**OOh, my little old blog has just turned 14!!!! It's my 14th Blogiversary today!! Hurrah!**
Since I am trying to think much more consciously about my choices to try and be eco-friendly, I thought I'd try to make a regular post about fails and achievements in terms of trying to be more eco-friendly. The achievements aren't meant as a brag list- I am aware that I fail in many ways (for every success, there is another failure) but for me, I would like to remember that little steps ARE possible to reduce waste and to make a little difference. I think the thought for me is:
It's better to make a little difference than not to try at all:
So, here are some things that I've been thinking about or doing this past week or two:
- Getting the bread in the bakery wrapped in paper.
- Taking our own plastic container to Chinese takeaway.
- Getting salmon from the counter in our own box from Waitrose.
- Only picking the fruit and veg not in plastic when we went to Waitrose.
-Going to the Pound-a-bowl vegetable place near school and putting it all into my cotton bags- no packaging- leeks, courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes, peppers,
- Turning old plastic mail bags that parcels came in inside out in order to use again without having the hassle of having to cover up all the old labels.
- Reusing the brown parcel tape from another parcel on 2 other parcels
- Using ridiculous unused white sticky labels from school delivery for sealing 4 of my own parcels
- Taking a plastic container around with me so I could take away leftovers in no new packaging.
- Getting eggs, sausages and a scotch-egg from the local Butchers in my own containers.
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- My first Milk and more milk order arrived in glass!
- Breakfast on Saturday morning which was totally plastic free: Milk from the Milkman, Bran Flakes from the Refill Room, Earl Grey tea leaves from a tin (present)
- It was Earth Hour on Saturday so we turned the lights out for an hour and ate our dinner by Candlelight.
- Rescuing about 90 A5 pieces of paper from the recycling bin at school on Monday (something was obviously copied by mistake) that can be used for scrap-paper for music lesson work.
- On Friday at the end of term, I went to the Photocopier room and grabbed all single sided discarded sheets so I can print my music worksheets onto already used paper.
- I wanted junk food for dinner on Tuesday when CBC was at the Opera. I searched the whole of Iceland opposite school for a solution that didn't have a plastic packaging.
- As usual rifled down the bin at work to remove cans and bottles that people chucked away because they couldn't be bothered to recycle.
- Mum fixed my two year old handmade crocheted slippers (with sheepskin lining)- she brought a darning needle and reattached the sole to the sides of the slipper- no need for new slippers, these babies, worn DAILY for two years are super durable!
I saw an idea for using bicarb, vinegar, lemon juice in the Guardian under tips for DIY recipes for cleaning
- On Instagram I learnt from @stopmicrowaste that you can get Guppyfriend washbags for synthetics in from on @wasteless.at.
- @Small_suitainable steps shared a green recipe for a Bathroom cleaner
1/2 water (cooled boiled)
1/2 white vinegar
10 drops of tea tree essential oil
It cleans and disinfects
- Vix shared an article from https://www.wearethought.com/blog/2016/08/23/eco-friendly-diy-fabric-conditioner-recipe/ to do with Fabric conditioners that was very enlightening.
- I read an article in The Guardian article - a medical university of Vienna found tiny shreds of it in hte digestive systes of people from eight different countries including the UK. Microplastics.
- Here's a nice idea for making homemade treats: Coal bites made using chunks of marzipan dipped in melted dark chocolate then dusted with cocoa powder. I read this on Instagram but didn't know where I saw it!
BIG FAIL:
Remember I mentioned the Toilet roll order? Well, remember I ordered 40 rolls of Ecoleaf toilet roll because it comes in compostable packaging? Well, minutes after I placed my order, I sent the company a message asking them to avoid using any plastic or polystyrene in my order as I am trying to not use/get any. When my order arrived (from an eBay shop). I opened the enormous cardboard box to find it absolutely rammed with what appeared to be a bin bag's worth of polystyrene lumps. I was aghast after all my pains to find plastic-free toilet rolls. I wrote a stinking message to the eBay shop, especially after my message. I mean, they are TOILET rolls- why on earth did they need ANY padding whatsoever since they came in a solid cardboard box anyway?!! And the company was presumably a health food shop. I actually cried, I was so furious and frustrated. I received a reply to my message that told me apparently, they are not polystyrene but are actually biodegradable and will dissolve under water. So that assuaged me somewhat except for the fact that the sheer quantity was utterly egregious- why use ANY extra packaging for toilet roll! Obviously I wanted to REDUCE my waste. It's not just a case of avoiding plastic but avoiding ALL unnecessary packaging. I wrote them a response telling them that.
Anyway, that's mostly it! What's new with you in terms of Eco-matters?
xx
Since I am trying to think much more consciously about my choices to try and be eco-friendly, I thought I'd try to make a regular post about fails and achievements in terms of trying to be more eco-friendly. The achievements aren't meant as a brag list- I am aware that I fail in many ways (for every success, there is another failure) but for me, I would like to remember that little steps ARE possible to reduce waste and to make a little difference. I think the thought for me is:
It's better to make a little difference than not to try at all:
So, here are some things that I've been thinking about or doing this past week or two:
- Getting the bread in the bakery wrapped in paper.
- Taking our own plastic container to Chinese takeaway.
- Getting salmon from the counter in our own box from Waitrose.
- Only picking the fruit and veg not in plastic when we went to Waitrose.
-Going to the Pound-a-bowl vegetable place near school and putting it all into my cotton bags- no packaging- leeks, courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes, peppers,
- Turning old plastic mail bags that parcels came in inside out in order to use again without having the hassle of having to cover up all the old labels.
- Reusing the brown parcel tape from another parcel on 2 other parcels
- Using ridiculous unused white sticky labels from school delivery for sealing 4 of my own parcels
- Taking a plastic container around with me so I could take away leftovers in no new packaging.
- Getting eggs, sausages and a scotch-egg from the local Butchers in my own containers.
- Breakfast on Saturday morning which was totally plastic free: Milk from the Milkman, Bran Flakes from the Refill Room, Earl Grey tea leaves from a tin (present)
- It was Earth Hour on Saturday so we turned the lights out for an hour and ate our dinner by Candlelight.
- Rescuing about 90 A5 pieces of paper from the recycling bin at school on Monday (something was obviously copied by mistake) that can be used for scrap-paper for music lesson work.
- On Friday at the end of term, I went to the Photocopier room and grabbed all single sided discarded sheets so I can print my music worksheets onto already used paper.
- I wanted junk food for dinner on Tuesday when CBC was at the Opera. I searched the whole of Iceland opposite school for a solution that didn't have a plastic packaging.
- As usual rifled down the bin at work to remove cans and bottles that people chucked away because they couldn't be bothered to recycle.
- Mum fixed my two year old handmade crocheted slippers (with sheepskin lining)- she brought a darning needle and reattached the sole to the sides of the slipper- no need for new slippers, these babies, worn DAILY for two years are super durable!
I saw an idea for using bicarb, vinegar, lemon juice in the Guardian under tips for DIY recipes for cleaning
- On Instagram I learnt from @stopmicrowaste that you can get Guppyfriend washbags for synthetics in from on @wasteless.at.
- @Small_suitainable steps shared a green recipe for a Bathroom cleaner
1/2 water (cooled boiled)
1/2 white vinegar
10 drops of tea tree essential oil
It cleans and disinfects
- Vix shared an article from https://www.wearethought.com/blog/2016/08/23/eco-friendly-diy-fabric-conditioner-recipe/ to do with Fabric conditioners that was very enlightening.
- I read an article in The Guardian article - a medical university of Vienna found tiny shreds of it in hte digestive systes of people from eight different countries including the UK. Microplastics.
- Here's a nice idea for making homemade treats: Coal bites made using chunks of marzipan dipped in melted dark chocolate then dusted with cocoa powder. I read this on Instagram but didn't know where I saw it!
BIG FAIL:
Remember I mentioned the Toilet roll order? Well, remember I ordered 40 rolls of Ecoleaf toilet roll because it comes in compostable packaging? Well, minutes after I placed my order, I sent the company a message asking them to avoid using any plastic or polystyrene in my order as I am trying to not use/get any. When my order arrived (from an eBay shop). I opened the enormous cardboard box to find it absolutely rammed with what appeared to be a bin bag's worth of polystyrene lumps. I was aghast after all my pains to find plastic-free toilet rolls. I wrote a stinking message to the eBay shop, especially after my message. I mean, they are TOILET rolls- why on earth did they need ANY padding whatsoever since they came in a solid cardboard box anyway?!! And the company was presumably a health food shop. I actually cried, I was so furious and frustrated. I received a reply to my message that told me apparently, they are not polystyrene but are actually biodegradable and will dissolve under water. So that assuaged me somewhat except for the fact that the sheer quantity was utterly egregious- why use ANY extra packaging for toilet roll! Obviously I wanted to REDUCE my waste. It's not just a case of avoiding plastic but avoiding ALL unnecessary packaging. I wrote them a response telling them that.
Anyway, that's mostly it! What's new with you in terms of Eco-matters?
xx