner, herbal tinctures and balms, and more, plus recipes for package-free essentials like homemade nut milk, hummus, ketchup, salad dressings, and veggie stock.

This comprehensive guide to creating an eco-friendly home is packed with inspiration for your sustainable living journey:

• Easy Sustainable Swaps: Practical checklists to help you choose a bamboo toothbrush over a plastic one, or opt for biodegradable sponges and Swedish dishcloths.
• Effective Natural Cleaning: Ditch the harsh chemicals with recipes for non-toxic dryer sheets and an all-purpose citrus cleaner.
• Simple DIY Projects: Learn to make your own wool dryer balls, cloth produce bags, kitchen bowl covers, and even scrap apple cider vinegar.
• Essential Homemade Recipes: Go package-free with simple instructions for homemade nut milk, hummus, ketchup, veggie stock, and satisfying salad dressings.

JULIA WATKINS is the author of Simply Living Well and Gardening for Everyone and the creator of the popular Instagram account @simply.living.well, where she shares about living simply, slowly, and sustainably. A lifelong lover of the natural world, Julia has worked in environmental and natural resource management for most of her life and has a graduate degree in conservation science and policy. Along with her husband Scott, Julia co-founded Lookfar Conservation in 2016, a nonprofit that supports conservation and restoration projects in Africa and Latin America. When she's not experimenting with new recipes and remedies, you can find her in her art room crafting with her children or in her garden growing veggies, herbs, and edible flowers. Julia lives with her family in an old farmhouse on the northshore of Chicago.