Less waste

Time to set out my progress in the zero waste department. I still buy most my foods in the market and the supermarket. In my bag i have a set of paper bags and plastic bags for use on the market. I confess though, it is hard to completely avoid having my groceries wrapped in plastic. Especially walnuts and dates i buy at a Turkish stand are always wrapped in plastic. At one point i will take glass jars with me, but i’m not there yet. I do try to use the wrappings i have until they are entirely finished. I took some to the garden and put them there in a bag, for people who don’t have anything with them to put in the harvest. So it is getting better the whole time. But still many space for improvements.

Two weeks ago i visited my mother. One thing i took home with me are the handkerchiefs my stepfather used to use. They were lying in a drawer unused. I’m happy with these. Earlier i did check some shops to see if there were handkerchiefs for sale. I remember seeing them in the HEMA a few years ago. I didn’t see them in the shop. But online i just checked and you can still buy them there. I am happy to get them for free secondhand though. I still have some paper handkerchiefs – will keep those to see what the best use for those is.

A major turnaround is the toilet paper. A few weeks ago that i watched some youtube clips about this subject. I then went through my cupboards and found this large hand towel, which i hadn’t used for over five, maybe even ten years. I simply cut it up into smaller bits and put it into a basket in my toilet.

Now i’m still getting used to doing this. A few times i threw the towel in the toilet. Oops! But i admit, it is a nice feeling wiping your bottom with a hand towel after a pee. I still use paper after a number two (as you seem to call the poop action in English 😀 ). Since i only poop once a day and pee two or three times a day, it is still a good saving. And better for the environment. I hope!

Going along steadily. Still have areas in which i need to make improvements. I wish for a no packaging shop in Rotterdam. I know there are a couple of shops in the Netherlands. The closest shop is the Gimsel close by which does have a section of large containers from which you can fill a bag, your own or one of the Gimsel.

My progress is going in a slow pace. Still, every step counts. Yay!