The short version

I'm Emily. I'm 25, I live in a [rented one-bedroom in city], and about [two years] ago I started swapping out the products in my apartment one at a time.

Not all at once. Not with a spreadsheet. Just whenever something ran out, I'd look up what to replace it with, and half the time the answer was a $60 bottle of something from a brand whose website had a manifesto on it. So I started finding the cheap version instead, and writing down whether it actually worked.

That's the whole site.

Why "Almost Almond"

You know the almond mom. Organic everything, filtered everything, opinions about seed oils, a whole personality about it.

I am almost that. I'm maybe [60]% of the way there and I stopped on purpose. I still [buy the same drugstore mascara / order takeout twice a week / have a candle I know I shouldn't light]. I don't think you need to overhaul your life to feel a bit better about what's in your apartment, and I think the all-or-nothing version of this is why most people give up in week two.

Almost is fine. Almost is most of the benefit for about a tenth of the effort.

What I've actually swapped

[List five or six, plainly. Detergent, dish soap, deodorant, cookware, candles, whatever they really are.]

And what I haven't:

[List three. This part matters more than the first list. It's the reason anyone will believe the rest of it.]

How I pick things

I buy it myself first. I use it for at least a month before it goes on the site, because plenty of things work fine and then start pilling your towels in week three.

I always list a cheap option, because the version of this where everything costs $40 isn't realistic for me either.

I say when something didn't work. There's no point in a swap list where everything is a ten.

Some links here earn me a small commission. It doesn't change what makes the list — the cheap option is usually the one with the worst commission, and it's still the one I put first.