neverhomemaker: zero waste

Showing posts with label zero waste. Show all posts

Zero Waste Update

>> Thursday, August 17, 2017

It’s been a while since I wrote about our less-waste efforts. To be clear, the movement is called zero waste, but we are still very far away from declaring the 100% zero waste goal as a goal for our family. When we left off, we knew our weak spot. We had tons of packaged stuff in the pantry. While not everything was garbage, our recycling was overflowing each week. In a word, it was overwhelming.

BTW: If you’re interested, here are 12 tools to help you transition to less waste.

And here’s where we started with "zero-waste” in the spring.

To recap, here’s what we were doing right back then:

Bringing our own bags for grocery and other shopping. Including produce bags. (Here are more ways we've tried eliminating plastics.)

Buying produce from a CSA where we fill a huge bag with the foods versus getting them packaged in the store.

Using DIY beeswax wrap to cover goods in the refrigerator.

Trying to buy foods in bulk when possible.

~~Cloth diapering -- at least some of the time.~~

Using or fixing the things we have versus always going out and buying new.

Carrying our own water bottles (always) and coffee mugs (when we remember).

Using a cloth towel system versus paper towels.

Making many of our own cleaners, like laundry detergent, dish washing detergent, and all-purpose spray.

And here’s where we’ve improved:

Started making even more of our own pantry items, including items we eat A LOT of, like yogurt, bread, mozzarella cheese, and jarred jalapeños, pickles, etc. Posts are coming on all of these things.

Stopped eating many packaged foods, like tortilla chips or gummies, and transitioned to more whole or homemade foods, like apples and homemade granola bars. I’ll be sure to post more when the school year starts about how we’re dealing with this in relation to school lunches.

In general, we have really changed how we eat. I’m cooking much more from bulk ingredients, like dry black beans, and freezing a lot of ingredients, like bulk picked blueberries. This area has been the hardest because it requires a lot of thought and planning.

Made a new batch of beeswax wrap to replace plastic wrap. We also found these nifty silicone bowl lids that we use quite frequently -- they use suction to stay on top.

Refreshed all our at-home cleaning supplies (links above and below) and we’ve added a few antimicrobial wood fiber cloths to our no-paper towel collection.

I finally purchased silicone squeeze packets -- I went with The Original Squeeze ones -- to replace all those individual baby foods and applesauces we had been buying.

While we never used fabric softener or dryer sheets, I did also get some wool dryer balls to use. I’m excited to see how they work with my essential oils.

I continue to buy 98 percent of my clothing (and Eloise’s) second-hand (here are my favorite thrift shopping tips!). Ada’s wardrobe is about 60 percent second-hand, but my mother-in-law bought her a bunch of new school clothing from Target this year. Very much appreciated.

// Fail

I am always real with you guys. No fronting here. Our current weak spot is that I have decided not to cloth diaper. After I wrote the last post on less waste, I made a concerted effort to get back into it. I tried for several weeks to get into a groove. The thing is, Eloise wasn’t a fan. I could tell she wasn’t liking being wetter than disposables made her. She was also getting rashes far more often. Then our washing machine died and we waited a few months to buy a new one (because money). I still have them folded in the drawer next to the disposable diapers.

Excuses, excuses. I know tons of people who absolutely love cloth diapering. I’ve have good and bad experiences. I don’t really know what to do. I feel guilty a lot of the time. It’s one area that should be “easy” to navigate. But for whatever reason, it just hasn’t worked for us.

Many of you have been asking about our homemade pantry items. In my next post, I’ll cover the tools we use to create things like homemade breads, yogurt, cheese, canned goods, etc.

12 Tools to Help You Go Zero Waste

>> Monday, March 6, 2017

Alright, I'm still learning so much about becoming less wasteful. While ZERO WASTE is definitely a good goal to have, it's very difficult. I am far from being there, but I am learning that there are many things I can do to improve on where we're at in the present moment. This involves getting some things on the front-end to set up for success later on.

Here are my favorite products* and tools to eliminate waste:

Mesh Produce Bags. Comes in a set of 9 assorted sizes. I've shared these with you before. I love them. When I was using them at the store on Monday, I got several compliments and requests to share where I got them. They work wonderfully for produce and bulk items. I used them specifically this week for garlic, sweet potatoes, ginger, broccoli, and lentils.

WeeSprout Pouches. A reader shared the idea with me to start using reusable food pouches for applesauce, yogurt, and other things I like to include in Ada's lunches. Not only is this less wasteful, but it also saves a ton of cash. I'll report back on how they work, how to clean them, etc.

MIRA Stainless Steel Food Containers. We've been through plastic containers, glass containers, etc. The thing is, we were using glass for a while . . . but it's breakable. Stephen has broken so many Ball jar salad containers. Ada took applesauce in glass to school, but I worried about her breaking them, too.

Stainless steel containers come in assorted shapes + sizes, they're also awesome, BPA-free, and won't break!

Blue Avocado (re)Zip Bags. I've come to the conclusion that I need to buy several sets of these reusable freezer bags. I love my freezer cooking. If you follow me on Instagram, you see that I cooked 11 dinners yesterday alone. Everything is in gallon zip bags. It's wasteful. But it's also something I need, so there's tons of room for improvement here.

There are other brands of reusable zip bags, too. Do you guys have a favorite?

Wegreeco Reusable Snack Bags. Here's something else we've been using for Ada's lunches - reusable fabric snack bags. You can pop these guys in your washing machine to clean them. The kind we have uses Velcro closures, but if I buy more, I will get this brand because it's zip and won't let stuff out.

ECOHip Shopping Bags. I have a lot of different kinds of reusable grocery bags. When I went to buy a few more last month, I decided to get a set of these ECOHip ones because they are so darned compact. This is good because I have started bringing them with me whenever I'm out shopping for non-food items as well. They fit conveniently into my purse and stretch to fit all sorts of stuff.

Klean Kanteen Water Bottle. I bought this specific bottle because I found it while shopping at Wegmans. I didn't give it a lot of thought, but it's a great, sturdy bottle. Much lighter than glass, better than plastic, etc. I even got Ada a kid's kanteen -- she loves the purple color and the sport cap.

And while researching this post, I discovered that they also make a kid's kanteen with a sippy top that I may get for Eloise.

Stanley Vacuum Mug. I bought Stephen this mug for Christmas and he says it's the best one he's ever used. It's definitely life-proof. I got him the 16-ounce version that keeps stuff warm or cold for 7 hours.

Bee's Wrap. If you don't want to make your own reusable wax food wrap, you can buy it online. This pack comes with three different sizes and will last you up to a year if you take care of it properly.

Silicone Wrap. I'm also intrigued by these stretchable silicone bowl covers. I think they might be useful when prepping food or making bread (as a cover during rise times). Has anyone used them? Different brands get mixed reviews. Like the bee's wrap, it comes in three different sizes.

32-Ounce Ball Jars. We use these for storing bulk foods, making pickles, drinking glasses, and food storage. I cannot go on enough about how awesome Ball jars are. Yes, you have to be careful because they are glass. But they are OK for freezing stuff and -- if you know how -- even canning.

My tip is to get the plastic lids so you can close them up really well if you plan to use them for storage.

Bar Towels. I also know I've shared this trick many times, but we have TONS of these bar towels in my house that we use as napkin and as paper towels for wiping up messes. No paper towels needed. Just get a good system going and it becomes very automatic.

What?!

You may be thinking: "But, Ashley! Buying stuff online means lots of packaging before it gets to your house." And, I get it. I don't really know what to do about that. I cannot buy some of this stuff locally, so I'm not sure what I should do. I could travel an hour away where I think the store may carry a few items, but I'd be taking gas money ($) and also spending some CO2 emissions to get there.

You see how this all becomes very difficult. While I say "zero" waste is the goal, I do not know if ZERO is totally realistic for our family. I know people do it. Instead, I'd like to work toward leaning out our recycling to just one bin per week (we have several each week) and maybe just one trash bin every week or maybe even two.

* These are affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase these products, I will get a (very!) small kickback. But I want you to know that I am sincere in my sharing. We actually own most of these items and plan to purchase the rest as we move toward less waste. Thank you for supporting the blog!

Homesteading // Zero Waste Family

>> Friday, February 3, 2017

I got very much off track from my original posting plan for this week. I hope you don't mind if I skip around a bit. I get compelled to go in different directions depending on what's pulling me most in my everyday life. Right now, it's simplification and minimalization. I am pretending that's a word. And actually, these have been homesteading goals of mine for several years. Executing them with kids, though, proves difficult in my book.

I'm sure you've noticed that I've flirted with zero waste in the past. It's a goal of mine that I keep highly regarded in my head. And when it comes to actually doing it, I make good efforts. But it falls flat because life is hectic and -- let's face it -- cutting down on garbage and other waste is really difficult.

Strides we've made:

Bringing our own bags for grocery and other shopping. Including produce bags. (Here are more ways we've tried eliminating plastics.)
Buying produce from a CSA where we fill a huge bag with the foods versus getting them packaged in the store.
Using DIY "plastic" wrap to cover goods in the refrigerator.
Trying to buy foods in bulk when possible. But I'll get to that in a moment.
Cloth diapering -- at least some of the time. Again, I'll get to that.
Using or fixing the things we have versus always going out and buying new.
Carrying our own water bottles (always) and coffee mugs (when we remember).
Using a cloth towel system versus paper towels.
Making many of our own cleaners, like laundry detergent, dish washing detergent, and all-purpose spray.

Even with sticking to most of these changes most of the time, we still have way more recycling and garbage than I'd like to admit. I am happy that we have made the efforts and at least lessened our impact. That's a start. So, in 2017 . . . I'm looking to keep this conversation going. I'm looking to do better. And I've love hearing from you.

Here are the three areas we struggle with the most.

Buying all or even most of our foods in bulk isn't possible. I did visit some local mom + pops, and the prices were too high. The ingredients are high-quality, that's for sure. I have to stick within our budget AND try to lessen waste. And sometimes these things are at odds. Aldi, for example, has such great deals on food. But it seems like everything is packaged up in boxes upon boxes. When I come home, I always feel like our recycling bin is bursting.
Cloth diapering is a love/hate thing over here. I wrote about it yesterday on Instagram. We actually had stopped doing cloth in Eloise's third month because life got crazy. I am attempting to start back up, but I have trouble committing because she doesn't seem as comfortable in the diapers. I also cannot seem to get the best wash process down with our extremely hard water. That said, diapers are SUCH an awful thing to keep tossing in the trash if I have cloth diapers just sitting in drawers. I hope to do an update after this month's trial goes.
Being out and about just seems to invite waste, like coffee cups, takeout containers, and etc. I am thinking some of this stuff will naturally lean out once we're making most of our own meals again and not spending as much on entertainment money. (Yup! This is the month we are finally starting to make sense of our debt!)

I've decided that my best bet is to set one goal each month to see if we can smash it. This month, I'd like to work on meal planning in such a way that we aren't using as many foods in packages (pasta, cooked beans, frozen veggies, etc.). This includes baby food, which I have definitely gotten lazy about. I've been buying tubs of it versus just mashing my own. It's so easy and would save a lot of money.

Anyway, accomplishing this goal obviously won't eliminate all our waste, but my goal is to see if we can go a whole week before filling the garbage and recycling bins.

I'll give an update in March along with my next goal!