The communal community

Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

When living a minimal lifestyle all seems a bit too much…

Remember: You’re not alone.

But here’s another thing to remember – we all take different journeys.

I have not met anybody who doesn’t shudder at the images of waste in our waterways choking marine life.

But I have heard many who ask about Australia only producing 1.3% of the world’s waste, so what’s the point of cutting back?

Who wants your leftovers?

They're all keen!

Worms love it. Microbacteria love it. The soil loves it. Chooks love it!

But when wrapped in plastic bags and chucked into landfill - nobody loves it. 

Unwanted food is like gold. Trust me!

Unless its in landfill. Decaying food sealed in plastic produces methane. Which is four times worse as carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Yuck, no thanks.

So in this post I'm taking a break from plastic reduction...although there is some relevance...

Reducing Your Shoes' Footprint

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

Once you’ve given your shoes the boot

Old shoes go to die in the same place that most unwanted goods end up – in landfill via the back of the closet for a while.

There’s not much that individuals can do with a worn out shoe. Sure, I repurposed my toddler’s old gumboots into a pair of cute planters, but sadly they’re the minority. 

In the US, over 300 million pairs of shoes end up in landfill annually - I suspect there are heaps in our landfill too. Leather and synthetic shoes both take about 30 to 40 years to break down.

Garbage In Garbage Out 2

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

 Permission to shine – household and personal cleaning stuff

   Shampoo

There are so many alternatives to buying hair care products in plastic bottles. 

Even if you can’t part with your salon brand, just using it more economically is better for the planet – and your pocket, too! 

Modern life means that our hair actually doesn’t need a daily wash, but many are in the habit of doing so.

Shampooing cleans the scalp and hair, conditioning adds a coating to the hair and keeps the ends tangle free.

Garbage in, garbage out?

My no plastic challenge.

I'm sharing my no-plastic ideas in the hope that they inspire others to do the same.

Photo: Silvie Tittel of Unsplash

I'll start with the basics...

Crunchy green stuff.

My fruit and veg shopping bag is like a United Nations of produce. Green apples chat to tomatoes who dance with carrots and broccoli as they roll around in my bag. In other words, I get them all loose. At the checkout, it means picking them out of the bag, grouping them and laying them on the belt. And hoping they don’t get shuffled again as the belt jerks forwards in sporadic bursts.