Comments on: Barbara Watts, Week 1

By: Condo Blues

Condo Blues — Thu, 20 May 2010 01:24:40 +0000

I'm trying my first shampoo bar and I'm having good success with it so far. My hair gets wiggy if I didn't use conditioner but for some reason it hasn't so far with the shampoo bar I'm using. .-= Condo Blues´s last blog ..One Small Change: Recycle Plastic Makeup Tubes and Containers =-.

By: Kayla

Kayla — Sun, 16 May 2010 15:23:38 +0000

Barbara, the shampoo thing is hard but I believe you can purchase bar shampoo. This is something I am trying myself.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:28:53 +0000

If you are interested in trying to make it to some farmer’s markets, I just found this great site for Florida: http://www.florida-agriculture.com/consumers/farmers_markets.htm It lists all the markets in each county (including Pinellas), so that may help you find one close to you.

Also, a local-food store here in Gainesville, FL has begun selling cloth produce bags. They are mesh drawstring bags that are washable and roughly the same size as the plastic ones. The only drawback to using them so far has been that the baggers at the major grocery stores do not understand what they are.

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:54:20 +0000

Good to see Florida represented.

I’m so glad taking the challenge was helpful to you and that you plan to do it again. I really believe that we can’t know where to begin until we see what our personal impact is in the first place.

I have a few suggestions if you’d like them.

1) Gatorade — if this is a necessity, would you consider buying large bottles instead of individual bottles? That would at least save plastic. Another suggestion is to buy the powdered mix and add the water yourself. That’s what my husband does. It comes in a plastic container, but you will use a lot less plastic than buying Gatorade with the water already in it. Just a thought.

2) Styrofoam coffee cups — would Bob take and use a travel mug? I love my stainless steel mug. I don’t know about where you live, but here some coffee places actually give discounts for bringing your own mug. And it’s not just coffee shops. I’ve even used my own mug at 7-Eleven in several different states. Yeah, the clerk will look a little confused at first, but if you know how many ounces your mug is, they can figure out what size to charge you for.

3) A good way to carry take-out food: there are some great stainless steel containers you can check out. Some that I like are LunchBots (http://lunchbots.com), To-Go Ware (http://to-goware.com) or many of the containers from Live Without Plastic. (http://lifewithoutplastic.com) The tricky thing is remembering to bring them with you. LunchBots are fairly flat, so they can fit in a purse. Unfortunately, they are not airtight, so if you put anything wet in them, you have to carry it in your hands so it doesn’t leak. Life Without Plastic sells some airtight containers. Or you might find other brands that you like. Camping stores like REI can also be a course of stainless steel containers.

Cheers!
.-= Beth Terry´s last blog ..Plastic-Free Living Discussion, Part 2 =-.