Name: Billie Ryder
Week: 1
Personal Info:
A single gal with 2 cats. I am allergic to dairy and wheat which sometimes means I select food wrapped in plastic.
I thought that working two jobs would mean that I would be too much on the run to worry about the plastic but I think it mostly means I don’t have time for consumer consumption.… Read the rest
Another month has gone by. It goes by so quickly.
Weight Loss: 3lbs (all in the last week) Items: 58 Weight of plastic: 10.25 oz
21 hot chocolate pots tortilla bag candy wrapper peanut butter jar +lid – recycled Bavaria Blue cheese plastic wrap 3 milk lid 3 milk zipper 3lb beef tray chocolate chip bag celery bag vinegar lid pasta window tea bag thai instant soup ice cream wrapper ice cream seal + ring – disclaimer seal from bottle of garlic cracker sleeve seal from hot chocolate
Plastic from Travel: Carls Jr – Fish and chips styrofoam – tartar sauce cup + lid Arranchero House – plastic sheet – styrofoam cup for soap Days Inn – styrofoam cup – peanut butter – spoon, fork, knife Plane – mini pretzel bag
Disclaimer: this was a friends contribution to the meal and wouldn’t you know it, she purchased a brand with plastic!
I spent 3 days in travel. In fact, I spent most of those three days in t… Read the rest
No weight loss to report. It is hard to believe that I have spent 1/4 of my year involved in this challenge. I have lost 7 lbs to date.
And on to the weekly statistics:
Weight: 1.75oz + chicken tray Items: 17
Styrofoam chicken tray plastic from cheese “Sole Gran Queso” plastic from Parmesan cheese plastic from cheese “La Pearl” blue cheese cracker sleeve 6 x hot chocolate pots 2 x tea bag wrappers 2 x milk caps 2 x zippers from milk jugs
Now before you think I inhaled a heck of a lot of cheese – let me explain! I did eat the little chunk of “La Pearl” blue cheese and the parmesan (what was left of it) but I didn’t eat the “Sole Gran Queso”. A banana went completely bad and leaked juice all over the fridge so I had to unwrap the cheeses and put them in a container.
Interestingly enough, the cheeses were a result of exactly what Beth was talking about today on her blog. A while ago she made mention of buyin… Read the rest
Another 1lb lost which makes for 7lbs in 11 weeks. I really have been surprised at the weight loss. I am not known for losing weight at even a modest rate without hard work. Now, it has been hard work to reduce my plastic but that is not the hard work I am referring to. I am referring to the hard work of monitoring my food to practically the mouthful. No monitoring of that type is involved. No dieting has actually been involved.
Weight: 1oz Items: 13
4 x Hot Chocolate potsplastic from pasta box2 x milk caps2 x milk zippersolive oil pour spout3 x tea bags
So my items of plastic are from work, pasta, milk, olive oil and tea. Except for the luxury of work these are all pretty basic food items. I am still using up tea that is in my cupboard. Once that is done, I don’t think I will ever need to buy individually wrapped tea bags again. I hope to buy in bulk. I tried buying chamomile flowers in bulk. That was completely nasty. Apparently, my tea needs to be made from more tha… Read the rest
I lost 2 lbs last week! This brings me to a total of 6lbs in 10 weeks. I was even able to get into a pair of pants that previously wouldn’t do up. I am seeing some results here!!!!
Weight: 1 oz Items: 10
Cracker sleeve5 x hot chocolate pots2 milk lids + 2 zippers
Well… this week is where you are seeing what I WON’T give up. I managed to get rid of ALL of my plastic beyond what I guess is the bare minimum. Sadly, my husband broke the glass jar that the milk comes in so that won’t be getting recycled. And now he wants me to buy milk in a plastic jug. He says the glass jar is too much hassle and the kids can’t get their own cereal in the mornings.
Conclusions?
I really miss some things. I would like to make lasagna for instance *sigh* I know I will eventually break down and make the lasagna. I am not Beth. I can certainly be mindful of my plastic trash but I don’t see myself giving up certain foods for all time just because I can’t see how … Read the rest
Zero weight loss again. I chalk this up to travel. In fact, I spent at least half of the week on travel and thought I did pretty good.
Items: 16 Weight: 3/4 oz
Thai Kitchen Soup – 3 items in total2 forks1 spoonAnimal crackers packetGinger teawrapper for bottle of Starbucks Mochaplastic bag for strawberry tea bagsindividual butter containerbaking powder foilbaking powder lidmilk zipper2 x hot chocolate pots
A lot of this came from travel but I think I did pretty good considering that plastic outside of my house is my downfall. The plastic spoon and fork came from eating at the hotel and the client’s cafeteria. I could have brought my fork from the hotel to the client’s cafeteria but didn’t know I needed to. The next day I brought it but ended up having soup and picking up the spoon instead. I never intended on eating the Animal Crackers but ended up eating them because I got a horrible stomach sickness while on travel and needed t… Read the rest
Zero weight loss so on to the tally.
Items: 19 Weight: 6.5 oz
Ketchup bottle and cap – recyclableCostco bulk salt plastic wrapHavarti Cheese wrapperice cream film5 x Hot Chocolate plastic tubs2 x milk caps + zippersCelestial Season tea sampler bagketchup foil2 x soy sauce take-out packetscandy wrapperstyrofoam tray for 4lbs of pork ribs
The soy sauce take-out packets are on my list not because I get Chinese takeout but because my husband gets Chinese take-out and we end up with all these d*mn packets. The frugal part of me thinks I should be using these packets before using my bottle of soy sauce. I used two of them for my soy sauce in a recipe.
What can I easily get rid of?
The ice cream plastic film will no longer show up. I have sourced plastic free ice cream. Since all else seems to come in plastic, this is my junk food treat.
Celestial tea sampler bag: I am using up the ancient tea in my cupboard before moving on to plastic free tea. A few more of these w… Read the rest
I have lost another lb this week! 4 lbs in 7 weeks. Obviously not falling off of me but I wasn’t convinced that I would loose any weight so this is an accomplishment. I have also been going to the gym 4 to 5 times a week. This is likely helping – perhaps more than my change in eating habits? I did notice that I got away with no wandering around the house looking for junk food for a couple of days. I think I am finally weaning myself from old eating habits. I feel like I am giving up smoking or something the way I am talking!
On to my plastic count:Weight: 1oz Items: 14
cracker bagdeli salami bag – will reuseplastic sheet from deliplastic wrap from a box of chamomile teaseal from new shortening containerblue cheese wrappercandy wrappermilk cap + zipper2 x Kreurig coffee pot3 x Kreurig hot chocolate
What could I easily replace?Nothing on this list is easily replaceable. I have hit all the low hanging fruit. I was actually pondering buying a wheel … Read the rest
In Week 6, I managed to lose another pound. WooHoo! There is still a fair bit of wondering around looking for and failing to find appropriate junk food. Or at least finding appropriate junk food in which I am willing to toss the plastic into the plastic tally. I did a great job in terms of the weight of my plastic but I haven’t reduced the number of items.
Number of items: 16Weight: 1.25 oz
Pecan plastic bagmilk cap + 2 zippersplastic ring from a bottle of roasted garlichotdog baggieparmesan cheese bagbag from a block of Cheddar cheese3 x Chamomile tea1 ginger teabag from Strawberry Kiwi tea sampler3 plastic containers from tea at work
What is easily replaceable?The pecan plastic bag came from before I started this challenge. I now buy nuts in bulk. Easily replaceable.
Some of the tea bags are easily replaceable. I haven’t seen loose ginger tea but I only drink ginger tea when my stomach is upset (tastes nasty in my opinion) as it works to calm … Read the rest
I stayed the same weight wise this week. Losing weight has never been easy for me so I didn’t expect great strides. In 5 weeks, I am down 2 lbs.
I thought I did a great job this week just as long as you don’t count the bits collected from outside the house.
Items: 15 itemsWeight: 3oz
The going out plastic:water bottlesoda container + straw and lid
The regular old house plastic:Plastic film from ice cream containerplastic sleeve from saltinesTLC cracker bag2 milk lids plus the zipperwindow from pasta boxlid from General Foods flavoured coffeeWerther’s Candy wrapperChamomile Herb teaThai Kitchen instant soup
What could I easily replace?Plastic film from ice cream container – I was not happy to open up my box of ice cream and see this film on the inside. I bought some Edy’s ice cream this week and NO PLASTIC – not even hidden on the inside.
Chamomile Herb tea and GF coffee – I think I can replace this with loose … Read the rest