So I made it through my first week working towards my new year's resolution. It was in no way plastic free and I was not expecting that in the first place. Just as much plastic slipped into my routine as any other week.
But I am not slapping myself for that because I have something to celebrate that I think is so much more important than instant results. I spent this week being aware about my plastic consumption and creating a sort of mental and written inventory of my current plastic habits. I managed to track down the plastic I was using and to find out exactly where the problems were and start to decide which aspects I wanted to change first. I found that a lot of the packaging on the food I am eating is mostly plastic free but there are a few naughty plastic elements that are sneaking into these products and making everything much more complicated. The big one being plastic lids.
But I am not slapping myself for that because I have something to celebrate that I think is so much more important than instant results. I spent this week being aware about my plastic consumption and creating a sort of mental and written inventory of my current plastic habits. I managed to track down the plastic I was using and to find out exactly where the problems were and start to decide which aspects I wanted to change first. I found that a lot of the packaging on the food I am eating is mostly plastic free but there are a few naughty plastic elements that are sneaking into these products and making everything much more complicated. The big one being plastic lids.
I love waking up to a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice, its simple but filling and gives me energy for the day however I realise now that just because its convenient, it doesn't mean that it is the right decision. For many people it is but I have realised that it doesn't quite align with my values. Milk and juice both come in cardboard cartons which are recyclable and that is fantastic. However, they usually also come with the plastic screw on lid. Now, don't get me wrong, these are also recyclable but the world of recycling starts to get really complicated here as some companies and states ask you to remove the plastic caps and others ask you to leave them on and some ask you to take off even the plastic part attached to the carton. There are also heaps of different opinions regarding flattening the cartons or not and which recycling bin to put them in. I have always recycled the lid and carton separately and squashed the carton but I don't actually know if my cartons are getting recycled or not. Australians use over 1 billion cartons each year however only about 1 in 5 get recycled.
To me it seems silly to be making such a fuss over one small element of my pantry when I could just stop buying the product all together!
Making your own nut milk is something that is becoming a lot more popular at the moment, particularly almond milk and it is actually really simple. Nut milk can be used in cooking and for drinking just like dairy milk and, what's better, it is easy to find nuts in bulk meaning no packaging what so ever! Lindsay has a great post of making nut milk if your interested on her blog which you can check out here.
Now making your own milk does take time so if it's always good to have a back up plan. I have heard that some shops sell milk in re-usable glass jars and some even allow you to return the jars when you have finished. I love this idea however it has a few complications for me. I haven't actually looked into this a lot yet (maybe one of you can shed some light on this) but as I am allergic to dairy, I drink mostly soy and almond milk. I don't yet know of any shops who sell milk in glass jars but I have the feeling that this might not be the case either way with soy or almond milk. Still I think it's a great initiative that will work for some people and not for others. Its important to find the system that works best for you, otherwise you will find it hard to keep it up!
Thankfully, juice is easier to solve. Its the same principal but quite a bit easier and I do have to slap myself a little here because my morning juice indulgences is really just a result of laziness. Freshly squeezed juice is so easy to make, its got much less sugar than store bought juice and it tastes so much better! My grand-parents have an orange tree at their house and we always have fresh orange juice in the morning. Now that is hard to beat because there is obviously no pesticides we don't pay for it and we don't have to go further than the back yard but buying fresh fruit from the local markets (no plastic of course) doesn't land far. It's a great way to support the local organic farmers (or as local as possible) and it is also easier to avoid plastic traps.
With my new ides and renewed with determination, I am ready to bring on this challenge. I am super excited to try something new that is going to have a huge impact on my life, the people around my but more importantly on the well-being of the planet. Making big changes start with little steps and to make a change, you have to identify the problem. Often things that seemed totally logical turn out to be not so perfect when you take the time to slow down and observe your own habits. When you start to be more aware of your habits, you'll find the big problem much easier to solve and you will be less overwhelmed.
We can all improve our lifestyle to have a smaller footprint on the planet. Even the smallest action can have a huge impact.
To me it seems silly to be making such a fuss over one small element of my pantry when I could just stop buying the product all together!
Making your own nut milk is something that is becoming a lot more popular at the moment, particularly almond milk and it is actually really simple. Nut milk can be used in cooking and for drinking just like dairy milk and, what's better, it is easy to find nuts in bulk meaning no packaging what so ever! Lindsay has a great post of making nut milk if your interested on her blog which you can check out here.
Now making your own milk does take time so if it's always good to have a back up plan. I have heard that some shops sell milk in re-usable glass jars and some even allow you to return the jars when you have finished. I love this idea however it has a few complications for me. I haven't actually looked into this a lot yet (maybe one of you can shed some light on this) but as I am allergic to dairy, I drink mostly soy and almond milk. I don't yet know of any shops who sell milk in glass jars but I have the feeling that this might not be the case either way with soy or almond milk. Still I think it's a great initiative that will work for some people and not for others. Its important to find the system that works best for you, otherwise you will find it hard to keep it up!
Thankfully, juice is easier to solve. Its the same principal but quite a bit easier and I do have to slap myself a little here because my morning juice indulgences is really just a result of laziness. Freshly squeezed juice is so easy to make, its got much less sugar than store bought juice and it tastes so much better! My grand-parents have an orange tree at their house and we always have fresh orange juice in the morning. Now that is hard to beat because there is obviously no pesticides we don't pay for it and we don't have to go further than the back yard but buying fresh fruit from the local markets (no plastic of course) doesn't land far. It's a great way to support the local organic farmers (or as local as possible) and it is also easier to avoid plastic traps.
With my new ides and renewed with determination, I am ready to bring on this challenge. I am super excited to try something new that is going to have a huge impact on my life, the people around my but more importantly on the well-being of the planet. Making big changes start with little steps and to make a change, you have to identify the problem. Often things that seemed totally logical turn out to be not so perfect when you take the time to slow down and observe your own habits. When you start to be more aware of your habits, you'll find the big problem much easier to solve and you will be less overwhelmed.
We can all improve our lifestyle to have a smaller footprint on the planet. Even the smallest action can have a huge impact.