Less Plastic!

In the past year, Enviro-Girl has really, really tried to reduce her use of plastic–both the credit card kind and the packaging kind.  She recognizes that she lives in a world rapidly self-destructing and her contributions matter.  She does a lot of fine things–she plants trees, grows some of her family’s own food, and stays away from the mall.  But purchasing and throwing away less plastic, that was hard work.  But her family has done it–they drag their recycling barrel to the curb once a month these days and have actually reduced their garbage output dramatically, too.

How?

*  Buying milk in reusable glass jugs.  (This was the biggest space-saver in the recycling bin.)

*  Refusing plastic shopping bags and bringng their own reusable canvas or paper bags to the store.

*  Reusing plastic bakery bags from bread and hot dog buns for wrapping all kinds of things:  to-go food for school lunches or picnics, double-bagging open bags of chips/cheese/crackers, wrapping up gifts of homemade bread or cookies rather than using new plastic ziplock bags.

*  Buying frozen concentrate juice and making their own juice at home–saving both money and packaging.

*  Buying blocks of cream cheese and storing it in a glass jar for morning bagels.

*  Buying sticks of butter instead of plastic tubs of margarine.

*  Leaving the plastic hangers behind at the store when they buy clothes.

*  Packing lunches in reusable containers rather than ziplock baggies.

*  Freezing garden produce in jars and reusable containers instead of freezer bags.

*  Using bar soap instead of liquid soap.

*  Using fewer products altogether–Team Testosterone never cared much for bubble bath anyway and how many hair care/skin care products does a person need to buy?  For housekeeping, bleach works well in the laundry and for cleaning toilet bowls, so Enviro-Girl no longer buys a separate toilet bowl cleaner.

*  Declining the cheap plastic crap toys offered at restaurants and stores–Team Testosterone has learned that their good behavior is it’s own reward–and ice cream cones work quite well, too!

*  Reusing plastic containers for all kinds of household jobs.  Old Cool Whip container lids make great saucers for potted plants–protecting wood surfaces from scratches and water damage.  Clear plastic containers work as excellent “greenhouses” when placed over young plants in the garden.  Gallon ice cream buckets hold toys, seeds, dirt, berries, compost, and Halloween candy.

*  If a product can be purchased wrapped in paper (for example, cat litter, baking soda, birdseed), that’s the product Enviro-Girl buys.

*  Enviro-Girl’s family brings their own water rather than buying bottled water/soft drinks.

*  Nixing any individually wrapped food–it’s as easy to buy a whole box of cracker and shake out how many you want to eat.

*  If a metal or wood version of a product is available (lawn chair, garbage can, child’s toy), Enviro-Girl always goes for the higher quality metal or wood version.  It may cost more, but she’s all about quality over quantity.

How about you, reader?  How have you reduced your use of plastic lately?