One thing I’ve been doing lately is focusing on not wasting food, and as result, I haven’t had to buy as much food! It seems self-explanatory, but when you see it in action it’s empowering. And when you buy less food, you end up with less plastic (and you spend less money)! Tonight we had salad with croutons made from a stale roll that was leftover in the refrigerator — it was a nice addition to the salad, and there was no need to buy croutons in plastic packaging! It’s little victories like that, that are so satisfying.

Good luck! I look forward to seeing your posts!

(Still planning on looking into a personal chef, Beth, and I will report if we find one and give it a try.)

I don’t know if it helps, but I always tell people that I’m just trying to get to “better”… there is no perfect solution that will fit every person… we have to do what works best for us.

High 5 to you for taking the initiative to take this challenge… and I have no doubts that you’re going to make some big changes… little by little… it all adds up :)

P.S…. it took me 3 years before I finally committed to not buying plastic packaged bread. There’s a reason there’s the saying “nothing better than sliced bread” ;) …and I still buy crackers from time to time… this girl likes to bake… but I certainly don’t feel like being a slave to my kitchen. (besides, I’d much rather make chocolate chip cookies ;) )

As an overall view, too, i think it is important that people realize how expensive it is to be healthy. We do try, really hard, but it is a battle. A battle of time and money (and sometimes those go hand in hand) – like, i can bake, but i can’t bake all the time and bread & crackers are constant staples with a 1 yr old. And i do use my cloth diapers (like i said about 50% of the time, and yes, i could get better at that, but it’s summer and she chafes).

i sound defensive and i don’t mean to be unappreciative, because i truly am excited about this challenge and all your great ideas, but in some places – the plastic just builds – even when you work towards all these great things – my first goal is to eliminate from my food and body, then the rest will follow.

Many of the little things on this list aren’t necessarily weekly items (they just happened to be on this weeks list) so, i will find it easy to eliminate things like 6 pack rings and deli bags (we rarely use deli meat/cheese as we are nitrate free).

But it is a shame that some of these options will be harder – my little store doesn’t offer carrots, mushrooms and onions loose, and i can do the math – the bulk bags i buy are certainly cheaper. There are certainly some choices that are good switches but most of the bakeries and butchers around here are more expensive (and in order to get specialty foodstuffs like nitrate free hot dogs/ bacon, i am stuck with Whole Foods). i can only buy foodstuffs once every two weeks – the Farmers Mkt for us is a luxury item when we can.

The other problem is – we are on WIC foods and are limited to what we can buy (limited to specific brands and prices), and that is frustrating.

But Fonda LaShay is right (as you all are), that one thing at a time is what’s making the difference…i am trying but man, “THEY” do make it hard! Thanks for the support!

On the FemHy front, have you considered a DivaCup? Definitely worth looking into… I’ll never go back :)

For deli meats, if you bring your own containers they should be able to tare the scale before weighing your selection (so you’re not charged for the weight of your container). I’ve only ever encountered an issue with this when buying mussels from the seafood place because they “need to breathe” & cannot be enclosed.

It looks like quite a bit of produce is bulking up your list as well. Sometimes I find that the way things are priced in the produce section for bulk vs packaged can be deceiving. $4.99 for that bag of oranges, or these bulk ones for 69c/lb? Am I really going to do the math right there in the store? No… I just choose the one that’s not in the bag. I didn’t get any apples this week because all the organic ones (which is the only kind of apple we buy) are sold in bags. I got berries packagless from the farmers market this weekend rather than buying the clamshells from the grocery store.

I live in a small-ish city in northern canada where forestry is the main industry… eco-friendliness isn’t terribly welcomed around here, so if I can do it you can too! Keep it up!

sandwich bags and plastic wrap – http://fondalashay.com/mintchilli/abeego

feminine stuffs, i use a divacup and love it! – http://fondalashay.com/mintchilli/menstrual-cups

for the laundry detergent debacle.. http://fondalashay.com/mintchilli/soapnuts

Some other thoughts to help, all the meat can be bought in paper at a butcher.. mine is actually cheaper the the commercial grocery store. And if you have the room they will work with you on a discount if you buy bulk. The bread bags.. might look into finding a local baker, then ask for it in paper or show up with a cloth bag.

You will see over time that your count will start to fall. I know it must seem daunting now, it did to me… but you just take it slowly.. no need to revamp your life at the moment… just take one thing at a time. ie. when one product runs out, find an alternative and get used to it and then move on to the next. it can be abit much to try to remember a whole new life at once.

A few more links that you might like.. toothpaste.. http://fondalashay.com/mintchilli/why-i-dont-use-toothpaste then shampoo/conditioner (currently i use a bar of 100% oil soap since it is summer and sweaty) http://fondalashay.com/mintchilli/i-do-not-wash-my-hair-yes-you-read-that-right

Good luck and welcome to the group!

I originally started doing the plastic challenge because I wanted to reduce the amount of plastic food packaging that we were using. I tried to read through everyone’s lists for you, but I may cover some things twice (I apologize if I do!)

First, my aunt just gifted me some Skoy cloths! They are Ah-mazing!! Normally I cut up old t-shirts or towels to use as rags, but I’m really enjoying the Skoy cloths :)

Going down your list:

Baby yogurt: Make the switch to the large container of yogurt. It’s the same thing (different flavor maybe) but not an individual serving. Of course, making your own yogurt would be another option.

Juice: I switched to buying ours in glass. It may be more expensive, but what I’ve found is it’s not diluted. So you could add water to stretch it :)

Carrot/celery bags: I choose to buy these only when I can get them loose or with just a twist tie. The carrots are easy because I can always find them either with the tops on or loose. Celery is so hit or miss (thankfully, I’m not a big celery fan)… though I do really like cauliflower and I haven’t had any in such a long time because it comes wrapped in plastic. (boo!)

Mushrooms: Take your own produce bag and buy them loose. I think they tend to be fresher… and I think they are cheaper when you buy them loose as well :)
Deli/olive container: If you’re filling it yourself, you could save the one you have and reuse it. (I’d tell you to take your own glass container, but if you’re grocery store is like mine they don’t tare the container)

6 pack rings: This is easy. Just buy whatever comes in a six pack ring in a box instead ;)

Deli/ziplock bags: Back when I first started reducing my plastic waste and I bought lunch meats from the deli, I tried to get my grocery store to use my own container. They wouldn’t. So I washed out the deli bags and would save them to reuse. It helped me cut my addiction to ziplock bags and now I don’t ever use them.

Fruit/veggies in bags: Save the bags and use them to buy the same thing loose. :)

Cheese: I recently bought and entire wheel of cheese. I shredded some, and cubed some…. froze a portion and left some fresh. The cubes have worked great for an easy and convenient snack for my three kids to replace string cheese :)

Crackers: Super convenient to buy… but you can make them at home. Beth has blogged about the Wheat Thins from Kitchen Stewardship… her “Healthy Snacks To Go” is where the recipe is… and it’s really good! I’ve also made “Ritz” crackers which turned out really really yummy: http://itstartswithme-danielle.blogspot.com/2011/03/plastic-free-ritz-crackers.html

Bread: It took me a LONG time to commit to not buying plastic packaged bread… it’s so darn convenient!! From time to time, I make my own… but most often I hit up a local bakery. They’re super helpful and are always happy to not put my bread in plastic. For days when I don’t have the time to get to the bakery and don’t feel like making bread, I make homemade tortillas. With the tortillas we make quesadillas, pb&j roll ups, pizza and really use them for anything we would normally use bread for. If you’d like to make homemade tortillas, I have the recipe I use posted here: http://itstartswithme-danielle.blogspot.com/2011/07/homemade-plastic-free-tortillas.html

Also, I didn’t see it on your list… but you mentioned soaps? I use Dr. Bronner’s for showering/bathing and even shaving :) For shampoo, I use Chagrin Valley. Chagrin Valley shampoo bars are amazing and I haven’t even used conditioner since January! :)

…and a mention about spending more $$. As you begin to eliminate plastic packaged foods, you will no doubt find that you’re saving $$. I used to spend somewhere around $200-300 on each grocery trip (usually every week to week and a half). Now buying in bulk, relying heavily on the farmers market and making our own instead of prepackaged has cut our grocery bill probably in half. :)

As you reduce your plastics, if there is anything that I can do to help… I’d be happy to :)