I’ve been avoiding grocery shopping because I know it is going to cause this major internal battle within me between price, convenience, and the stuff I like to eat. Like an Avenger level epic battle against Thanos, but all inside. I’m realizing this zero waste initiative may make me a healthier eater. Weird.

Since moving to Ohio, I’ve grocery shopped at Aldi. I’ve been their BIGGEST advocate. These are a few of my favorite things about Aldi:

• They don’t have plastic shopping bags
• They’re a small store, with only one option for each product (I’m super indecisive), so it’s fast
• I get to bag my own groceries
• They are wicked fast at check out
• LOW PRICES LOW PRICES LOW PRICES
• Their organic variety is great
• I find awesome things there other than food like pajama pants, boots, and storage bins

But what I’ve realized since examining my trash (way too thoroughly), is that many of their products are packaged in non-recyclable packaging. Wop wop. And to make their check-out so speedy, almost all their produce comes pre-packaged in single use plastic. Triple wop.

I contacted Aldi about their environmental action plan and I TRULY feel like they are trying for environmental sustainability. Their response was short, so I’m including it here:

Dear Mrs. Marks,

Thank you for contacting us. 

Our Corporate Responsibility Principles outline our hope of becoming a zero-waste company. We believe that our success depends on raw materials of all our products being sourced and produced in a sustainable way. We always try to reduce, reuse and recycle packaging. We also want to empower consumers to recycle packaging materials whenever possible, and we’re committed to clearly labeling product packaging with instructions for disposal. Finally, in an effort to continually improve the quality of the products sold in our stores – including reducing the environmental impact – we review our standards annually and collaborate with our suppliers to identify areas of improvement and best practices.

If you’d like more information on our approach to sustainability, please check out our ALDI Corporate Responsibility Principles here: https://corporate.aldi.us/fileadmin/fm-dam/Corporate_Responsibility/CR_Updates/CR_Principles.pdf

Kind regards,

ALDI Customer Service

Argh. I believe all of that because I feel like I have seen the evidence from shopping there. I just wish they were where I want them to be NOW. (I’m finding this is making me impatient.)

I was thinking, perhaps, I would start shopping at Giant Eagle again because I know I can get produce not pre-packaged in plastic and I was sure they would have more variety of non-plastic packaging. I was so positive that this was going to be my new one-stop shop that when I went on Friday, I was looking all around…assessing my new digs, and decided to swagger on up to the deli counter to ask if they would let me bring my own containers for lunch meat.

My dreams died quickly. I talked to 2 people there who were like, “yeah…that would be OK”, but then the first one went to ask the manager to make sure and the manager said no. Wop wop. I had been hoping to talk to someone at the butcher counter about the same thing, but decided that was now out of the question. And my groceries cost WAY more than I felt they should, especially since I wasn’t particularly happy with my experience. Triple wop.

(Side Note: I’m also pretty sure that I am possibly one of the first people to ever ask my local establishments about zero waste initiatives. If one of my 4 readers shops in Hartville and feels like stirring things up, don’t be afraid to start asking about zero waste things like bringing your own containers. Stores won’t know unless multiple people Make Some Noise for cutting out plastic. And if you don’t live in Hartville, maybe stir things up in your own town. Yay…join the trouble makers…)

So while I was happy that everything I bought on Friday was at the very least recyclable (minus a bag of shredded cheese…) or plastic free, I didn’t feel it was a sustainable switch. Wop Wop. This won’t stop me though.

I have plans to check out the Co-op in Kent, 10 minutes in the wrong direction from my work, and I’ve already called the local Butcher who said they wouldn’t see a problem with me bringing my own containers. They’re somewhat on my route to work so I’ll be checking them out this week and seeing if that seems like a good switch. My dream is to have as few stops as possible when grocery shopping. It really makes me miss the grocery stores in Washington State that already had this available to their shoppers.

I also found this really cool app from Zero Waste Home that lets you enter your address and it will tell you places nearby that sell items in bulk (aka, bring your own container for zero waste). I think you can also ADD places that you know of that have bulk products.

Oh, and I called the Giant Eagle in Green (the next town over) and asked about bringing my own containers to the deli counter. While I could tell it was the first time it’s been asked (…it’s becoming a little fun for me now…), they said they didn’t see why it would be a problem.  Interesting. 🙂

(For the record, I don’t think the people at the Hartville Giant Eagle are trying to be mean or anti-environment, I just think they don’t know or understand the intent behind zero waste. All the more reason to keep Making Some Noise. And that’s just what I plan on doing.)

When I first decided to make some zero waste changes, I was whipped into a frenzy and wanted to do everything all at once! Some may call that crazy…I like to think of it as passionate. And perhaps slightly eccentric…

My first priority had been thinking of the trash that I currently throw away and the three big ones that came to mind were fruit snack wrappers, applesauce pouches (and lids), and butter wrappers. In retrospect, those are just the things I throw away most frequently because we go through those 3 things, like…well…like butta’.

When I looked into making my own butter, I seriously couldn’t believe how easy it was. Whipping cream and 3 minutes in a mixer?? Done and done. It was so easy. And it is seriously THE BEST BUTTER I have EVER eaten! I know it seems cliche to say that, but it’s true. My kids just wanted to eat it on a spoon and I felt I couldn’t deny them this sweet ambrosia from the Gods, so I let them. (Just one small spoonful.)

There are lots of videos and tutorials out there – I watched multiple videos. Pour whipping cream into a mixer, start it on low for about 30 seconds, then whip it on high until it makes butter, (past the whipped cream stage) you’ll know when it gets chunky with a liquid in the bowl. It takes about 3 minutes. Squeeze the butter together, draining out some of the buttermilk byproduct, and store in the refrigerator (I put mine in a glass mason jar). Or a classy butter crock.

I feel everyone should try to make it at least once, just for the experience. Just so you can brag and say… I’ve Made Butter. And it was delicious.

It was also nice being able to resurrect my Le Creuset butter crock from the basement to put said butter in. I asked for the butter crock many years ago for Christmas because I thought it was classy and would therefore, in turn, make me classy. I eventually got tired of putting my store-bought butter into a butter crock when I could just unwrap a stick and put it on a butter plate. It was much simpler. I now wonder if classy people with butter crocks make their own butter to put into their butter crocks. It would make sense. And now it’s just another one of life’s great mysteries. Probably only to me.

In terms of zero waste, I don’t know if I’ll maintain it. For starters, I normally buy real butter in sticks in a box. I can recycle the cardboard box and in my early zero waste fever, I was looking for another option because I normally throw away the wax paper wrapper. But I found this article on 15 ways to Reuse Your Butter Wrapper to rethink how I use it before throwing it away. Whipping cream comes in a carton that I think is a plastic hybrid material with a plastic pour spout, which is more plastic than buying butter in a box. Seems a little wrong, even if I can recycle the entire thing. (On the other hand, it was sooooo good….) Maybe I’ll find heavy whipping cream without plastic and at a good price to make it worthwhile since it’s definitely easy to make.

Anyone else see or hear about this story? I first saw it here on my Echo Spot:

And then my brother sent me this link to an article about it. See – I KNEW New Zealand was super environmentally friendly…still not positive about that national plastic bag ban, but I don’t want to look it up and possibly ruin the beautiful image I have in my mind of New Zealand. I feel like other countries are taking WAY more initiative on banning single use plastics and cutting out plastics than the US. And that makes me sad. I’ll make sure to share the responses I got from my elected representatives from my emails.

I’m still trying to figure out how to keep my grocery shopping simple while being plastic and trash conscious. I don’t have a solution yet. I tried out my new zero-waste mascara today…jury is still out. I want to give it a few more days before I pass any judgement on it.

Update: So…I had a beautifully written and edited post for this, complete with pictures and everything! – but for some reason, a much earlier draft was published. It’s super weird and I’m assuming it’s because I’m going back and forth between my phone and my Chromebook now. So this is a slightly different re-write. I wish you all could have read the original post. It was AMAZING! My best one yet. But I guess you’ll never know…

I’ve been comparing this zero waste thing with training for a marathon. Well…comparing in my mind…the people around me don’t want to talk about zero waste as much as I think about it in my mind. But I forgot how much it stinks to start training for running and I am definitely at the point of zero waste where my lungs are burning and my legs hurt.

Who’s stupid idea was this? Ugh…

Yesterday, I went to go visit my Grandma in Northwest Ohio, which was an overnight trip. Previously, when we’ve visited and I’m on my game and well-planned out, I can plan and pack food to bring with us. I am not currently on my game, which means no plan, no food, so we went to McDonald’s. It was not a zero waste day. Fast food is certainly not a zero waste venture.

But I was able to take a few small steps, even in the drive thru. I got 2 happy meals for my kids and I told the drive thru attendant that I was trying to go green and have minimal waste so they could put both Happy Meals into one box. I also didn’t get a drink and went with water instead and of course, declined plastic straws (aka, the devil’s pitchforks) for my boy’s milk. I plan on recycling the bag and the happy meal box since they were relatively clean, as well as the plastic wrap that the toys came in.

Yep…just ran a half mile without stopping…slow progress…

Not perfect, but it was one of those times where I had to be OK with it and be proud of taking the small steps that I could take. I’m hoping to actually figure out a good way to get take out food or even fast food using reusable, plastic-free containers. I’m not there yet. I certainly won’t be shy about asking, I just want a good action plan so I seem well-informed before I ask. Not that having an awkward encounter with complete and total strangers will NOT be out of the ordinary for me. So I don’t know what I’m worried about.

My mom (Hi, Mom!) gave me an article from the Canton Repository (a local newspaper) about Grinders (a local restaurant) and how they’ve teamed up with some students from Mt. Union College to eliminate plastic straws in their restaurant. I think Grinders is going to be the PERFECT starting point to ask about getting take away in a reusable container. I don’t have a plan yet – what I’m thinking is we’d call in an order, explain the situation, and ask them to “plate it up” and then we come early with our containers and transfer it into the containers. It’s a thought. I have yet to google other people’s solutions.

I’ve also realized that typically, all my eco-friendly solutions from the past have been replacing single use plastic with multi-use plastic. I’m trying to get away from that. For example, here are the reusable sandwich bags that I bought from Target about 5 years ago:

Last summer we vacationed in the Outer Banks with my extended family. I, being the GREAT mom and Auntie that I am, packed an ENTIRE reusable grocery bag just chock full of juice boxes for the kids. So great! I’m so great! As I sat on the beach and looked around, I began to notice all the single use plastic straws and wrappers from OTHER GREAT moms and Aunties that had been left on the beach. And I started picking them up. And I vowed, “NO MORE JUICE BOXES!” So I quickly ordered these:

So cool, right?? I’ve gotten many compliments on them. They were advertised as nearly indestructible or something like that (not a direct quote). Here’s the direct quote: “Made with extremely durable USA Tritan”. Guess whose toddler takes an advertisement like that as a challenge? (Hint: It’s MINE.)

I was chatting with his preschool teacher after school and quite naturally, he took that opportunity to open his lunch bag and throw the green juice box on the ground with impressive force. Because that’s just what you do with expensive reusable juice box containers. The lid busted. I’m trying to decide if I want to PAY for a PLASTIC replacement lid. I don’t want to put more plastic into the waste stream, but at the same time, my kids have the belief that if their sibling is given something that they don’t have, then they are entitled to gouge the other’s eyes out with their fingernails. While screaming. Loudly.

So I may eventually replace it just so I can have 2 for my 2 kids, because they have come in SUPER handy, but I’m scouting slowly for a plastic-free solution. It has been really nice for getting rid of single use juice boxes – I haven’t bought them since last June. And I emailed the Plastic Free Shop to ask if they have a solution and encouraged them to make one.

I’m also trying to stop buying stuff. Specifically plastic junk, but stop being an overt consumer. And be smarter about my purchases. For example, for Christmas, my 3 year old wanted Legos and got Legos. Lots of tiny plastic Legos… (That was fake angst – I can’t fault Legos for being plastic – I think they’re great and a quality toy.) My first impulse was to run out and buy a plastic storage container to keep them in (Ha…like they get kept in ANY container besides the floor…), but I didn’t. I had stopped at Goodwill to look for Silverware to keep in my car/zero waste kits and found this used bread box:

Which now houses Legos:

I feel better about my chances of fixing this box if it ever breaks over a broken plastic storage container. We’ll see how it lasts…

The irony of trying to stop buying “stuff” is that I’ve purchased lots of zero waste stuff. 🙂 All in the name of Science! Because you won’t know until you try something! So far, I’ve purchased bamboo toothbrushes (arrived – tried them! like them!), zero waste mascara, lip balm, and deodorant (not arrived). Oh, and a bidet (so amazing – wish we hadn’t waited so long), but that’s a post for another day. 🙂 Little by Little, folks – Little by Little.

(Disclaimer: I know I’m putting a lot of links and specific products into this blog, but I want to state for the record that I AM not getting paid or asked to write about ANY products. Nor do I guarantee that ANY of these products will work for you. I’m simply trying to document what I already do and the zero waste changes I’m making to help inspire others to think about their trash and become a smart consumer. Simple, right?)

I make my own dry shampoo.

I was intrigued (and I still am) by all the women who only wash their hair like once a week. I ASPIRE to be that woman. I fail miserably every time I try. It may partly be because when I’m training and running routinely, I shower after every run because I’m a sweaty beast.  And it’s routine to wash my hair. I probably also fail at the once a week washing because I don’t put it on before my hair gets greasy (is that the secret??). I tried Batiste dry shampoo and some other brands I can’t remember now. Some were OK…others stunk. I don’t think any of the bottles were recyclable.

So I made my own from a recipe on Pinterest. Here’s a link to the website with the recipe. I’ve been making my own for about 2 years and I really like it. (Side note: I was recently at the salon and was walking up to the register with a $28 bottle of dry shampoo that I had been talked into…and then finally my brain caught up to what I was doing. I can think of SO MANY OTHER THINGS I want to spend $28 on, and I put it back.)

It’s 2 parts cocoa powder to 1 part cornstarch. Pretty sure the cocoa powder is just for people with darker hair and it can be adjusted based on your hair color. I apply it with an old giant makeup brush, brushing it through multiple sections of the roots of my hair. I let it sit. I brush it out. I move on with my day. I store it in a glass Pyrex bowl on the shelf in my bathroom.

The best part is when I wash my hair after using this (and I usually use it every other day), my shower smells like Hot Chocolate. There’s recipes for blondes on Pinterest too (I would bet it’s just corn starch. How easy is it just to keep corn starch in your bathroom? Man, it’s not fair that blondes have all the fun AND all the luck…).

Easy peasy lemon squeezey. Oh, and if you’re one of the no-wash hair girls…please tell me your secret!

I’m investigating zero waste shampoo and conditioners to try out and I’m open to suggestions if anyone has any.  I previously had tried the No ‘Poo method where you use a baking soda rinse and then an apple cider vinegar rinse. People RAVE about it. I learned my water is WAY too hard for it. I gave it 3 months. My hair started dreading and literally got in my face and begged me to wash it. If you have great water, you may want to check out the No ‘Poo method. Or if you have any great zero waste suggestions or DIY, I’d love to hear them because the search is on.

Before I had kids and I had a life and was a person, I made my own cleaning supplies. Back then, my goal was to cut out the use of harsh chemicals and to save a little money. It met both of those goals and especially now, with small children in the house, it feels good to not have extremely toxic chemicals below every sink. (Not that I want my kids chowing down on my homemade stuff, but it makes me feel much better that I won’t catch them downing a shaker of Comet like it’s dinosaur sprinkles.) Also, making your own cleaning products is a great way to go zero waste.

(Ugh…see, I was just looking up information for this post and I read one of those scary statistics. Apparently right now….ok, no this was from LAST YEAR, there’s enough plastic garbage in our world to bury the city of Manhattan 2 miles deep. We only recycle 9% of our plastics and 12% is burned – leading to greenhouse gases and global warning. We can do so much better – we need to make some noise and cut out the plastics you guys!)

But I digress…

When I use the term “I clean my house with…” I’m using that term loosely because I really don’t clean. My house is filthy most of the time. It was one of those things that after I had kids and I was stressing over keeping a clean house and I felt I was cleaning and cleaning and cleaning with no lasting results that I just had to let go of it. I’m not saying it’s better, it’s what I did to survive and I frequently wish my house were cleaner. I just sometimes prioritize other things. Like running and my sanity. (And don’t get me started on our everlasting gender stereotypical roles that the female should be the one to maintain the house. I work full time too! I STILL know what needs to be done around the house so why can’t men do that too? Why should I be the one to make a list of housework if we’re equal partners?)

But once again…I digress…

Microfiber cloths are amazing and you can clean your house with only these cloths and water. It’s true! Look up the studies, because I’m not going to do it for you! I (unfortunately) have some cheap ones that I bought at a flea market and some others that I got at Bed Bath & Beyond. They’re made of polyester and nylon (wop-wop….plastic). I use green for the bathroom, orange for the kitchen, and purple for the rest of the house. I feel PRETTY positive my husband does not know that. 🙂 Still, I’ve had them for many years and they’ve kept me chemical free in MANY regards and they’re still in great shape. Use them in place of paper towels for cleaning (and save money by not buying loads of paper towels and throwing them in the trash! That’s just money in the trashcan.).

Norwex is a popular brand of microfiber cloth (I don’t know what they’re made of and I was looking into that when I saw the above scary statistic so I stopped looking because my anxiety got high. Go do it yourself!), and many people swear by them. I have a few and I also like e-cloth. I have their mop. I really like said mop. Just run it under water, it connects to the mop handle with velcro, MOP, and then throw it in the laundry. I remember thinking when I got it that I should buy a spare e-cloth for the mop, but I didn’t and I really haven’t needed one. And mopping is probably the one thing we do the most of because of stepped on fruit snacks and grapes and sticky kid fingers all over the floor.

One of my favorite cleaners, I made up the quantities myself based off of an ingredient list of a cleaning scrub at a lavender gift shop. I use it (occasionally…) to clean out my sinks and my tub. Even my stainless steel kitchen sink. It’s equal parts of Baking Soda, Borax, and Table Salt and add some drops of your favorite essential oil – I have always used Lavender. (It was really tough to come up with those quantities…gold star to me!) I wet my sink, sprinkle this in, grab a microfiber cloth and wipe it all off, rinse, and dry. It sparkles! And I really like sparkles and should clean with it more often. (…I don’t)

I tend to make a big batch at once (so I usually do a cup of each of the ingredients) and I separate it into these old glass salsa jars that I spray-painted with chalkboard paint. I used to have them labeled with chalk, but in case you haven’t caught on, there’s a theme that’s entered into my life. Maybe you can go back and re-read for context clues to figure it out. 🙂

I also made my own “Endust” dusting spray which I definitely found on Pinterest. 1 Cup water, 1/4 white vinegar, 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, and Essential Oil of your choice (I use Lemon). Not being fully “awake” to plastic as I am now, I put it in a plastic spray bottle. If I were starting over, I would get a good quality glass spray bottle. (Unless I had an empty plastic spray bottle laying around my house.) I won’t be getting rid of my plastic spray bottle unless it breaks, because that would be wasteful. Shake it before you spray it – I use it with a microfiber cloth as well. It’s really a good mix!

Once upon a time, I used to take an orange peel and put it in a jar with vinegar to make a nice orange-infused vinegar for cleaning. It was cool and smelled nice… it was just something that went by the wayside with my new life theme. I also use vinegar to clean my toilets. (….when I clean them…) I remember when I was looking into getting rid of chemical cleaners, reading something along the lines of, “do you want your house to be clean or smell clean?” A lot of the chemical cleaners out there have an overpowering smell that we associate with being clean. But products like vinegar and baking soda and microfiber cloths STILL clean, you just don’t get the over-powering bleach smell. So it’s different. And many people associate different with bad. (For the record, it’s not.)

I still have many plastics in my cleaning supplies, but I don’t feel I’m ever recycling plastic cleaning bottles or throwing them in the trash (not all can be recycled). I like to think my plastics are reusable. I also still have multiple Method brand cleaning sprays that I requested when I was pregnant with my firstborn (4 years ago) that I still have not used up. We use them occasionally. All my brooms and dustpans are plastic and as they break (which I’m sure they will), my goal is to replace them with a zero waste option. Like a pioneer-esque wooden broom (not a joke). But those changes will come as I need to replace items that I already have in my house.

There are so many other recipes and ideas for zero waste cleaning on the internet and Pinterest. I liked this post here. But really, I wanted to share what I already do and what I would change. Happy Cleaning!

P.S. ~ I heard back from Proctor & Gamble specifically about Secret deodorant and Crest products which are the 2 products I emailed them about. While they gave lots of statistics about how they’re helping the environment…they said that they hope to have recyclable and reusable packaging by 2030. ELEVEN YEARS. And it doesn’t even sound like they’re doing it for ALL of their brands and products! Think of all the trash that will make in ELEVEN YEARS. While there was more said in the email, here’s a copy and pasted quote from them:

“Our Ambition 2030 goals include: Brands: P&G’s 20 leadership brands including Always, Ariel, Dawn, Fairy, Febreze, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Pampers, and Tide will enable and inspire responsible consumption through packaging that is 100% recyclable or reusable, building trust through ingredient transparency on 100% of brands, and launching more sustainable innovations.” 

Go. Make. Some. Noise. It doesn’t take long to send an email.

P.P.S. ~ My first 4 pack of bamboo toothbrushes arrived yesterday! While I’m still going to finish the brush on my Sonicare toothbrush (because it would be wasteful to get rid of it now), I used one last night and it was great! It’s definitely different from a Sonicare, but I feel it’s going to be an easy switch.

One thing I like about taking a zero waste initiative is that it’s making me think a lot and reflect on my trash, recycling, and me as a consumer.

One thing I don’t like about taking a zero waste initiative is that it’s making me think a lot and reflect on my trash, recycling, and me as a consumer.

Nobody likes to think about their trash or how we, as humans, are harming the environment. We are very fortunate in many ways because typically, in America, we pay people to cart our trash away and we give it no further thought. Which is great…but means that many people don’t think about their trash and won’t until it’s knocking on their door. Which probably won’t happen in any of our lifetimes…but it means leaving a mess for future generations. Which isn’t cool.

Anyway, yesterday we all partied like it was 1999. So today, we had some really cranky boys and lots of naps. And for me lots of thoughts:

-I wish it wasn’t called zero waste. I feel like that puts on a lot of pressure to be all or nothing. Which I think can turn a lot of people off of even trying anything, because why try if you still have waste? I guess zero waste SHOULD be the goal and can understand why it’s called that. Remember, that ANY reduction in waste is a major win.

–Why did I post about toothpaste first??? If 1 of my 4 readers doesn’t do anything eco-weird yet…TOOTHPASTE is NOT the place to start!!! There are much better starting places, like reusable bags and recycling! Ugh…I’ve now turned off 3 people off of zero waste. Hopefully my mom is still reading (Hi, mom!). Which brings me to…

-Should I write this blog to record my changes or inspire others? Do I post about eco-things I already do? What’s the best approach? Does it matter? Do I care how organized or what order my posts are in? (I mean, of course I care – I teach writing and organization to America’s youth! But do I really care? Really?)

-I had no idea there were already SO MANY zero waste things out there! Holy moly, Pinterest and Etsy have so many things to look at for zero waste! All the more reason to write down any and all changes I make and think about because sometimes people JUST DON’T KNOW. Just like how I don’t know many of these things.

-I don’t need to rush out and buy all new expensive eco-stuff right now. I just want to. And a want is not a need. But as things break, look into eco-friendly options and try my best to avoid plastic. And don’t feel guilty for really liking all my Tupperware.

-I’m going to have to give myself a pass for a little while on food. And that’s OK. I really want to start right away, but changes need to be sustainable too and it’s important to not make too many changes at one time or else I may give up. It’s more important to do it right, than to do it fast. So it’s OK to go for the slow play in some areas. Like cheese. I’m not giving up cheese. WE are not giving up cheese.

-My target starting place for food packaging is going to be starting on those items that have packaging that can’t be recycled. Like meat. Then, slowly work on reducing plastic recyclables. It’s going to stink. That’s a big change. I need to suck it up and try it though.

-I’m not going to stop buying frozen, processed chicken nuggets and fruit snacks for my kids, even though I can’t recycle the packages. They LOVE both of those and I think going cold turkey would be like getting the gremlins wet. BUT…I am going to try to REDUCE the amount we let them eat those. And I will stop handing out packages of fruit snacks constantly to keep them quiet. And stop them whining. Fruit snacks are not the answer. I can be a good mom. Repeat. I can be a good mom.

-Although I’m interested in trying (and probably will for the sake of Science), I’m pretty sure I don’t have the time to make my own fruit snacks. Even though I think I’d feel like Super Woman if they were awesome and I made them myself. …I think I’d like to feel like Super Woman for a day…should I try making them while wearing spandex and a cape or is that too much?

-Is the only solution to go zero waste for milk by buying a cow? Because that’s just not happening… (Although if I did get a cow I would love my cow. And name her Lyla. And make her flower chains to wear.)

-REALLY need to work on being more diligent about menu planning and I do not need to stockpile things.

–Having kids made me get a little lazy in many areas. I should clean more… That has nothing to do with zero waste…I still should do it…

-How am I EVER going to pick a different deodorant and lip balm??? I still have a stockpile of both, but I should start now to experiment.

-I should come up with a solution to my flimsy plastic recycling because this collection of random bags is really annoying. I wish I could give it fruit snacks to make it go away.

I don’t have a good conclusion section for this post, so I’m going to default to generic student conclusion statement: “And those are some of my current thoughts on zero waste.”  Jazz hands.

Disclaimer: If I link to things, first of all – be proud because it means I did it successfully. But I’m not getting paid or a commission or anything. HA…I have like 4 readers… And one of them is my mom (Hi, Mom!) 🙂

You may be thinking, “this Julie girl is nuts – there’s no way I’m making my own toothpaste (or insert other zero waste initiative here)“. First of all you’re not far off on the nuts thing. But you can start here. Reusable bags.

Truth be told, I’m frustrated we still have plastic bags.  I feel like I hear so often about cities, towns, and countries banning them that I don’t know why we STILL have them! (For some reason I have it my mind that New Zealand has no plastic bags whatsoever… Now that I’m trying to think of where I heard it, I may have made that up. …It’s a pretty thought though. 🙂 ….So, just remember… if New Zealand CAN do it, WE can do it TOO!).  We seriously need to ban them. It’s time. (Go look up scary statistic of how many there are and how they’re killing wildlife. I don’t want to do it.)

I’ve been using reusable bags for years. I can’t remember exactly, but I feel like I started in 2009/2010. So roughly 8+ years. Funny thing, I still have a giant basket of plastic bags at my house. I still amass them in large quantities. Probably because a lot of people know that I will take all their hand me downs and junk and the most common way to transfer things is unfortunately, using plastic bags. Because nobody cares about them. It’s time to care about them.

By ignoring them and delighting in their slow but inevitable demise.  That’s right, I’m a teacher and I’m telling you to bully plastic bags by excluding them from your life and friend group.

Just say no. I am not perfect and I do NOT always have a reusable bag with me. Sometimes, if I’m buying a small amount of items – I just say in a sickly sweet girl voice, “Oh…hehehe…I don’t need a bag! I just get SO many plastic bags, ya know?”  and I carry my stuff out without a bag. Or put it in my purse. Or sometimes, if I’m buying a large amount of items, I put my stuff back in the cart, transfer it item by item to my car, and then transfer it item by item into my house. That’s how hardcore I am.

Usually though, I have one of these babies with me:A reusable bag that you can tuck into a small attached stuff sack. Perfect for a purse or pocket in your husband’s cargo shorts. If you’re lucky, you can get them for free and help advertise for an insurance company you don’t use.  Chico bag is a popular brand, but my favorite are the little Green Shopper Tote in the bottom left.Look guys, this one is a Christmas tree!

Not all reusable bags are created equal. We have so many of these generic reusable grocery bags (which you can find at any store right now), but guess what? They tend to break quickly and they’re all made of plastic. I’ve sewn many repairs in them and I’ve started to donate them with other items bound for a thrift store. Still, these bags are good place to start!

Last year, I ended up with a second canvas bag from a Christmas present and it was meant for groceries (they used to come in a 2 pack). I used it for school until one day, I needed a grocery bag so I dumped out all my school stuff and took it in the store with me. It was amazing! So sturdy! So large! Such perfect handles! So I bought 4 more and outfitted them with vinyl, iron on decals, because unlike Jennifer Aniston in Office Space, I love to talk about my flair.  I use them for everything and as my other plastic reusable bags die a slow and painful death, I’ll order more. And I probably won’t add any future flair as part of my zero waste quest, but I wouldn’t deprive or judge anyone else of fun iron on decals. Especially the glitter ones.

And reusable produce bags are great. I first ordered some woven, thick organic cotton produce bags, but it was hard to see the produce through them. I bought these mesh ones at my grocery store and only have good things to say about them:

(They’re upside down. Disclaimer: Don’t use them upside down. I just learned how to upload photos, no clue how to rotate.)

In case you’re wondering, you can probably recycle your flimsy plastic shopping bags and produce bags at your local grocery store. I know I can at the Hartville Giant Eagle. Along with any other flimsy plastic like plastic wrap, bubble wrap, produce bags, plastic tortilla bags, ziploc bags. Those annoying miniature plastic button bags that you get with sweaters and don’t ever need until right after you get rid of it. As long as it’s clean and dry. So even if a flimsy plastic bag gets a rip in it, recycle it properly. That way it doesn’t end up in trees. Or fields. (They will eventually end up in the ocean.) Next time you’re out for a drive, just look around (safely) and see how many plastic bags you see in trees. Or fields. Start counting. Then start rooting for their demise like you’re a villain and use some reusable bags.

P.S. – Did you know you can wash and reuse your ziploc bags? By hand and even in the top rack of your dishwasher?

One of my first zero waste switches has been toothpaste. I personally have found it simple. (Granted…it’s only been about 3 days of new toothpaste, so it’s a bit novel still) And perhaps it was simple because I am somewhat accustomed to making eco-friendly changes. In all honesty, when I made some zero waste switches years ago (i.e. using coconut oil as a facewash/make up remover and a menstrual cup), I can definitely remember thinking,

“wow, this is weird…am I weird? is this stupid?  why do I do things like this?”

And eventually,

“Julie…good for you!  What an amazing switch!  You are AWESOME for helping the environment and deserve a gold star!”

Ah….inner monologue slash internal life narration. Where would I be without you? 🙂

Anyways, I wasn’t too nervous about the switch and was prepared for it to be different than what I’m used it. I was more worried that it would be REALLY disgusting, but besides the obvious differences of not being blasted by an overpowering mint flavor that toothpaste companies include to make you crave it and the fact that this toothpaste doesn’t foam – I feel it gets my teeth just as clean. Without a disposable plastic tube and lid. I guess the real test will be if I’m able to maintain using it and how my dental check-up goes next June (I just had my 6 month check-up last week). Thankfully, in my life I have typically (knock on wood) had minimal tooth issues. I know right now my husband has expressed interest in continuing to use our regular Crest toothpaste for the time being. No pressure.

I can take no credit for the recipe – I got it from Trash is for Tossers. 

I had all the ingredients already – 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, and 15-20 drops of your essential oil of choice. I naturally went with peppermint. Mix it up, store it in an mini-glass jar with a lid. I plan on making some more in a baby food jar for my parent’s house since I brush my teeth at their house in the morning when I drop off my kids.

My 3 year old was very excited about it when he helped me make it and we immediately brushed our teeth afterwards. He said he liked it. Later, when I put some on his toothbrush for his before bed brushing sesh (that’s what cool kids call it), he said he didn’t like it. Kind of like how one minute he loves me and I’m a rockstar and within a second, I’m boring and he’s pushing me out of the room. So I didn’t mind. Basing off those statistics, if I get 1 out of every 2 brushing sessions, that’s still a 50% reduction in toothpaste waste. (Wow – just had the genius idea to add a Paw Patrol sticker to the jar! Marketing really is EVERYTHING…) Anyways, he still has baby teeth so if they all rot and fall out, it’s not a big deal. He has a spare set! He’s the PERFECT test subject that way. 🙂 (That’s meant to be obvious hyperbole, you guys – don’t take offense to it.)

Warning – it also has a bit of a salty taste due to the baking soda, but while I found that weird the first time I used it, what I really enjoy is how SWEET the water tastes when I rinse it out afterwards. It’s worth trying it just for that sensation. (Or am I the only one?  Now someone has to try it and report back to me…am I weird?)

Oh, and I also emailed Crest/Proctor & Gamble to find out their environmental action plan to reduce their one-use, non-recyclable products. I have yet to get a response.

Make some noise and Happy Brushing!

First of all, I want to make it clear that I am not some shining beacon of minimalist, vegan health, zero waste living. When you start looking into zero waste, you see all these inspirational bathrooms and kitchens and minimalist houses and the amazing pictures of people proudly holding up their mason jar with a year’s worth of trash.

That won’t be me.

For starters, my kids are at a diapering age. Even though my first-born is potty trained and I cloth diaper my 1 year old, they still wear overnight disposable diapers. I tried the cloth diapers over night, but bigger bladders plus sleeping through the night, means wetness. Call me crazy, but I hate the idea of my kids sleeping in wet, urine soaked pajamas all night. So disposables it is. (I will admit that if my first-born does NOT pee in his overnight pull-up, I reuse it.) That’s 14 diapers a week. WAY more than a mason jar.

Every single floor in my house is littered with WAY too many plastic toys. We have no intention of becoming vegan or vegetarian or minimalist in any way. We have so much junk in our house that usually when company comes over, there’s the mad scramble to hide it in the basement or in one closed off bedroom and pretend our house is clutter-free all the time. Come on, you all know what I’m talking about. I realize that we will not be perfect role models in this venture.

But we can still be role models.

I’ve realized as I’ve entered adulthood that I have a certain amount of perfectionism. Life was so much better when I lived in a state of caring only to achieve mediocrity. But now when I believe in something, I go all in whether it’s teaching struggling readers to read or trying to cut out waste. I often feel crushed if things fall short of my expectations. So it’s hard for me to accept doing anything less than perfect. Have I mentioned the words panic and anxiety yet? I currently have both of those. I feel by telling people I’m going zero waste that people will be watching me SO closely – ready to point out any waste I make and delighting in that imperfection. So I have to recognize, I will not be perfect and that may happen. My household will not be perfect. I can’t let my fear of imperfection stop me from taking any and all steps possible. Nor can I let any of these fears stop me:

1. I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!! I work FULL TIME! I get up at 5:30, get my family ready, and go to an over-worked, under-paid, high stress job all day! I don’t get home until after 5 and I also enjoy running ridiculously long distances to help me to handle my over-worked, under-paid, high stress job. I have 2 small children who are at the snuggle and giggle stage and I don’t want to miss it! I don’t have time to be making my own food from scratch to eliminate plastic waste! (My husband keeps joking that he needs to buy me a butter churn since I’m going all pioneer.) I don’t have time to go to MULTIPLE grocery stores to acquire my food and products in its most waste-free packaging! There’s a REASON most people buy wasteful products – they’re FREAKIN’ convenient!

But then I drive around and I notice all the plastic bags stuck in trees  (I counted 30+ plastic bags in fields/trees today on a 15 minute drive)  and all the single use plastic drink bottles on the side of the road.  And I think of the fact that organic content (think an apple core)  doesn’t breakdown in a landfill.  And I realize we can do better.

2. Some of my favorite products are going to be hard to replace. I like my Sonicare toothbrush. I am addicted to Burt’s Bees Pomegranate Lip Balm and literally bought 50+ tubes of it one day when it was on sale. (50 tubes that are now in a landfill.) Deodorant…I am dreading a deodorant switch. Foundation makeup too.

But then I look at this jar in my bathroom and I realize that the contents of this jar will be on Earth  looooooong after I am gone, and my kids are gone, and their kids are gone…

3. Money. I am a teacher. I am underpaid. A lot of this zero waste, health-food store, plastic free stuff is expensive!

But then I think that maybe this will inspire me to be less wasteful in how I spend my money and save money in the long run.  Plus, isn’t it worth paying a little more and putting in more effort to make sure the Earth is in good shape for my kids and grandkids?  And the cute baby otters?

4. Putting myself out there. I’m outgoing and generally not shy. At the same time, I have anxiety and overthink things. I don’t want to be “that girl” on social media; the person pushing an agenda. Ok, that’s a lie – I totally want to push agendas because I am right about everything.  🙂 I try NOT to because everyone has to live their own life. Also, I do NOT have time to maintain a blog (see #1).

But then I think that waste is not just a ME issue, this is an US issue. And if I can inspire just one person to decline a plastic bag or buy a menstrual cup by over-sharing and being “that girl” on social media, then it is worth any embarrassment I may feel.

5. Clothes. I have plenty of clothes. I’ve actually decided I’m not going to focus on clothes this year. My goal is that if I acquire any clothes this year that they are secondhand, made of natural materials that would breakdown (so no more nylon or polyester), or support a good cause (including allowing me to run because I am in serious need of some new sports bras…pretty sure I still have sports bras from high school…(see #4)).

6. My kids and husband. I’m not saying they won’t be supportive and better off from all of this, but I also don’t want to deprive my family to the point where they resent me and become super-villains. That would suck.

7. Amazon. Cutting back on Amazon purchases. ‘Nuff said. (See inspirational portion for #3.)

Time to face the fears. The time to change is now.