Reviewing the last three weeks, I wanted to record some of the changes I’ve made. A lot of these are not convenient at all and sometimes expensive, and others are very simple while actually saving money. All have reduced my plastic consumption… I hope! I always seem to get surprise plastic where I don’t expect it!
1. Re-used the plastic bags I already have (cereal, rice, produce, crackers, etc) for purchasing bulk & produce items
2. Bought produce un-bagged (Even a dozen carrots – maybe I’ll re-use a bag for that next time for the clerk’s sake!)
3. Bought meat from the counter wrapped in butcher paper
4. Brought my own containers to the deli for lunch meat & cheese
5. Washed & re-used glass jars instead of Tupperware
6. Made bread from scratch
7. Found milk in glass containers at Whole Foods! (Yay!)
8. Bought bread from a bakery before it was bagged, and got a paper bag instead
9. Bought bulk items, re-using my own containers/bags:
· Nuts
· Snacks
· Rice
· Beans
· Flour
· Cereal
· Dried fruit
· Popcorn
10. Actually remembered to bring my own canvas grocery bags from home (Some stores even gave me a few cents off for this effort!)
11. House cleaning with baking soda (cardboard box) & vinegar (glass bottle- although plastic lid)
12. Cleaned myself with baking soda & vinegar
· Baking Soda:
§ Shampoo
§ Body wash
§ Deoderant
§ Toothpaste (only every other brushing - Can’t quite give up on that
§ Dry Shampoo (Try: a little greasy? Rub in some baking soda at your scalp & see how it works for you!)
· Vinegar
§ Hair Rinse
§ Body wash
13. Bought plastic free, chlorine free feminine products
14. Made my juice from concentrate
15. Eating way more fruits and veggies for snacks and smoothies
16. Home-made muffins instead of granola/cereal bars in lunches
17. Opted out of straws & lids at restaurants
18. Already owned Tupperware instead of sandwich baggies
19. Made my own chips: Potato & Kale (Surprisingly tasty, actually!)
20. Bought wax paper to replace saran wrap in some cases
And some nice side-effects of the efforts:
1. Eating healthier, fresher food
2. New relationship with food: Spending the time & energy on it makes it far less appealing to down a few hours’ worth of work in a TV sitting.
3. Avoiding unknown chemicals in toiletries and processed foods
4. Spending the same amount of money on less food, but not wasting so much of it (How many of your fresh fruits and vegetables end up in the trash after going bad in the fridge? I had a lot more before!)
5. Avoiding toxic cleaning fumes
6. Teaching my son by example
7. Spreading awareness with every question about plastic and through this blog (I decided to blog about this from the beginning because I feel it’s important to share the information I learn.)
8. Only one bag of trash this week (Normally about 2, already low due to recycling & composting)
9. Only one recycling container (Usually 2 and overflowing!) Most of it is from remnants of plastic still lingering around the house
I’m not keeping track to brag, or to show off 'my footprint is smaller than yours’. I’m doing this to give examples of changes that have an effect. I don’t expect anyone else to give up all plastics, and don’t assume I’ll be able to. This is an experiment in living without new plastic to see just how difficult it is. I have time to shop different places, money to spend at natural food stores which are admittedly more expensive, and the interest in changing things up to an extreme that I don’t expect anyone else does. In doing so, I hope to bring awareness to some people, and maybe influence a person or two to make some small changes. And, let’s face it, I’m absolutely fascinated by this process and just want to share some of the ideas that I had no clue about until I started researching it!
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