Plastic I Can Live Without

OK, so the blog schedule has been tougher to keep than I thought it would be. I have waaay more ideas than I have time to research these days, but I'm hopeful that that is starting to shift a bit for the summer.

But I did want to give you an update on my May project, which is to reduce the amount of plastic I use/allow into my possession. Some things, like switching to bar soap for face and body, and been a cinch. I love my new soap, and I love that I have two fewer plastic bottles in my life. Other things are going to require more work.

Here are some things that I am on track to de-plasticize from my life:

• Cheese - I can buy a limited but very tasty selection of slice-your-own cheese from the Co-Op in Evanston and bring it home in my own container.
• Bulk Stuff like rice, lentils, and beans - OK, so Les is really the lentil eater in our house. And we have yet to do the whole "Soak for a thousand years then boil for 5 days" bulk-bean thing, but we have the beans stacked up so nicely in jars, I'm sure we will hunker down and do this eventually. No plastic-lined aluminum cans or plastic bags.
• Shower products - In addition to the body and face soap mentioned above, I'm also ready to say goodbye to the cheerful orange plastic mesh poof thing that I had been using with my liquid body wash. I have a new skin sloughing tool, but I'm so amused by it that it's going to get its own post. I'm poised to begin easing my way out of commercial shampoo and conditioner as well, but I wanted to make it through the first wedding of the summer last weekend before going "no-poo".
• All manner of plastic bags - Armed with my dazzling array of reusable shopping bags (including some so cute and tiny that they can be snuggled into any decent-sized purse), I have no excuse for not being virtually plastic bag free. Don't believe the myth that your tomatoes and carrots and apples need their own plastic bag in order to come home safely with you. If the idea of them rolling around in your grocery basket or cart stresses you out, give them their own canvas bag for the ride around the store. You know you're going to wash them anyway, so don't wig out about there naked skin touching the checkout conveyor belt when you take them out to get weighed. See this cute little chico bag? Get one and stash it in your purse. Then you can say "I don't need a bag" for everything.
• Plastic lunch ware and utensils - My coworkers already think I am kind of weird, so it wasn't a big deal to start showing up to the break room with my own bowl, plate, cloth napkin, and real utensils. They fit into my desk drawer, and eliminate the need to reheat anything in plastic or use disposable cutlery. Now if only I could be disciplined enough to ALWAYS bring my own lunch rather than eating out 2 or 3 times a week, I could be making a dent...

So, some changes have been pretty easy to make. I'm definitely more aware of how much plastic there is everywhere, on everything. There are some plastic things that I just can't figure out how to reasonably give up/swap out. Like:

• Razors (not ready to be hairy-legged quite yet)
• The plastic that wraps our favorite pizza, organic carrots, bags of edamame, potstickers, etc...
• Doggy potty pads (These have seriously saved our sanity - and our floors...)

And lots of other stuff that I can't think of right this second.

But the awareness of all this plastic around me has helped me start to make some different choices. It's almost like a game now at the grocery store. Time to play "Get the Stuff With the Least Amount of Plastic!". The game has actually prevented me from buying things that I otherwise would have purchased, or at least hunt around for a non-plastic version. Like buying TP wrapped in recycled paper rather than plastic.

I'm still selfish and I still buy individually wrapped treats like fruit leathers (I COULD make these myself if I had a food dehydrator, but would I?) and sometimes string cheese. But I'm getting better. Little by little.

For some real inspiration, check out http://www.myplasticfreelife.com/. No whining about frozen pizza wrappers over there....