The Green Greenie

I was so keen to try this. I have Ladelle stretch bowl covers - little elastic cloth lids that I use instead of cling wrap sometimes. They're great because they're also insulated and look pretty to boot, but it's not as practical as cling wrap when you're covering something liquidy (like soup or congee) or just want to see what's in your bowl without lifting the cover.

With high (well, reasonably high) hopes, I purchased some Eco Compostable Sugar wrap from my local Woolworths. Ugh. Horrible. The wrap is thin, it keeps tearing, it's a pain to get it off the wrap, and it comes pre-perforated so you don't even have control over how big the piece it. I ended up throwing my wrap out (which just shows how frustrated I was -I hate waste!)

I do enjoy using my oven. I am yet to be the master baker I dream of being. Every time I watch a Youtube clip of CookingTree I feel like the meaning of life must be to create amazing cakes and soothing ASMR. I love my own oven so much, I actually have TWO. One regular, under-my-stove-oven that is pretty much always set at 180 or 200 degrees (the other available temperatures are just there for decoration right?) and one small convection steam oven. I could write a post on my little convection steam oven alone. I use it as a regular oven (aka 'healthy fry'), to steam food, steam bake and even sterilise bottles when my baby was a newborn.

Anyway, the point is that my oven(s) is/are an integral part of my kitchen. How great is it to be able get a head start on those dishes, safe in the knowledge that your honey soy wings are steadily cooking away? As a result of this love affair, I did go through a good amount of baking paper and aluminium foil. For a while I tried to find eco-friendly brands, but with COVID19, often these were sold out or just unavailable.

And then I stumbled across EverEco silicone baking mats on Flora & Fauna. Guys, it lives up to its 5 star reviews. So far I've used the mats to cook fish, chips and fried chicken and it works wonderfully. The mats can be placed in the oven up to 250 degrees (which is about as hot as my oven can get anyway). They are easy to clean (I recommend wiping any excess oil off them, then leaving them to soak in the sink with other dirty dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. They come out clean and good as new. You don't have to oil them before putting food on them and I haven't noticed any discolouring or weird smells. I even find that they work better than regular baking paper because of their weight - they tend to stick to the tray a lot better so you don't have to fold over the baking paper or stress that the paper is going to stick out and block your smooth slide-in-action of the tray in and out of the oven (that's what she said).

You're probably already aware, but you can recycle your clean soft plastics at most Coles and Woolworths! This doesn't just include plastic bags. You can recycle the plastic wrapping your salad leaves come in, the plastic wraps the house toilet paper and paper towels as well as the plastic that your rice and biscuits come in (to name a few). Basically, if you can scrunch it, then chances are you can drop it off at a designated plastics recycle bin at your nearest Coles or Woolies. Don't be shy to ask staff where the bins are hiding if you're not sure where they are!

I've been making it a habit to put my soft plastics in a plastic bag and taking it to Coles/Woolworths when my bag is full. An added benefit (besides helping our planet out) is that my bins don't get full so quickly (it's depressing how much plastic waste we go through - and only how recently recycling soft plastics has become available)

I might be a little late to the period underwear party (perhaps the only party I'll ever be invited to). A few weeks ago I ordered a number of Modibodi underwear. Months prior I had ordered one, but never had a chance to use it because I didn't have a period after falling pregnant and then for around 7 months following the birth of my baby (let's hear it for over a year of lady free days!)

My period came like an unwanted house guest during the holiday season. It showed up unannounced, made life harder, was annoying to deal with and outstayed its welcome. Only after a few days did I remember my original Modibodi purchase. It was amazing. I've never used tampons so I can't really comment on a comparison, but unlike the period pad, Modibodi underwear don't shift around, move or leave you a patch on your undies that is 'unprotected'. I didn't leak while wearing during the day or at night and I found that I could wear it all day without issue.

Following this fantastic experience, I bit the bullet and shelled out for 7 more pairs. I bought several 'recycled seamfree bikini' undies and, just to be extra safe at night (there is SO much annoying clean up if you leak in bed), purchased several 'sensual hi-waist bikinis' for my evening wear.

They arrived pretty quickly! I remember being impressed that they used paper packaging rather than plastic. Another plus is that they print the care instructions on the back of their packaging, reducing the need for more paper waste. The underwear looked really big at first glance. I'm a size 8 and I thought the undies looked like sail masts compared to my usual undies! I was wrong though. They fit like a glove (...perhaps my derrière is not as petite as I imagined it to be) and they are super comfortable.

I love that I basically don't need to ever buy another sanitary towel and can alleviate the planet of some unnecessary plastic.

Just bear in mind that unlike a sanitary towel where you just roll and toss when your'e done, you do need to rinse your undies under cold water before throwing it in the washing machine. Once in the machine, use the cold water setting and don't put in any softener. This means that the rest of your laundry load will also have a cold wash with no softener. This might be considered a minor drawback, but I think it's a small price to pay to not ever have to open the lid of a yuckky public bathroom sanitary towel bin (even the hands free bins are never really hands free - plus have you noticed they're ALWAYS full?!); not have to deal with a smelly toilet bin filled with pads or suffer embarrassment if your bathroom bin is accidentally knocked over by a guest wanting to borrow your throne.

Modibodis aren't cheap compared to regular underwear, their starting price is around $25 a pair - although they seem to do specials frequently. At the time of writing, subscribe to their newsletter and you'll get 10% off your first order. I think it's worth the money - not just for a much better experience on those dreaded lady days (I can actually forget my unwanted guest is in the house), but also think of all money you save from buying tampons and pads! Add that you're doing the planet a favour and it's a win-win-WIN! (Obscure reference to The Office for other Office geeks out there).

Thanks Modibodi for making it easier to be a woman. Honestly, where have you been all my life?