Greens and cats

The end of Plastic free July 2018 

This month went by so fast! I’ve been having an amazing summer so far, although the heat has been a bit to much to handle. I’ve been taking care of my mum’s garden, picking everything edible there was to pick and made jam and juice with white and red currants, rhubarb, and gooseberry, also I made arugula pesto. Hoping that it will last until next year!! (It probably won’t).

I’ve really been trying to do my best being plastic free, and I’ve found some tricks (read: learned by my mistakes) that’s going to help me (and hopefully you too) in the future. 

1. The first one is about online shopping: try to avoid it. If you can find what you want to buy somewhere near you, that’s always a better option. Online shopping almost always comes with some sort of plastic and that’s just not what we want. 

2. Aleppo soap! I found that dishwashing liquid can be replaced by Aleppo soap(!), and that’s just amazing. So I tried it and it works wonders.

3. I need to grow my own salad. Period. Salad leaves are always packaged in plastic here in Sweden and it’s been a blessing that my mum’s been growing arugula this summer. (Also I need my own garden)

4. ACV (Apple cider vinegar) rinse!!! It really is the best “conditioner” I’ve ever tried on my hair that is zero waste and also WORKS. (I found a recipe how to make ACV at home and it seems to be really easy. I’ll share it in a few months when I can pick apples myself and make it out of that). A big problem though with the ACV rinse is that my partner hates the smell, I can’t really smell anything, but he hates it, so I need to solve that somehow. I’ve experimented with tea tree oil in the mixture (I use about 1 tbsp of ACV and 0,5 liters of distilled/boiled water) to make it smell of something else. But he still thinks I smell like vinegar, and that’s not really how I wan’t to smell even though I’m a urban hippie. 

5. I love my bike. It takes me everywhere and costs me nothing more then a tiny bit of sweat and a active body (I got it for my birthday some years ago). 

6. July isn’t the best month for being plastic free. I don’t have any stats on this one, but I think it is the month when people waste and use single use plastics/products the most. At least here in Europe. Maybe that’s why July got to be the month with a plastic free challenge, just because we need to think more about how we prepare (or don’t prepare) to be out and about all day long. I see thai boxes everywhere, ice cream wrapping, soda cans, plastic and glass bottles, bottle caps, plastic cutlery, pizza boxes and it really makes me sad. It’s been hard not to buy take outs and sit down by the water on a perfect summer night, it’s a weird but wonderful holiday/summer vibe over that type of things. But I put my back into it and made my own food to go and it was just as fine! 

7. Trial and error. There always has to be some errors before knowing what works. There’s always going to be plastic that you can’t avoid. The thing about zero waste is that it’s always going to conclude some fails, hopefully less and less in time. But the effort people are making, trying their best to quit using plastic and finding ways to be kind to this planet really makes me happy and hopeful, this community of zero or low wasters is truly amazing! I’m also noticing that my friends are getting interested in quitting plastic and fast fashion, also that they want to get into gardening and make things themselves! That’s just so cool!

13 days of plastic free July and it’s hard not to stumble upon any plastics. On the floor are plastics that are recyclable here in Sweden (my dog’s food package, coffee package, lids for milk and bouillon powder, bubble wrap from an online order, toothpaste tube, plant nutriment that I’ve had for ages(!), some plastic film from a cardboard package and a plastic bag that contained reusable sanitary pads).

In the glass jar I’ve stuffed everything that’s not recyclable (stickers, band aids and tape)

I’ve already found some substitutions for some of the packages I’ve used. My dog is very picky when it comes to food (he doesn’t even like dog treats), but I found a brand called Yarrah which I tried and he liked it! So from now I’ll buy his food in metal cans. I also found coffee beans in bulk that I ground myself, and I’m also giving up online shopping since there’s always plastic or plastic tape involved even though I comment my order with something like “no plastic, please“. 

Enjoying summer at my family’s summer house here in Sweden. Trying my best to keep this month (Plastic Free July!) as minimal and plastic free as possible. Reading, taking walks, swimming, cooking, talking, spending time with family and friends. I never want this summer to end!

Making ketchup!

I have been trying out three different solid conditioners from Lush and none of them worked for my hair. Right now I’m trying their conditioner “Jungle”, but the result is always and sadly the same with every solid conditioner, my hair feels clean, but it stays damp and never really dries, that way it looks greasy and I don’t like that at all. 

I’m also using J.R Ligget’s shampoo bar with coconut and argan oil, and this one I love! Obviously depending on what conditioner I’m using together with it, but when I’m using a conditioner that I like (for example Bruns organic conditioner) it feels so good, so I’m sticking with J.R. Ligget’s and keep on searching for the ultimate zero waste or at least plastic free conditioner. 

This weeks menu:

Monday: Quinoa salad with feta cheese cream and pomegranate

Tuesday: Veggie burger with sauteed potatoes, homemade chili mayo and greens

Wednesday: Pasta with pesto and tomatoes

Thursday: Wraps with grilled veggies and creme fraiche

Plastic free July is on!!! I’m unfortunately sick, and haven’t been able to prep the things I wanted for July 1st (today), but no plastic has been bought and that’s a good start! I went to the store to buy something comforting for when in bed sick, and got vegan chocolate ice cream packaged in nothing but paper! I also found feta cheese in a glass jar which was really nice. 

I’m going to try my best living without plastic the whole month of July! Yay! In a city where there’s no bulk stores that’s quite the task, but I’ll do my best and take my time this month to find the best places and tricks to do this!

Obv I’ll have to buy some packages. But I’m avoiding ALL plastic (hopefully) and only buying stuff packed in cardboard, metal or glass. Of course as much as possible will be package free.

I'm also going to keep a waste jar this whole month to collect the plastics and trash that may occur, to see how much I will (or will not) produce. To make it even more visual I’ll save all other packaging (cardboard, metal and glass, which I’ll recycle later) and show you when July is over.

So, I have a lot of things I want to try out and do this month to make this as successful as possible, for example:

There are a lot of cheese shops around where I live (to which I’ve never been), and I want to go there and see if I can buy cheese from them in my own jar

The same as above but at the local fish shop

I want to make my own ketchup (tomatoes are so good right now!)

Make my own aquafaba (is that possible?)

Make beeswax wrap

Fix better cleaning alternatives

Find a nice hair conditioner alternative (I’m using this at the time)

Plant herbs! And sprout seeds for salads!

Pickle everything edible

Anything I forgot? Write a comment if there’s something I should try or just didn’t think about in this post!

Things I bought last week:

1. The Curated Closet - I have been really curious about this book for a long time! And I found it in my favorite store nearby, looking forward to reading this!