How to Build a Refill Routine that Sticks
By Eva Rich | January 2026
I have a confession to make…which is that instilling the habit of refilling was a process for me, too, and that’s coming from someone who literally works at Bridge Refill 🫣. It is 100% a habit shift, and in the spirit of blogging, I figured I’d share how I’m retraining my brain, in case it might be useful for you. The four “Make-it” categories below are from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. The entire book can basically be distilled into this sentence:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
In other words, it’s one thing to have a goal, but without a process in place, we will always default to what is easiest and/or most familiar. As far as I’m concerned, refilling falls into that “goal” category, because it is not just an alternative grocery store, it’s also a lifestyle and behavior change. And behavior changes need support!
If you, too, are feeling the default shop…or have been wanting to check out Bridge but haven’t gotten there yet, it can be helpful to remember why you want to refill in the first place.
For me, it’s many reasons: less packaging, less waste, lowering my carbon footprint, high quality products, cost savings on a lot of products I use regularly, modeling care for the planet for my kids, supporting a small, female-owned local business and also, quite frankly, I have fallen in love with a lot of the products and want them in my life.
Here’s how I’m working with my brain instead of against it:
Make it Obvious
The biggest help for our household? A visible reminder. I just added a refill bin to our pantry; literally just a box, with empty jars and containers, that we can add to throughout the week as things run out.
I also started a shared note on my phone with my husband. Super helpful, for partners & family members you may be shopping with, so you can all be on the same page when the last of a spice gets used or laundry detergent is low.
Make it Attractive
This seems like a no-brainer, but find products you genuinely love using. I recently switched to our spearmint dish soap and it truly does make hand washing dishes more enjoyable.
I’ve noticed how many of you bike or walk to the shop. One customer told me they loved refilling because it guarantees a good bike ride, too. That’s a perfect example of habit stacking - linking refilling to something that already feels good. A walk, a coffee stop, a weekly errand you already enjoy; this is another trick to make it happen.
Make it Easy
Take an inventory! What items do you already have in your home that you could be refilling? Know that you don’t have to do everything at once…
From there, create a refill rhythm of what you’d like to start with. Maybe it’s weekly on Wednesdays for bulk foods and one Sunday a month for soaps.
A small but powerful trick: keep some clean containers in your car! That way if you’re out, and realize you’re near the shop, you’re ready to go.
Make it Satisfying
I personally find this to be built into the store experience (the smell, the twinkle lights, the music, the smart tag chime!)…Sometimes I literally just want to go browse and talk to Christine lol. But some other thoughts…
Track the containers you’re saving, just like we track in the store. If you are mission minded, this will give you a boost. (This would be a fun graphing project for kids, too.)
And this bears repeating but - get products you love! And/or products that are an actual treat, like our chocolate covered almonds, our Sleeptime super latte, or the dried pears I can’t stop eating 😋
Supporting yourself with systems ensures you make the choices you actually want to make, instead of letting your brain default to what it already knows. Building a new habit takes dedication, but the right systems turn effort into rhythm, and rhythm into something that finally sticks and feels good at the same time.