I may make myself exceptionally unpopular right now, however that still won't deter me!
As a family and shamefully for me, led first by my daughters, we are reducing our waste and plastic use. Looking at our recycling box it is criminal to see how much of it is plastic ~ gone are the reusable glass bottles, brown paper bags and grease-proof paper of yesteryear and instead hello mountains of single use plastic!
We are in the process, because it's a ever~evolving journey, of substituting everything that is plastic in our home with environmentally friendly alternatives, which isn't always easy.
We have straws ~ not necessary in some families but when you have a chronic illness and need liquid food on the days when you are at your limits, when chewing just consumes too much energy, straws come into their own and are vital for us when trying to "eat" via a straw whilst lying in bed or downstairs on the sofa cum day bed!. However, to try and balance things out we have reusable straws which are strong and sturdy which means continued use with frightening no wear and tear to be seen. Plus, I have to add they are cleaned properly via the dishwasher. Not a perfect solution but better than the single use throw away straws we used to have.
We have no clingfilm or tinfoil in the house, instead we have reusable bees wax wraps to cover our food with. We also use silicone reusable (and dishwasher friendly) backing tray/cake liners so that we don't need to use up baking parchment or their equivalent. Then zip seal bags, so useful but not friendly to our planet ~ our alternative is our reusable zip seal bags, environmentally friendly and still going strong after multiple uses.
We have small net bags to put loose fruit and veg in at the shops, and have them weighed in them instead of the plastic bags at checkout. Sadly, we still need to sort out the sealed plastic items and have them available loose so we can put them into our own recyclable containers when buying them.
We are constantly searching for local suppliers to support their businesses and reduce our plastic packaging for all foods and supplies. Too many containers are plastic and we need to continue to lobby for alternative, biodegradable or reusable planet friendly options.
Now to the not popular part ~ as part of our bid to reduce unnecessary waste we have decided to stop buying cards. No Birthday Christmas, Celebration cards at all ~ why send a card when you can say it either in person, in a phone call or via a digital message? Why waste that paper or card? How many people receive cards, open them, read them then bin them? I know some people save or reuse cards but so many just go into the bin. What a waste of resources! Going even further, we buy minimal gifts too ~ we only buy one present as a family at Yule/Christmas (we have various religious and non religious practices going on within our family so are inclusive of many various celebrations), To make it fair we do a Secret Santa style draw and set a limit of how much you can spend. That way we all get one gift and all buy one gift and it's all equal. Birthdays are also not a time for huge extravagance, instead we look at the person and celebrate them in a way we know they would appreciate and not have it all about money or "The Gift". People are important and not things, that's just how we feel but in this commercial world we get derided for it and called "tight".
Everything we receive wherever possible we reuse or recycle. That also includes gift bags and wrapping paper (where possible), so if you do happen to receive a rare gift from us it will most likely be wrapped in recycled wrapping paper or gift bag.
My daughters inspire me, delight me and make me so incredibly proud. They were the ones who said "why buy us unnecessary gifts?" and made us rethink our family gift giving ways. So, yes we buy each other gifts, now and then and not "because" its a birthday or a special day in the calendar but because we want to and it feels appropriate at the time. Gift giving considerations also include learning if the item was ethically made, sourced, environmentally friendly and appropriate? We won't buy tat or something that is throw away and novelty. We prefer to make decorations and gifts where we can for that personal touch and when that isn't within our skill set, to buy from a small business who can do it for us.
Our aim is to do our small part for the planet in whatever ways we can, both as individuals and as a family. If that makes us unpopular outside of our wee unit, well then so be it.
I hugely admire young adults such as Greta Thunberg who are leading the way in publicly calling for rapid change before its too late and I stand behind her, support her and applaud her and everyone else around the globe working towards a future and protesting on the streets calling for rapid change, not just for ourselves but for our following generations before the possibility of having a future is taking away from them.
As a family and shamefully for me, led first by my daughters, we are reducing our waste and plastic use. Looking at our recycling box it is criminal to see how much of it is plastic ~ gone are the reusable glass bottles, brown paper bags and grease-proof paper of yesteryear and instead hello mountains of single use plastic!
We are in the process, because it's a ever~evolving journey, of substituting everything that is plastic in our home with environmentally friendly alternatives, which isn't always easy.
We have straws ~ not necessary in some families but when you have a chronic illness and need liquid food on the days when you are at your limits, when chewing just consumes too much energy, straws come into their own and are vital for us when trying to "eat" via a straw whilst lying in bed or downstairs on the sofa cum day bed!. However, to try and balance things out we have reusable straws which are strong and sturdy which means continued use with frightening no wear and tear to be seen. Plus, I have to add they are cleaned properly via the dishwasher. Not a perfect solution but better than the single use throw away straws we used to have.
We have no clingfilm or tinfoil in the house, instead we have reusable bees wax wraps to cover our food with. We also use silicone reusable (and dishwasher friendly) backing tray/cake liners so that we don't need to use up baking parchment or their equivalent. Then zip seal bags, so useful but not friendly to our planet ~ our alternative is our reusable zip seal bags, environmentally friendly and still going strong after multiple uses.
We have small net bags to put loose fruit and veg in at the shops, and have them weighed in them instead of the plastic bags at checkout. Sadly, we still need to sort out the sealed plastic items and have them available loose so we can put them into our own recyclable containers when buying them.
We are constantly searching for local suppliers to support their businesses and reduce our plastic packaging for all foods and supplies. Too many containers are plastic and we need to continue to lobby for alternative, biodegradable or reusable planet friendly options.
Now to the not popular part ~ as part of our bid to reduce unnecessary waste we have decided to stop buying cards. No Birthday Christmas, Celebration cards at all ~ why send a card when you can say it either in person, in a phone call or via a digital message? Why waste that paper or card? How many people receive cards, open them, read them then bin them? I know some people save or reuse cards but so many just go into the bin. What a waste of resources! Going even further, we buy minimal gifts too ~ we only buy one present as a family at Yule/Christmas (we have various religious and non religious practices going on within our family so are inclusive of many various celebrations), To make it fair we do a Secret Santa style draw and set a limit of how much you can spend. That way we all get one gift and all buy one gift and it's all equal. Birthdays are also not a time for huge extravagance, instead we look at the person and celebrate them in a way we know they would appreciate and not have it all about money or "The Gift". People are important and not things, that's just how we feel but in this commercial world we get derided for it and called "tight".
Everything we receive wherever possible we reuse or recycle. That also includes gift bags and wrapping paper (where possible), so if you do happen to receive a rare gift from us it will most likely be wrapped in recycled wrapping paper or gift bag.
My daughters inspire me, delight me and make me so incredibly proud. They were the ones who said "why buy us unnecessary gifts?" and made us rethink our family gift giving ways. So, yes we buy each other gifts, now and then and not "because" its a birthday or a special day in the calendar but because we want to and it feels appropriate at the time. Gift giving considerations also include learning if the item was ethically made, sourced, environmentally friendly and appropriate? We won't buy tat or something that is throw away and novelty. We prefer to make decorations and gifts where we can for that personal touch and when that isn't within our skill set, to buy from a small business who can do it for us.
Our aim is to do our small part for the planet in whatever ways we can, both as individuals and as a family. If that makes us unpopular outside of our wee unit, well then so be it.
I hugely admire young adults such as Greta Thunberg who are leading the way in publicly calling for rapid change before its too late and I stand behind her, support her and applaud her and everyone else around the globe working towards a future and protesting on the streets calling for rapid change, not just for ourselves but for our following generations before the possibility of having a future is taking away from them.
~ Brightest Blessings ~
x~X~x
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