The Wildling Within

Today I thought I’d share my zero waste journey so far.  Now I should mention that until January of this year I’d not heard of the term Zero Waste so please don’t expect me to be some sort of Zero Waste goddess!

I’ve always been a big advocate of protecting our planet, why wouldn’t you be when it completely supports us?!  It wasn’t until my first son was born nearly 7yrs ago that I started looking into ways that I could reduce my environmental footprint, and not until roughly 4yrs ago that I started making proper changes to the way we live.  It’s been a very slow journey!

My changes haven’t always worked out either.  A couple of years ago I tried making my own cleaning products and makeup.  Although most of my experiments were successful and did the job I needed them to, I just couldn’t find/maintain enough free time to carry on making them.  Hopefully this is something I’ll reintroduce at a later date.  In the meantime we’ve experimented with other more earth friendly cleaners/household products to compromise.

We’ve played with a few different more “eco” cleaning products over the years but for now we’ve settled on Bio D for the majority of our cleaning supplies.  As well as being able to bulk buy refills (which reduces our plastic usage) their products are non damaging to the environment.

Each year I’ve added another little change, for example… 2yrs ago I decided to stop buying new clothes for myself and buy everything from charity shops or make/reuse/repurpose them instead.  This doesn’t always work out but I’ve learnt not to beat myself up over it, instead I try harder next time.  The first year I bought 2 cheap basic long sleeve tops for the winter, this last year I bought 2 long sleeve maternity tops (wasn’t prepared enough before I couldn’t fit my tummy in normal clothes anymore). For the most part my family have been on board with this change but I’ve still had the odd new thing off them as a present (new coat and new jumper).

Other changes I’ve already made over the years…

Bamboo toothbrushes!  Both the boys and I made the switch to bamboo brushes a couple of years ago.  They do take a while to adjust to, they feel different in your mouth (being made from bamboo) M (OH) hasn’t managed to make the switch yet because of this… Perseverance is the key.  Top Tips: Make sure you get Panda friendly brushes.  Panda’s don’t eat all types of bamboo and the brushes you want should be made from the type they don’t eat (we don’t want to steal their food supply).

Solid Deodorant!  I’m currently using a deodorant bar from Lush called Aromaco and I love it!  It has a really nice earthy smell.  M didn’t really get on with dry deodorant so is currently trialling a jar of Fit Pit.  He seems to like it so far?  I may even give it a try myself when mine runs out.  Top Tips: store your bar in an old sandwich bag or jar to stop it drying out… dry deodorant bars are no fun on the underarms!  Don’t be disheartened if you don’t like the first one you try… I’ve tried a few over the years and not liked the texture/feel but then found one I’ve been happy to use.

Re-Usable Nappies!  This sounds like such a faff and when you start out it feels like it too.  I promise you after a little while it becomes second nature!  The trick is to get into a good routine with storing/washing and have a decent wet bag for dirty nappies when you’re out.  Top Tips:  Try and find a nappy library near you so you can trial different brands before you buy, or buy a trial pack from a few brands.  We currently use Little Lamb nappies but every baby is different and some brands will fit your baby better than others, no one wants a constantly leaky nappy!  Don’t bother with paper liners… its an un-needed expense and despite what they claim, they shouldn’t be flushed.  Most nappies come with a fleece liner or have the option of one and I find they rinse off easily.  If you’re not up for man-made fibres of any description try going without.  I’ve heard stories from other mums who don’t use any liner at all and get on just fine.

Re-Usable Wet Wipes!  I didn’t make this switch until near the end of my second childs nappy wearing days but I’d never go back!  Genuinely this is an even easier switch than the re-usable nappies.  They work a similar way, you have a clean box of wipes (usually terry cloth squares) and a dirty box to put them in once used and a clean and dirty bag for out and about.  You can either pre wet them (scent with essential oils) or rinse and use as needed then just chuck in the washing machine.  If you want a pre made solution to re-usable wipes I’d highly recommend checking out Cheeky Wipes.  Top Tips: don’t worry about separate face/bum wipes, I did splash out on separates but then I’ve used the same ones for both with all the kids with no ill effect and they clean up just fine in the washing machine.  I would recommend rinsing anything large off them before washing though.

Beeswax Wraps!  These are brill for replacing cling film!  I have to admit that up until now we’ve not completely lost the cling film (using up the last of it now).  We’ve struggled to make the switch when using raw meat, but for all of our veg/fruit/bowls of leftovers the wax wrap has been brill!  We’ve now decided to take the leap and lose the cling film all together.  *going Vegan in January has definitely helped this decision* Top Tips:  You can buy it ready made or if you’ve got some cotton fabric laying around, why not get some wax and make some of your own?!  There are a plenty of tutorials online now and it really wasn’t difficult promise!  If you’re vegan and want to avoid beeswax I’ve heard you can swap it for soy wax although I’ve not tested this myself.

Buying Less Plastic!  This one might sound a bit obvious but can be hard to apply.  One of the changes we’ve made is looking for alternatives to plastic products as we’ve needed to replace things.  Often plastic free products are more expensive but the trade off (aside from saving the planet) is they tend to last longer which offsets the cost.  We’ve also applied this concept to kids toys, we’ve got some really lovely wooden toys now (some home made) and they love them just as much as the plastic stuff that lasts five minutes (getting family members to cooperate is another story though) Top Tips:  Don’t go replacing everything plastic with non plastic stuff just because it’s plastic!  If it still works and functions, using it until it doesn’t anymore is far more eco than chucking more plastic into landfill.  This is also a step done best over time… if you rush out and replace everything straight away you’ll spend a fortune!

So back in January I discovered the Zero Waste movement and decided to make a few more changes this year.  So far we’ve replaced the kids ageing/broken plastic straws with Stainless Steel straws, I finally got around to replacing the kids plastic water bottles with Klean Kanteen bottles (I’d been putting this off as I’d not settled on an alternative to the plastic ones that finally broke last year) and we’ve replaced the carrier bags that had holes/rips with canvas bags instead of swapping them for more plastic bags at the supermarket.  M bought me a Cuppow lid (yes I know its plastic but as well as being clumsy myself, I have 2 clumsy kids so a jar containing hot liquid without a lid is not an option) for Christmas so I now have a jar for my reusable coffee cup instead of getting take out cups.  You’ll also find a lot of the big chain coffee shops now do a discount for bringing your own cup in, so it’s an even bigger win!

Back in July I made the decision to go shampoo free, this was mostly due to allergy problems with most shampoos.  It was definitely a bit ropey to start with and I wore a lot of hats and pinned my hair up a lot!  However the greasy phase didn’t last that long and now 7 months down the road my hair is finally adjusting to no soap (its not looked greasy for a while, but it’s been a bit dry) and its now something I don’t even think about (no my hair doesnt smell, and it gets washed daily in the shower with water like the rest of my body).  M obviously wasn’t going to take such a dramatic step, but he’s very recently switched to a shampoo bar so I’ll have to update you on his progress with that once he’s had some time.

We’re trying to shop products that use as little or no plastic as possible but this is easier said than done.  I’m finding the easiest way to discover plastic free alternatives to products we use a lot is through recommendations on local zero waste Facebook groups (easily found with a search).

This year I plan to start buying the kids clothes second hand, making them or patching them up.  We already attempt to buy more eco or at least ethical shoes but again this is an area I will look at more in depth when we get to the next shoe intake. The kids and I will also be trying family cloth (washable loo roll) as I’m already washing nappies/wipes (not expecting miracles from OH just yet though).

Summary of my journey so far and some encouragement…  Don’t be disheartened if you can’t make all the switches you want in one go, its hard!  I used to beat myself up over this and its taken me a while to realised that even one change is a step in the right direction.  Even just a change or two each year soon adds up.  I was surprised when I wrote this post how much I’ve already changed.  The thing with Zero Waste is it takes a long time to learn (I’m still at the start of my journey), and a commitment for life!