Daily we now hear more and more regarding the horrendous impact our use of plastic is having on our planet! Last night I watched the ‘War on Plastic’ programme with Hugh and Anita and was overwhelmingly shocked at how plastic is in everything – wipes are 90% plastic, our clothes are plastic, our water contains plastic and our air contains plastic – then there is all our plastic food packaging!
As I look around me, I now see clearly the amount of plastic in my home and in my life – even though I thought that I used very little – it is hard to know where to start and in this great plastic soup, does my little reduction make any difference?
YES IT DOES – if we all become more aware and reduce our reliance on plastic and change our mindset we can make a difference!
There are also many benefits. Over the last six months I have felt that I am surrounded by STUFF, LOTS AND LOTS OF STUFF – its making me uncomfortable, especially now as I realise that I use only a portion of it and it needs looking after – taking up a lot of my time that could be spent doing the things I enjoy. Bit by bit, I am reducing it, but more importantly I’m not buying any new stuff to continue the clutter.
MY PLASTIC REDUCTION TIPS
BUY local – visit your local greengrocer and butcher where you can buy items in the quantities you want – saving plastic and money. Use old bags for fresh produce, bring back your old egg boxes and use washed take away cartons for your meat. As well as waste reduction this keeps our towns vibrant and supports our local businesses!
COOK daily – make a weekly meal plan and cook simple meals during the week, curries, stir fries, risotto – all made quickly and use the leftovers for lunch the next day. Make a big salad once or twice a week to use with a simple fish meal or again for lunch. Bake a cake once a week and use that for a treat rather then plastic covered, processed biscuits.
CLEAN simply – Use Ecloths or a brand like Norwex which trap the dirt with just water – my favourite thing about these is that I no longer get chemical smears on glass etc and certainly cleaning the bathroom is so much quicker!
SKIN kind – Change to soap instead of shower gels, cleansers, shampoo and conditioner – wash from head to toe with a Shampoo soap – also use as a shave foam!
These small changes are as much for your benefit as the planet – just think everything above means that you don’t need to buy so much STUFF – which gives you more money, which in turn means you need to work less – giving you time to be and to enjoy your life, today and right now!
So start today, small changes by us all, helping the world and making us a little bit happier x
