Zero Waste Resolution Update

It’s been 15 days! Okay, it’s not that impressive that my New Year’s Resolution is still on track…but it is and I’m pleased. I’m highly motivated to keep trash out of the landfill and that is guiding me to make decisions and find the energy to make more things myself. In other words, a whole lot of cooking from scratch. And even when I’m tired, it’s worth it to not bring a pile of trash into the house to eat fast food!

People often advise me to take things slow, one step at a time. But there’s something about my personality where it’s not going to work if I don’t go all in right away. My husband says it’s because I’m an Aries. I don’t know about that, but I do know that there’s no half way with me. The bigger I go, the more enthusiasm I have.

Yes, things have not been perfect. Regardless, I’m still feeling great about my progress and how things are going.

So you already saw the stuff I was doing.

Here are updates on the new stuff

Milkman: This was too expensive, but I happily discovered that the Dutch Country Market down the street from us has milk in glass jars. They are open three days a week all year round. So that’s an easy solution for the milk.

Having access to milk, I decided to start making yogurt. My friend Anu gave me some freeze-dried yogurt starter. At first I tried to make it with what I had at home but I got overwhelmed and ended up buying a $20 yogurt maker machine. Up side is the yogurt turned out great! Down side is the machine came with a lot of packaging, wrapped in plastic, etc. I should have tried to find one from a friend or a trading site. Not sure how much yogurt I’ll have to make before I make up for that amount of waste.

Bulk Food: I love going to the Whole Foods. It’s been really cheap, too! Since I’m only buying the unpackaged stuff. It feels great to walk out with a tote bag full of little burlap bags of ingredients. A Youtuber pointed out that there is still waste involved there since the store gets all that bulk in bags. So that’s true but at least I hope it comes in big bags. It’s a start.

However, Whole Foods near me right now does not have cooking oil or maple syrup in bulk. I will probably have to buy these in glass bottles.

Something that’s been bothering me is receipts. I could refuse to take the receipt, but it still exists. That trash is still being created. I hope more stores start doing e-receipt options.

Cat litter: I haven’t switched to an eco solution yet. Still pondering this one. And I realized that I’m going to need a solution for cat and dog food. I’m told that there are stores that sell pet food in bulk bins. Now I just have to figure out where they are near us.

Toothpaste: I am currently using a mixture of coconut oil and baking soda (yes, soda and not powder!). It feels really fresh and nice in my mouth. I hope that it’s effective. I’m going to visit a dentist soon so I’ll see then if it seems to be working.

I also went ahead and bought a Waterpic machine for flossing. It’s supposed to work better than flossing, it’s certainly easier, and it means not throwing out bits of string every day (though, of course, the box came with things wrapped in plastic). I used it for the first time today and it felt really fresh and clean. I’m hopeful this will improve my tooth and gum situation.

Detergents: I do have all the supplies for making my own laundry detergent. I bought them years ago but haven’t made it yet!

A few more things I’ve discovered

My husband and I love to watch Shark Tank on Hulu. Usually the products are ridiculous, but I have made some great finds through them. The first was HungryHarvest.net, which is rescued produce delivered to my door. Love that. And then yesterday we saw an episode with a solution to a problem I’ve struggled with for years: what to do with cooking grease.

I like to fry things occasionally (like samosas, dumplings, certain breads, etc.). I don’t do it often mostly because I never know what to do with the used oil. I use it several times but even then I end up dumping the leftover in my lawn. I have always wanted an eco-friendly solution to cooking oil. And someone has invented a product to do just that. Check it out! www.greasebags.com