My Journey

[Áine]

For the past 2 years I've been trying hard to live sustainably and waste free... I'm actually finding that it's getting easier as more options come on the market...

 

I'm thankful that I have a great wholefood store locally where I can refill my glass jars easily... 

Edited August 1, 2019 by anniebea

[Victoria]

On 8/1/2019 at 1:25 PM, anniebea said:

For the past 2 years I've been trying hard to live sustainably and waste free... I'm actually finding that it's getting easier as more options come on the market...

 

I'm thankful that I have a great wholefood store locally where I can refill my glass jars easily... 

Could you please tell me more about waste free life? What changes did you make? I am really interested in the topic. I wil appriciate any ideas on eco friendly living.

[Wanda Hill]

I am very interested in this too..! any ideas are welcome by me too.

[Cherie]

I bury our food scraps, torn up cardboard egg cartons, tea bags, even extra phone books in the backyard and set a rubber tote on top of the last place dug for a few days to discourage critters.

The soil is becoming healthier and it's a win-win to have somewhere to dispose of food waste. I think adding carbon, even if it's just dead leaves, along with the food scraps help it break down better. I save the fruit and veggie peelings in the freezer until there's enough.

[Cherie]

I forgot to mention that I soak the phone books minus their covers in water until they're saturated and bury them next to my comfrey. In California comfrey can never get enough water it seems. 

[retroHelen]

Before menopause I learned to do as many Asian ladies do and make my own sanitary equipment. There are lots of Youtube clips of how to make your own. Ebay sells bamboo based PUL like  absorbent fabric for washable nappies that can serve a similar purpose for women's needs. Towelling or brushed cotton/flannelette in any desirable colours can be bought or I just re-used towels or good parts of brushed cotton soft night-dresses/pjs that were partly worn out. From ebay I bought a handheld gadget that puts poppers onto fabric and I made a few layered washables that folded and popped together and held in a little purse/pouch with a popper to be discreetly carried in a shoulder-bag/purse.

 

Washing is not a problem. Kept a nice small coloured plastic lidded box. Soaked them a few hours in cold water, then cold rinsed and then hot wash in a washing machine and dried and they were ready for re-using. Lasted for over a year before getting a bit frayed. Cotton and organic, so could be composted or used like a firelighter in my stove.

 

If they aren't adequate for your needs, then check out on the internet how to  use them with a silica Mooncup for heavier days.

 

It's the same method for making washable nappies.

 

It's scary to think how disposable products are synthetic or part synthetic and how many one baby or one woman gets through in years of using disposables and that taken to landfill, they can outlive the people who chucked them away!!

 

I shared what I did with some girls helping refugees at refugee camps  on Greek Islands, so they made and sent them with natural soap and chocolate and the recipients were very grateful .of these gifts.

[Áine]

On 9/18/2019 at 10:16 PM, retroHelen said:

Before menopause I learned to do as many Asian ladies do and make my own sanitary equipment. There are lots of Youtube clips of how to make your own. Ebay sells bamboo based PUL like  absorbent fabric for washable nappies that can serve a similar purpose for women's needs. Towelling or brushed cotton/flannelette in any desirable colours can be bought or I just re-used towels or good parts of brushed cotton soft night-dresses/pjs that were partly worn out. From ebay I bought a handheld gadget that puts poppers onto fabric and I made a few layered washables that folded and popped together and held in a little purse/pouch with a popper to be discreetly carried in a shoulder-bag/purse.

 

Washing is not a problem. Kept a nice small coloured plastic lidded box. Soaked them a few hours in cold water, then cold rinsed and then hot wash in a washing machine and dried and they were ready for re-using. Lasted for over a year before getting a bit frayed. Cotton and organic, so could be composted or used like a firelighter in my stove.

 

If they aren't adequate for your needs, then check out on the internet how to  use them with a silica Mooncup for heavier days.

 

It's the same method for making washable nappies.

 

It's scary to think how disposable products are synthetic or part synthetic and how many one baby or one woman gets through in years of using disposables and that taken to landfill, they can outlive the people who chucked them away!!

 

I shared what I did with some girls helping refugees at refugee camps  on Greek Islands, so they made and sent them with natural soap and chocolate and the recipients were very grateful .of these gifts.

I used to make these and sell them on line

[Áine]

On 8/3/2019 at 12:23 AM, Victoria said:

Could you please tell me more about waste free life? What changes did you make? I am really interested in the topic. I wil appriciate any ideas on eco friendly living.

 

On 8/3/2019 at 2:25 AM, Wanda Hill said:

I am very interested in this too..! any ideas are welcome by me too.

I'm just very mindful of the amount of waste we make as a household.. 

 

I have a great refill shop near me so I can take my jars or containers/bags and get all kinds of things... olive oil, washing up liquid, clothes washing liquid, breakfast cereal,  nuts, lentils, coffee.... anything really. 

 

I'm a long time vegetarian and don't jet around the world etc. So my carbon foot print is reasonably low. 

 

I could do a lot more than I do I'm sure... but it's a learning process... plastic is a huge problem.  There are some great you tube videos on zero waste lifestyles

[Victoria]

7 hours ago, anniebea said:

 

 

 

I have a great refill shop near me so I can take my jars or containers/bags and get all kinds of things... olive oil, washing up liquid, clothes washing liquid, breakfast cereal,  nuts, lentils, coffee.... anything really. 

 

That's great! I wish we had such a shop in our city. All I can do now is growing tomatoes by myself.

[Áine]

29 minutes ago, Victoria said:

That's great! I wish we had such a shop in our city. All I can do now is growing tomatoes by myself.

But even that's a start... far more than I did this year!!