Yeah I’ve been thinking about this. I was fairly low-waste before, and this month let me avoid some of the big questions since none of my bathroom/kitchen/laundry supplies need to be restocked. My packaging waste at the grocery store has gone way down, though. I used to pay no mind to buying string cheese and bags of chips and plastic jugs of spices and Clif bars and subs thrown in multiple layers of paper and plastic. I’m also more aware of opportunities to switch out those other items for more sustainable options once I run out.
Day 15: Temptation Wins
Wins
None, only fails
Used/Obtained (new)
Thermal receipt x2 (restaurant and grocery store)
New bulk bin bag for chocolate - had no foraged berries to stave off craving, cleaned out pantry of old bags to prevent pantry moths, and expensive coop that makes it easy to bring a reusable container was closed
Used (existing, consumable only)
Multivitamin, deodorant, hand soap, dish soap, sunscreen, sponge
STICKERS ON VEGGIES! This is a cool thing about Fancy Local Supermarket – no stickers on veg or fruit.
Did not avoid:
I went to the meat counter at Fancy Local Supermarket, thinking I could just get my stuff wrapped in paper… nope. Apparently they wrap it first in a plastic bag and then in paper. I should have thought to bring a tupperware, but I did not.
One of the cool things about this is that I’m starting to get better at gleaning food from our yard – after all, if I pick it myself, no plastic worries. That’s pretty cool!
I think reporting in here helps a lot. If anyone wants to keep doing something like this after July ends… hit me up. It’s keeping me conscious of this and continually nudging me to make better choices. (I guess one could do this in the small things thread, but that one feels like it has a different vibe.)
plastic poop bag (existing) - Doggo poop patrol x 2
Viralys (existing) - finished! I have had this in my cupboard for almost two years, and I am glad to have that space back.
Cotrizone-10 (existing)
sunscreen (existing) - It’s really sunny. And hot. And sunny. I volunteered out at the harvest garden for Master Gardeners in the morning. Say no to skin cancer.
ibuprofin (existing) - headache
dog food bag (existing) - I moved what was left in my giant dog food bag (lasts ~ 2 months) into the smaller one I use for daily use, and the big bag is now empty. It is some kind of woven plastic (to keep it fresh, I suppose).
I need to do laundry (regular laundry) and will attempt to use the powdered detergent today.
Yessss let’s keep this up after. I am going to still need accountability, and ideas.
Yesterday I avoided all new plastics! \o/ I bought one thing, which was some bulk yogurt pretzels in a paper bag. (I am somewhat upset at the purchase in that the pretzels are half stale, which really just shows me which shops here have good bulk bins and which don’t, ugh.)
Found packaging-free, fair trade, palm oil-free chocolate - it’s from a store that only prints a receipt if you ask for it and lets you bring your own containers, so zero waste!
Picked berries
Got secondhand clothing from Buy Nothing and a camping chair from the sidewalk… TBD on whether that camping chair feels safe/clean enough to use
A friend who I got to join BN received an item they were about to give up and buy!
Used/Obtained (new)
Nothing!
Used (existing, consumable only)
Multivitamin, deodorant, hand soap, dish soap, sponge
brewing supplies (NEW) - so much plastic stuff, like, all the small items were in bubble wrap or plastic bags, and many parts are plastic (fermentation bucket and lid, airlock, tubing, auto siphon, etc etc etc). It will all get saved for the counting at the end of the week. Since this is stuff that theoretically I’ll have for a long time I am kind of ok with it. And no, I couldn’t wait and still be sure the first batch would be done when my friends come to visit. Going to start it today (or maybe tomorrow).
We didn’t plan our meals through to today. I couldn’t face the shops today with a grumpy toddler so we are eating pasta from plastic packaging tonight that Mr Pancakes grabs on his way home.
I feel quite bad about it. We need to come up with alternatives for this situation.
Do you have freezer meals stocked up? I find that helpful when I’m totally grumped out and don’t want to shop/cook.
I want to find some way to chart my plastic usage so that I can see, at a glance, what I’m doing. also this satisfies my need to spreadsheet everything The question is: what metrics to use? (Recyclable v non-recyclable? How to get in the concept of avoidance/trading off? etc)
Freezer meals and maybe some of the suggestions we gave JanetJackson for her overworked days? If you want suggestions, let us know! I’m almost done with the last of my freezer chili and it’s been so nice not needing to cook for over a week.
I was going to do this but didn’t want to complicate things for myself. This is the horizontal format I would’ve used. There’s also a vertical format (one row per day), to serve different purposes and take more notes, because obviously I need to take copious notes in addition to the raw metrics right?
Not sure about the avoidance tracking. Maybe a -1 instead of a 1?
tahini (existing) - made tahini dressing yesterday for dinner, and the tahini I currently have on hand is in a plastic container. I know there is another one around that is in a tin (I think) with a plastic top, I’ll have to see.
sambal olek (existing) - also used for dinner, it’s chili paste in a plastic bottle. I don’t think it comes any other way?
fertilizer (existing) - scheduled
toilet drain stuff (existing) - this is like Draino for the toilet (you can’t use most drain cleaners in the toilet), it is called Green Gobbler and is supposedly safe for toilets and septic and is environmentally safe (supposedly). I decided to start using it monthly because my plumbing is very old and the house had some issues with the outgoing sewer line (that were resolved supposedly, but still). It comes in a cardboard tube with a metal bottom and a plastic top but there are 3 “doses” contained within in individual plastic packets, along with a plastic drain snake declogger thing. I don’t wish to stop using it because I am hedging my bets against sewer line failure. I do it monthly.
Our freezer is depleted which is part of the issue for sure. Also we didn’t grocery shop this week or plan anything.
I manage ok when completely exhausted if there are ingredients in the house and a recipe preselected to follow. If I have to decide on a meal and go to the shops that day… it’s an absolute failure.
I had a win. I put together a night nappy using the largest size of prefolds we had and a booster we picked up somewhere along the way and we made it through the night with no leaks. She woke up once during the night, but that has been a regular occurrence lately anyway.
I don’t have enough to do this multiple nights in a row but ordered a few extra nappies with boosters yesterday so am feeling quietly confident that we might be able to go 100% cloth.
I have been using my supply of plastic dog poop bags on walks. Trying to do otherwise was a bit too ambitious with all my other house/yard things I’m working on this year. I did switch to the cloth potty pads @CalBal uses and they’re so much better than the former brand I’d tried! Very happy with this switch.
I spent the last three days visiting different stores around the city trying to find a new journal with nice paper that wasn’t wrapped in plastic-- no luck. My favorite store is in the city where I work so I detoured on my bike ride home and asked them. They said their international shipments mostly come plastic wrapped individually due to insect prevention but the cases are usually plain cardboard. I might have to reconsider my paper pickiness, as my favorites are from France and Germany and there are loads of not-as-fancy paper that comes unwrapped, but for now it’s my one totally decadent bourgie splurge “thing” so I bought something. The fact this store knew right away what my concern was and has already tried to address it is a win in my book.
Food stuffs have been zero plastic aside from the two milk caps earlier – and Chinese takeout my kiddo ordered It didn’t even occur to me to send our own containers (we pick it up literally across the street) because I don’t ever order that type of food and forgot it comes in styrofoam and a plastic bag.
I guess my goal would be least plastic overall in manufacturing/shipping process - today I just asked if they had any journals/bound paper pads that weren’t wraped or shipped in plastic. Then we got sidetracked that there are certainly paper pads without plastic but when you want a foo foo journal it’s just not the same making your own
It didn’t even occur to me to send our own containers (we pick it up literally across the street) because I don’t ever order that type of food and forgot it comes in styrofoam and a plastic bag.
