Zero Waste Kit

This weekend, I got to use my zero waste kit. I felt very uncomfortable.

It was new & different and that new & different-ness was public.

But let’s back up. You may be asking, “what is a zero waste kit?”.

GREAT QUESTION

A zero waste kit is essentially a variety of items that you take out and about with you to help prevent you from having to use a disposable item when disposable is all that’s available. I kind of equate it to the backpacking mantra, “Pack it in – Pack it out.”

They have many fancy zero waste kits on sale like this one which all fits in a mason jar, but I opted instead to use things I already have around the house, because I already have all of this stuff around my house. Plus the ones for sale typically cost around $50 – $60. Yeah…I’m not paying that…

In my kit, from the left, I have a bag to carry it all from (made years ago from an old t-shirt that was too small, but I still liked because it was Harry Potter), a container for leftover food that can also double as a plate, a pouch of silverware with chopsticks a reusable straw and a cloth napkin, a dish towel which is a cheese cloth, a reusable water bottle, a reusable coffee mug, a reusable shopping bag, and the 2 pouches at the bottom are for clean handkerchiefs and dirty handkerchiefs instead of Kleenex.

From reading a little bit on zero waste kits, it sounds as if people don’t carry ALL this around ALL the time, but they try to think ahead and be prepared. Mine has been living in my mom mini-van since I made it. And there are many examples and better explanations out there from people who use them routinely, so if you’re interested, it’s worth a quick google search.

I sewed the pouch for my silverware myself, mostly because I had my eye on these silverware pouches on Amazon for camping purposes and I was going to put them on Christmas list, but even before I fell down the zero waste rabbit hole, I decided it was wasteful because I could buy silverware at Goodwill. Which I’m still intending to do, but the one time I’ve been able to go in the past 2 weeks – they didn’t have any. So I still hope to go and find some good silverware for camping. And now to add to a family zero waste kit.

Back to my uncomfortable-ness.

Yesterday, I went out with my sister, brother, and sister-in-law. I brought my zero waste kit with me and we got Starbucks (a common sister occurrence!) and I used my reusable cup and got 10 cents off – WIN! No issues there.

For lunch, we went to Bi Bi Bop, which is essentially An Asian Grille… Chipotle style. Not knowing what it was (and thinking it looked very fancy), I only brought in my purse which happened to have my silverware pouch and my water bottle. But Bi Bi Bop had disposable items….wop wop.

And I was mad at myself for not even bringing in my bag (it would have been so easy!) and it would have been the perfect opportunity to start honing my awkward assertiveness that is going to have to come with this.

But it was really cold out. And the line was really long and growing.

So I didn’t go back out for it. Which I’m a little ashamed of. I opted to refuse a drink since it was a single use plastic cup (and they had some super cool sodas and flavored green teas that I probably would have drank even though I’m typically a water girl). I was able to use my chopsticks and give my fork to my sister. And although I took home leftovers and had to take a plastic lid, the lid is in my recycling and I cut apart the bottom paper dish and added it to my compost bin. Baby Steps. 

Today, we had a lunch after church that I had forgotten about and I was scrambling to gather reusable items for everyone in my family. I grabbed the stainless steel plates that I bought this past fall for camping, silverware, cloth napkins, and reusable cups. Keep in mind, I’m the mom who always forgets bibs and sippy cups for her kids, so this was a momentous occasion for me.

And I made my family use them. And I was proud, but super uncomfortable. The stainless steel plates were like glittering disco balls under the fluorescent lights – which got a lot of attention and therefore got a lot of comments. Not negative comments, but I was definitely aware of how different my family was and felt like a bright spotlight was shining on us. And different, today, was awkward and uncomfortable for me.

However, I know that it will get better with time. Actually.…I’m just hoping it will get better with time. That’s what this is all about. Making this my new norm.

It’s not like it took me that long to clean up afterwards. I stacked all the plates and the silverware into the mesh bag the plates came in and it took me about a minute to rinse them all at home and drop them in the dishwasher. It’s the perfect zero waste thing to do! It fits perfectly with my whole initiative!!!

But I was aware of my uncomfortable feelings and kept wishing that we could go back to last night when I got to have zero waste fun with a bath bomb and my kids were super excited and everyone was happy.

I can see some improvements I want to make on my ZW kit (that’s what the cool kids call ’em):

• I’m going to look for a different bag to carry it all in.
• I actually want to look for a better food container that will have a lid and I’d like a solution to dirty dishes so the gross stuff won’t get all over.
• I would like to make an all the time family zero waste kit.

My plan is to keep at it (next weekend will be a good opportunity for me to try again) and see if it gets easier with time. And to pretend I have more confidence than I actually have, and be more assertive and confident. #goodplan #itsalligot