Earthgirl's Final Battle

Cherryfudge

I'm loving all this info on reduce/reuse/recycle/repurpose.

My two pennyworth:

I use a rock salt deodorant from H0lland & B@rrett: I bought a travel size one in August 2018 and it's still going. So what seemed like an initially higher price has turned out to be just the opposite. The container is plastic but otherwise it's brilliant: completely unscented too.

My local eco shop is more expensive for a few things but I now save herb and spice jars and refill them there. As you no longer pay for the weight of the glass, the spices are generally around 30-50p a refill. Another favourite is refilling pump dispensers with things like hand soap and washing up liquid.

earthgirl

Thanks Cherry fudge. I am going to try the diy deoderant, but Karma has reminded me about lots of bottles of perfume I could repurpose...

And I've decided I was wrong about the beeswax wraps. It's up to me to teach the kids why we are not using the plastic, and therefore they must bring them home.

The wrap will be worth more than the actual snack inside though!! I'll be having kittens!!

Karmacat

earthgirl wrote: »

I am currently chopping up bits of unrecyclable plastic (i.e. the packets the food comes in) into shapes suitable to wrap in - this is not a good idea I know but will do for this week - it would be going to landfill anyway

I think thats a fine idea - you're not buying it specially, you're giving a single use plastic a second use.

Kittikins

I've been meaning to make my own food wraps using old duvet covers and soy wax (I don't want to use beeswax). There are loads of videos on YT about how to do it, but basically you need brown paper, the chosen wax, your fabric and an iron.

I love how you are bringing your family into a plastic-reduced way of life. I look after the Eco Committee in the primary school I teach in, and the children are amazing at educating their parents - some of them have refused to let their parents buy anything with palm oil in, and others have persuaded the family to use glass bottles from the milkman rather than plastic from the supermarket

beanielou

Why not beezwax Kittiekins?

Kittikins

I believe honey and wax are for the bees, not us

earthgirl

Thanks for your tips! I'm still finding that I have plastic on things - even when I try to avoid, because we still need to eat and I haven't got it quite all sourced yet. So I am still reusing the packaging for other things.

Money saving /making
I took ds2 to a free guitar lesson at a library about 20 mins away this morning. The teacher was ill, but he should get a place on the course in January.

2 free community events this afternoon

Sold a toy kitchen- £10 in so £10 of the £40 fund I need to make our next holiday carbon neutral.

Finished Christmas shopping and remembered to get cashback all within budget and I'm so glad its finished
Environment

The milk in returnable glass bottles from the shop near my work is lovely but only full fat. I have got 4 pints and will get more next week. It is lovely and although it's thick, it will be ok until I can get semi skimmed which is what we are used to. It is £1.29 with 20p being returnable deposit for the glass bottle so I think this is pretty good.

I have found unwrapped bread in the bakers for £1/loaf and I can bring my own bag.

Cheese has been more of a problem to source locally.

The chocolate shop will sell me choc chips for £1/100g in my own container (and its lovely) so we can use them for muffins and cookies for the kids snacks.

So this is what my list looks like:

Supermarket but in the future hopefully the zero waste shop if not too expensive:

Loose fruit and veg
eggs
butter (bulk)
sugar
flour (bulk)
pasta (bulk)
rice (bulk)
oats (bulk)
wheat breakfast biscuits (bulk)

Local shops

milk
bread
cheese (butchers maybe?)
bacon
choc chips
fish
chicken
veg not found loose in supermarket


So my new shopping routine will be:
Bread - Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday maybe.
Monday and Friday milk - days I am in office near milk.
Friday supermarket shop for loose veg and fruit, eggs, bread if they do it unwrapped.
Saturday 8am butchers and bakers

Once a month bulk shop.

earthgirl

So now I have done a little bit of research and know what I a doing a bit more, it's time to find a bit more balance with the other things in my life.

I am starting my new 'much less waste' shopping today, and I am also going try to find time for more strenuous exercise and eating healthily. TI will also be mindful of stress at this time of the year, and keep on top of things for Christmas and at work.

This was all kind of in place so I just need to push the restart button with the stuff I know about less waste.

Karmacat

That's a really good point - make it so that its part of life, not something that you throw everything at 100% of the time.
Go you :j :j :j

themadvix

That all sounds good Earthie - and looks similar to my shopping. Remember the supermarkets let you take your own containers to the counters now - and most are fairly well trained! So cheese and meat and deli stuff you might still be able to get from there (unless you're shopping elsewhere for small business reasons, which is entirely understandable).

And normal paper-wrapped chocolate bars chopped up work fine in baking, I find - just chop well otherwise it can get a bit gooey! (Although that's a positive in my book!)