I've just signed on for Crunchy Domestic Goddess's Ditch the disposables challenge.
From her website:
You can make the switch from:
- Paper napkins to cloth napkins
- Paper towels to cloth towels or something like Skoy cloths
- Tissues to handkerchiefs
- Paper, plastic or Styrofoam plates to your kitchen plates
- Disposable utensils to regular silverware
- If you order food “to go” or have food to take home from a restaurant, bring your own container rather than accepting Styrofoam or plastic
- Inexpensive plastic “Take & Toss” sippy cups to Thermos or Camelbak bottles or the Klean Kanteen
- Disposable water bottles to (again) reusable bottles like Thermos, Klean Kanteen or Camelbak
- Plastic sandwich bags or paper lunch bags to reusable containers/bags
- Plastic straws to glass or stainless steel straws
- Swiffers (or similar products) to a broom and dustpan or mop (or use reusable cloths like cloth diapers/terry inserts in your Swiffer)
- Disposable dust rags to cloth rags
- Disposable diapers to cloth diapers
- Disposable wipes to cloth wipes (inexpensive plain washcloths work really well)
- Disposable feminine products (tampons, pads) to reusables like DivaCup, MoonCup, Glad Rags, Luna Pads, Pretty Pads, or New Moon Pads, among others. You can even make your own pads.
- Grocery store bags to reusable bags
- Disposable wrapping paper or gift bags to reusable cloth gift bags
- Single-use batteries to rechargeable batteries
Or, for the really crazy dedicated:
- Toilet paper to cloth wipes/washcloths (for #1 or #2 too if you are really, really adventurous)
Want to join the Challenge? It's right here: Crunchy Domestic Goddess's Ditch the disposables challenge.
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Cluttercut - Be the change
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8 comments:
I'd love to find some glass or stainless steel straws! My kids currently use those crazy curly ones but they love straws. Go the mooncup too! lol. I did cloth wipes when pregnant with my dd (for #1) but didn't keep it up.
I do lots of those too but I guess I could definitely improve.
I made some cloth (sanitary) pads a few months back and love them! Disposables are so toxic it's scary.
Hi Nikki - My kids just use cups. We have some of those Tupperware cups with the clip-on sippy lids for my 2 year old, which work well (I checked the plastic type, and they're safe plastic 5). And my son (nearly 5) uses either those cups without the sippy attachment or just glass. Because they've not grown up with straws, they've not ever been accustomed to them.
Re mooncups and divas (here's the overshare!). I've had problems getting used to my diva, after the birth of my daughter. It worked beautifully before, but since it has taken a while for things to settle back down again.
I'll be giving it another go this month, and hopefully it will be back and working well again - before she was born it was awesome, and I convinced a few of my friends to make the switch too :-)
I guess what this shows is you can't underestimate the changes birth does to your body! *lol* Especially a three day labour with a bub facing backwards! But she came out in the end just fine, the "ordinary way"! Hehe.
Hi Mountainwildlife - I need to replace more of my "disposables" and am in the process of bidding on a secondhand sewing machine, as I've been without one ever since my mother re-appropriated hers!
Disposables, whether toxic or not (because some are more toxic than others) are just a bad attitude thing. They give us the false illusion that we can just dump stuff, and it just goes "away" somewhere. I hate that attitude, and if we're going to be a sustainable species, we have to learn to fight that.
Hmmm...I think I feel a blog post coming on! :-)
Great ideas. We also just bought stainless steel water bottles for the family at www.my-botl.com. Love them! great sizes, shapes, colors and caps!
I am happy to see I only have a few habits to change. Most of the disposal is out of our house and it feels so good !
I was pleased to see that I've covered nearly everything on the list or they don't apply to me. I only have 2 things to do. I've been working up to them for the last 12 months or so. Procrastination is my friend. One of these days I'll bite the bullet.
Good luck with the Challenge. If there's one thing I've learnt about you is that you'll breeze it in. And we'll get the benefit of learning from your experiences, always a good thing.
re menstrual cups after babies. I know mooncup do two sizes because of this (one size for under 30yr olds and another for anyone who's had a baby). And my overshare - I still leak due to prolapse after my son so do need to use cloth pads too.
Re straws - yeah, I'd never bought any but they were given a packet by a friend last year and they really enjoyed them so I got some "permanent" ones (the curly ones) and they do enjoy them (and they help them drink less desirable things that I concoct up for them lol) so I might try and source some cool glass ones.
I'd really like to make some nice cloth napkins some day. we do use cloth ones anyway, but would be nice to have ones that are "me".
Hi Brock - Stainless steel water bottles are great :-) I love mine, and it gets heaps of use.
Hi Touchatou - Most of our disposables are gone, too. But I sure need to work on the few that remain! It doesn't just feel good, as you say, but by getting rid of the disposables, we save so much money! They're just a BAD idea all round!
Hi Nevyn - I won't breeze it in. I'll have a couple of stumbling blocks that will trip me up, but if I work hard, maybe I'll get there. My problem isn't challenges, its keeping the changes up once the challenges are over!
Chocolate is a good example - I think, once my Year Without Chocolate was done, I ate a year's worth in a week!
Hehe. But at least most of it was organic and Fair Trade!
Hi Nikki - It's true that other women besides me had the same problem after birthing their kids. Things seem to have returned to my pre-daughter status now, so I'm giving the Diva another shot - I gave it a good boiling over a couple of days ago! :)
I never thought about your using straws to encourage kids to drink stuff they otherwise wouldn't! Maybe they're worth giving a try to then? I do know that my kids, being kids, would love them!
Yes, the cloth napkins thing is the way to go. Have you checked out your local Op Shop though? Our is bursting at the seams with beautiful secondhand linen - and it costs next to nothing. I don't think you could make it for the prices they charge.
Hmmm, which reminds me - some of our kids face cloths are looking a bit like they're ready for composting (they're 100% cotton) and replacing. Maybe it's time for another trip to SaveMart! :-D
Well, I was planning nothing for this morning, and the weather is too foul for gardening (snow on the hills).
I'm just lazy - and a cheapskate. Why make new ones when there are some great secondhand things just waiting to be bought? :-)
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