Building a refill station at home is a project that generates questions, so today we're taking the time to answer them with our friend Dominique, from the website Les belles combines. As a mother of six, she's the perfect person to talk to us about home organization. As a teacher, she now devotes her time to creating fun and educational tips and tools for organization to make families' daily lives easier.
In this spirit, TUC has created its 2 litre pouches and 4 and 10 litre refill boxes, allowing you to set up your own refill station at home and redefine the way you consume on a daily basis. We hope we'll inspire you to build your own!
Mental Load
Dominique doesn't mince her words. For her, having a refill station at home and a cupboard stocked with food in bulk is essential. It's a way to minimize her mental load by maximizing her visits to the store and planning her family's needs in advance. With six children, you can really stay organized when you buy food in bulk and in larger quantities.
Saving time and money
With 2-, 4- and 10-litre refills at home, you can avoid several trips, use less gas, save time and no longer have to carry heavy products out of the grocery store or pharmacy. By filling up once or twice a year, you save on the cost of each product in addition to saving on shipping costs when you buy online (shipping is free across Canada with a $95 purchase at unscentedco.com).
More autonomy
The refill station usually includes household and body products that are used on a daily basis and that you couldn't do without. Starting with hand soap, an essential for the months to come. This autonomy also allows you to have quality unscented natural products available without having to make any compromises by running to a store when the bottles run out.
Less plastic
We're happy to see the abolition of single-use plastic bags in many businesses, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Each refill at home avoids burying one plastic bottle; the filling station is also an excellent way to explain to children the benefits of recycling and repurposing items at home. You can even personalize each bottle with your children according to how you're distributing it, and let them have the fun of filling it themselves (under supervision) when the time comes!
Children's Involvement
Having a small grocery store and a small pharmacy at home can be very intriguing, especially for young children. Dominique was able to involve her family and explain to them how the filling works and why using it is a gesture of love for our planet. When it's clean-up time, the little ones don't just run off: they fill their baskets with all-purpose cleaner, cleaning vinegar, a brush and a Kliin cloth. And, of course, make sure the bottles are full before putting the basket back. A bit like not putting the empty peanut butter jar back in the pantry. :)
How do you start? Follow the steps!
It is possible to build your own filling station at home without investing a lot of time or money. Ideally, you should find a shelf that you aren't using and customize it to your needs. For smaller spaces or apartments that don't have a storage room, it's best to create two smaller filling stations with wheeled carts: one for the bathroom and laundry and one for the kitchen (or maximize the cabinets under the sink or lavatory). Got a tiny closet space? You can even stack two refill boxes and take them out as needed.
Have you ever noticed this?
At Dominique's, the refill station is under the stairs! According to her, three shelves are enough to store everyday essentials. She also has another tip: take advantage of the space above the washer and dryer by adding a shelf or cabinets.
The important thing, no matter where your station is located, is to keep the space near the pumps and spouts so the experience is enjoyable and won't damage anything around it!
The essentials
The filling station includes all the essentials for household, personal care and laundry. So in addition to bottles and refill boxes, you can store kitchen accessories such as replacement heads for the dish brush, reusable cloths and dishwasher pods. For laundry, you can store wool drying balls and blocks of Marseille soap, great stubborn stains.
Quick tip: make sure your station is out of direct sunlight, in a cool, dry place. Most TUC products can be stored for 2 to 3 years without any problem, and you will easily find the manufacturing dates on our cans and bottles.
To best plan your orders, enter the date you first use your refill; once you've finished using it, you'll have a better idea of your household's consumption rate and can better plan your future purchases!
