Plastic free me

So we're going plastic-free at my house. I know, fucking wholesome, right? My partner suggested this after listening to a Planet Money episode on waste. I love a challenge and have a green heart so no arguments here. I even pulled off the shelves a book on living waste-free which I'd won in a hamper once for doing good social posts. When I got the book, I'd browsed through the pages looking at pictures of this happy white family surrounded by white walls and natural light and thought...yeah, nah. 

But now...nah, yeah!

Not as difficult as I thought it would be. We eat well, mostly fresh food and I think that maybe one of the biggest battles for many homes. But we're going to make our own toothpaste, start buying unsliced bread, and used a grated soap for dishes and laundry. This excites the kids who love the idea of mixing up their own products.

For cleaning, I've been using a mix of water, vinegar, and eucalyptus oil and tbh it's easily equal to Spray'n'Wipe or Ajax. But then...the vinegar comes in a plastic bottle as does the oil. But baby steps. Changing one thing has a massive effect. If we can change three - champions. If we can change five plastic-based habits this year then we are gold standard I reckon. We can chip away each year and then one day we will wake up and bang - plastic-free lives.

That's how it happened with the veggie growing. I never set out to be a gardener, I just planted one thing because I liked it, then another, then another and now five years later I would definitely say I'm a Veggie Gardener.

Sometimes I look at my life and feel genuinely like I'm living a dream. Someone else's dream too, because I never imagined this. No one thought this was how my life would go, but here I am: wholesome as fuck, and happy too. Just glad to be alive.

Afterthought: other things I've heard inspire people to go plastic-free are the War on Waste television series, Plastic Free July annual challenge, Zero Waste Home blog, and Zero Waste Habesha Instagram account.

I even did a small audio story on being plastic-free back in 2015 which I think was the first time I'd heard about this idea (also this piece makes me both cringe and laugh at my audio newbie blunders). In the audio story, I interviewed Hellie Lynch - an amazing woman who worked to make Yarraville plastic-free. Hellie continues to inspire me in the way she lives with an abundant garden, healthy homegrown food, environmentally-mindful living and a strong sense of local community. Love it.