I want to thank everyone who commented on my last post with sympathy and concern. I appreciate every single one of you who took the time to respond. It seems I am not alone with occasional sleepless nights brought on by worry either. It's such a useless exercise in the middle of the night too.
Changing the subject completely....there has been so much talk about plastic recently and how we all depend on it and use far too much, only to fill the oceans with it or send it to Malaysia. It's horrifying really. I always thought that I used plastic responsibly and recycled everything in just the right way. Now I am not so sure. I have taken another look at our use of it in the home. Years ago I used bar soap but ditched it in favour of liquid soap dispensers because of the soap scum the bar left on the sinks and bath. I have now bought a soap dish and a bar of Pears soap in order to make a fresh start on buying less plastic. The dish cost £4 and the soap 59p.....
Can anyone recommend a soap bar that is PH balanced and which smells fantastic?
I think I am going to struggle with changing other things though. For a start, I haven't found anywhere which sells refills for washing up liquid etc The one I use has a totally recyclable bottle and cap but how can I be sure the council will do the right thing with it? Washing powder is ok because it comes in a recyclable cardboard box but what about fabric softener? I have discovered that most bread wrappers can be recycled with carrier bags in the bigger supermarkets...yay!
What else can I change to ditch plastic? Suggestions gratefully accepted :)
Stay safe everyone wherever you happen to be x
Hi Angie, I have stopped buying shower gels and gone back to bar soap, I am still refilling my pump dispensers from a huge 5l handwash I bought from the car boot, I do believe you can get refill bags now, I am trying to look at ways every week now where I can do something to help. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Marlene, I'll keep an eye out for refill bags, probably still plastic but maybe recyclable? xx
DeleteIt really isn't a simple task. I gave gone over to soap and have a shampoo bar, so no bottle. I don't use fabric softener anymore. I'm going to buy the eco egg soon and try it out. I do try to buy the biggest sizes in everything and decant into smaller reusable things, far less waste. Its certainly a battle.
ReplyDeleteMust google the eco egg....it's a battle indeed!
DeleteIt seems impossible to go plastic free. I know we can all do our bit to help, but it seems to me that manufacturers and shops need to do much, much more to cut down on their packaging - amount and type.
ReplyDeleteThat's certainly true, Sooze, until we all have viable options nothing will change.
DeleteIt's difficult to eliminate plastic from our homes. One thing you could do is ditch the softener. We never needed it before it was invented.
ReplyDeleteThat's very true Ilona. I don't remember my clothes being scratchy when I was a child either :/
DeleteI agree with Sooze. We all seem to do our bit but the manufacturers and stores have a long way to go to reduce plastics. I shop at Costco a lot and therefore can buy HUGE containers of many things that I can decant into a smaller container over and over again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Janice, I must look harder, I think....
DeleteI make my own soap, and use the fragrance oils that Brambleberry sells. I've had the same soap dish for twenty years. I use white vinegar for fabric softener. I buy it in bulk, and recycle the bottles. I plan to make some string bags to use at the grocery store for produce.
ReplyDeleteHandmade soap must be lovely Stephenie, and I didn't know about using white vinegar for softener, thank you.
DeleteI buy large containers of liquid soap (to wash dishes, to clean counters) and pour it into the smaller bottles. Our town has banned restaurants from offering straws (a huge number of straws) and from using styrofoam for takeout or leftovers (sturdy cardboard instead). This is a huge problem, they found microplastics in our nearby ocean reserve this year.
ReplyDelete