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Forget plastic free July, you don't need a specific month, day, or time to start making change. You can simply decide in one moment and action change in the next! Any change is positive too, whether you want to make a small but conscious effort to bring reusable bags to the supermarket or to the extreme of not touching a piece of plastic. Let's just start off by saying we aren't perfect zero waste people, but we are on a journey to making positive changes! Before living in a Tiny House Jake and I had a certain level of eco-consciousness, since he works for an organic mattress and furniture, and I run an eco-friendly craft small business on the side. However, since living in a Tiny House, it has made us much more environmentally aware, and by default we are leaving a smaller environmental footprint. We create our own power using Solar Panels, and a small wind turbine (see Tiny House Solar Packages for more details), collect some of our own water (we aren't fully self sufficient here yet), we compost food scraps, take recycling to Jakes work or the recycling centre, and we have a composting toilet. Instantly by being off-grid we were much friendlier, the resources used to create our home was much less than a standard home as well, and also less waste. We are still not the perfect eco pair, but we are making choices into creating less waste. These are some recent products we have chosen and received to help us along on our journey to less waste: Reuseable Grocery bags - Plastic bag replacers Tote & Produce Bags from ReUsed. This beautiful Tote and produce bags above are from a small NZ Business called ReUsed. Handmade from recycled/reused materials by the clever Courtenay Feck. They are beautiful and strong, and the produce bags can be used for fruit, veggies, nuts and grains. Click here to see here to see her full range of reusable products. She even sent it packaged in 100% zero waste packaging! You could also DIY your own Tote bags out of old T-Shirts. I made one without the need for any sewing, and it's a great small "keep in handbag" type tote. To see how I made it click here to go through to my the video on my insta page.  Bread Bags from BagItUpBags These handmade bags are made by a lady named Ella, from her small business called BagItUpBags. These bags in particular are "Large Bread Bags" which she sells on etsy. They are perfect to keep bread fresh for longer. A tip I received from someone in a zerowaste facebook group, was to ask if the supermarket could put one of their freshly baked loaves into your own bag, or you could go to your local bakery and use this bag. I haven't done this yet, but it is on the to do list. Up until now I have just been collecting the plastic bread bags for drop off in the soft plastic recycling bins at the local Pak-n-Sav. These bread bags are also multipurpose and can also be used for flour, chia seeds or other bulk bin selection options. You can replace those snaplock plastic bags for these instead, and then transfer into containers when you get home to reuse or simple store the food in the bag until it's been eaten. Ella also packaged these in a brown paper envelope with a handwritten address to also be 100% zero waste packaged. To see her full range of eco products click here! Reuseable food wraps - Glad wrap alternative Small Reusable Food Wrap from Honeywrap These reusable food wraps are made from beeswax covered fabric, and can be used to replace what you would usually use glad wrap for such as wrapping sandwiches, covering bowls in the fridge, or even wrapping up some snacks! Honeywrap was the brain child of three friends and eco conscious Mums named Tara, Jo and Amy. They handmake each of the products themselves, and their latest range includes custom designed fabric! See full range here! Just like the last two small business, these honeywraps arrived in ecofriendly packaging that I just popped into the compost bin. Bamboo Toothbrushes - Plastic tooth brush replacement Bamboo Toothbrushes from Mama Bear Instead of those plastic toothbrushes from the supermarket, how about trying a bamboo tooth brush. These are from a small business Mum who sells a range of eco and organic products called Mama Bear. It's not a surprise she has these in her range as her husband is a dental hygienist. These tooth brushes are biodegradable and all the packaging is also compostable. Unlike some other bamboo toothbrushes on the market these have a range of colours at the bottom so you can tell who's brush is whose. These may take a bit of getting used to for some as they are extra soft. She says that her husband wouldn't let her sell anything harder, as he recommends these to be the best firmness for healthy teeth and gums. Check out her full range here! what are your faves?Leave in the comments below other zero waste alternatives you love to use.
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