I have been trying to make small changes every week and trying new things to reduce my waste. Since this blog is all about me trying to reach my goal of only one bag of rubbish a year, I thought I might make my Monday post all about the changes I have made, or the things I have tried for the week.
After seeing how expensive butter is now in the supermarket, I decided to make my own. It was actually really easy, and fun! I pretty much just whipped up some cram until it turned yellow and separated, then kneaded and washed the butter in ice water until the water ran clear. To be honest though, it didn't make very much butter, therefore it is probably not very cost effective. And what is worse, the plastic cream container or the paper the store butter is wrapped in... I think I will stick to buying my butter ready made.
I went back to a new Bin Inn which was WAY better than the first one I went to. I took all my containers in and they weighed each of them for me and wrote the weight on the bottom before I filled them up with all sorts of delights. My son loved helping me too, he chose some dried apricots which he scooped into his jar (then devoured them all in the car!) The more I do it, the less weird it feels to take my own containers. And I found out I actually get a discount for using my own containers too!!! Even better!
In my rush to get myself and my son out the door this morning to work and daycare, I forgot both our backpacks. Doh!!!! So after I dropped him off I had to zip over to the dairy to get some food for his lunch. And wow, this really hurt my soul. I had to buy him a whole lot of packaged food for his lunch! There wasn't really any other option! So when I was going out to get my lunch in my lunch break, I realised that if I got Thai takeaway I was going to end up with a whole lot more plastic on my hands! So in an effort to make up for my downfall this morning, I decided to eat in, creating NO waste. It was actually quite nice having a little lunch date by myself. I nice break in the day to have some time to myself to relax. This could become a habit! Only problem was, there was so much food I struggled to eat it all! There was a moment when I thought.. I'll just get the rest to takeaway. But duh! That totally defeats the purpose! So I soldiered on and ate it all up. It got me thinking though, I need a takeaway container I can carry around with me for times like this. I have a reusable soda cup I keep in my car in case I am naughty and get Carls Junior, but I don't have a takeaway container for delicious asian dishes. I am now investigating!
Last on my agenda was soap! I went to my local market on the weekend and bought some home made soap, to replace the hand wash I just used up. I was not at all happy about the cling film they packaged the soap in, but there was no other option at the market. And I do like buying locally made products. It got me thinking, should I try and make soap? After reading some recipes and watching a few youtube videos, I think I will stick to buying it. There are some New Zealand companies making some beautiful natural soaps, and we can't forget Lush! Mmmmm, I love Lush.
Happy Monday, and happy waste free living.